Granite countertops in Chicago and the suburbs
Custom granite countertops: what we fabricate
The granites on this page are the ones we reach for: Black Pearl — polished in a bath, leathered in an outdoor kitchen — Negresco honed on a bar and leathered on an outdoor kitchen, Via Lactea on a bar area, Titanium Black leathered in a kitchen, and White Valley and New River White in kitchens. Granite has been misjudged for a decade because of the speckled slabs of the 2000s; the dark, dense, and white-veined granites we fabricate now look nothing like that.
Where granite belongs
Anywhere that gets heat, weather, or hard use. It's our first recommendation for outdoor kitchens — it handles Chicago winters, sun, and the grill without fading or cracking. Indoors, it's the most durable natural stone for a working kitchen, a bar, or a bath. Where it doesn't belong: a design that wants the soft, watery movement of marble — that's quartzite's job.
Finish and edge
This is where granite has changed most. Leathered — a brushed, lightly textured matte — hides fingerprints and water spots, gives grip, and deepens dark stones; it's our favorite finish on Black Pearl. Honed is a smooth matte; polished is the classic shine. Edges run from a clean 3cm square to a hand-chiseled broken edge for outdoor and rustic work, done section by section in the shop.
Care, honestly
Seal at install; reseal every few years depending on the stone. Granite takes hot pans, resists scratching, and doesn't etch. Day to day, it asks very little of you.
Granite next to quartz and quartzite
Against quartz, granite takes a hot pan and a summer of sun without discoloring, which is why it goes outdoors and quartz does not. Against quartzite, both are hard and heat-tolerant; granite tends toward speckle, depth, and dark solid tones, quartzite toward the long, flowing veining of marble. Granite is sealed like any natural stone, and it does not etch. For the side-by-side, read quartzite vs. granite and Living with granite.
Granite we have installed
leathered Black Pearl on a Park Ridge outdoor kitchen, polished Black Pearl in a Western Springs bath, leathered Negresco on a St. Charles outdoor kitchen, Negresco on an Evanston bar, Negresco on a Chicago bar, Titanium Black in a Chicago kitchen, White Valley in a Glencoe kitchen, New River White in a New Berlin kitchen, and Via Lactea on a New Berlin bar.
Where the work is
The granite projects above are in Park Ridge, St. Charles, Western Springs, Glencoe, Evanston, and Chicago, and New Berlin, Wisconsin.
