Outdoor Kitchen Countertops

Stone that lives outside.

Granite and quartzite are dense natural stones that take heat and hold their color in the sun. Some slabs are filled with resin at the factory, and that resin can fade or darken outside. For outdoor work, a slab without resin holds up better. Both are sealed, and resealed when a few drops of water, left for 15 minutes, darken the stone.

Some quartz goes outside too: lines made and warrantied for outdoor use, such as Diresco BIO-UV and Caesarstone Outdoor. Standard indoor quartz stays inside, because its resin yellows and fades in sun. Large-format porcelain is fired, not bound with resin, so sun and frost do not change it.

Marble stays inside. Rain etches it, and water that soaks in and freezes cracks it.

Both outdoor kitchens below are leathered granite: Black Pearl in Park Ridge and Negresco in St. Charles. A leathered finish hides water spots and fingerprints. In Park Ridge, a hand-broken edge sits against a stacked stone base.