25 February 2021

When choosing between natural stone and quartz composites, Vadara makes that choice a breeze

I have natural stone floors and counters in my kitchen and yes, they’re beautiful. But man oh man are they a chore to keep looking clean. My travertine floors somehow manage to hide dirt and be dirty at the same time and so we sweep them every day and mop them two or three times a week. As a bonus, last year we paid several thousand dollars to have them “refreshed.” That involved having all of the accumulated divots and cracks filled then then the whole floor was sanded and sealed.

My stone counters can’t just be wiped off when something spills. No, they have to be washed and then dried lest a dingy film develop that in turn attracts more dirt to itself. So every couple of days I wash them with soapy water, rinse them and then buff them dry.

When we settled on this house, it had a kitchen in it already that the previous owners had renovated at huge expense and it had all of the mandatories expected in a larger home in a leafy suburban neighborhood. It had a Sub-Zero, grasscloth wallpaper, oak floors, a marble fireplace and most importantly, natural stone on the floors and counters in the kitchen.

When I was a designer, I specified all of those things countless times for homes just like this one. But it wasn’t until this house that I had to live with those specs and I have to say that given the choice, I wouldn’t pick natural stone again.

I’ve always fancied myself to be a purist. I’d always dreamed of the sorts of natural stone surfaces I curse every day now. Years ago, when quartz surfaces started to show up in showrooms I scoffed at first, and I dismissed their claims of easy maintenance. “Quartz composites look fake” I used to tell myself and “I could never live with fake stuff because after all, I am a purist.” After seven years of living with the real stuff, I’m ready to start all over.

Not really, but that’ll be something for the next person who buys this house can deal with. In the meantime, I’ll keep cleaning, cursing and dreaming about some new quartz surfaces I just learned about.

KBIS, the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, was a virtual event this year but despite the lack of in-person interactions, players in the Kitchen and Bath Industry still used the event to showcase their new offerings.

One of those players, Vadara Quartz Surfaces, rolled out six new patterns of their quartz composite surfaces and each of them is worth real consideration for people looking at natural marble. Marble is a classic surface but it’s notoriously difficult to live with. All it takes is a dripping bottle of olive oil left in place overnight to leave a marble counter with a permanent stain. And I mean permanent.

Vadara’s new patterns don’t have that problem because they’re quartz composites and by definition, they are impervious surfaces. As impervious surfaces and in contrast to real marble, they’re a snap to clean and to keep looking clean.

Vadara’s new colors and patterns follow. Anybody who doesn’t know better, and even people like me who do know better, would be hard pressed to tell that these colors and patterns weren’t dug out of a marble quarry in Tuscany.

  • Bella Dolce – a luminous bright white background with delicate brown and grey veining

  • Calacatta Fresco – a dimensional off-white and grey background with dynamic grey veining

  • Calacatta Oro – a dimensional off-white and grey background with dynamic brown and grey veining

  • Cascada Perla – a dimensional off-white and grey background with dynamic grey and white veining

  • Solano Bella – a dimensional off-white and grey background with delicate grey veining

  • Varenna – a luminous white background with delicate grey veining

It used to be that opting for quartz composite counters meant settling for a material that looked like a combination of terrazzo and concrete but these new patterns from Vadara put that entire conversation to rest for good.

These six patterns are nearly identical to real marble and in all candor, I’d put any of them in my home. What really knocked me off my horse is their Calacatta Oro.

Calacatta marble has always been a favorite of mine. Calacatta is a white marble that has veins of grey and varying shades of brown and gold. 

Here’s a close up of Vadara’s Calacatta Oro: 


That slab looks so much like the real thing that I want to forget about the real thing.

But as a reminder, here’s real Calacatta:


That’s nothing short of amazing.

Vadara’s full collection consists of 32 colors and each takes its inspiration from a natural stone. This material is sold as slabs and comes in two thicknesses, 2cm and 3cm. It’s cut on the same equipment and sold by the same fabricators as natural stone.

If you’re looking at natural stone for your home, you owe it to yourself to look into Vadara.

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