I use a mug. 
And my electric kettle sits directly on my countertop.
I have saucers. I use them to feed the cat, or sometimes to hold a cookie or a tea bag. But mostly i brew tea from loose leaves, like a proper lady.
1 Like
Exactly. This is why I said:
Preach. Tile floors in kitchens are awful. I have no clue why anyone would purposely do that to themselves and can only surmise that they must hate cooking.
This. If you like the look of marble, find a quartz or granite that has that look.
Marble is too fragile for a kitchen or bath imo. A friend has absolutely gorgeous marble in her kitchen - and itās all but unusable because sheās soooo careful with it. Keeps it covered in place mats so literally nothing sits on it. Thatās dumb if you ask me (which no one did).
My SO is a contractor and he refuses to put marble in kitchens. Flat wonāt do it.
Thatās insane. If quartz is that fragile, Iām feeling very pleased with my unfashionable choice of granite (in the late 2010s - ha!).
4 Likes
Agreed! I love granite countertops. Theyāre the bomb.
1 Like
I couldnāt do a marble kitchen, Iām a messy chef. Iām considering marble for the master bath - but worst case, I ruin it, and thatās a thousand bucks. Iām much neater in the bathroom so Iām not too worried about marbleā¦ but still leaning towards soapstone right now.
Well at the risk of stating the obvious:
212 > 150
Iām not exactly sure how hot the bottom of an air fryer or electric griddle gets, but it seems entirely plausible that itās a temperature in between 150 and 212.
1 Like
Yeah, I donāt want a maintenance project, or something too precious to use. Thatās why I like my sealed granite slab. My mother has some kind of engineered stone and hers has held up beautifully. But she doesnāt use āgadgetsā like an Instant Pot or griddle. About the only cooking she does thatās not in the oven or stove is the toaster, which lives on a cutting board, and a waffle iron, which she puts on the kitchen table. Iād be terrified Iād forget though.
Formica gets high marks for usability/maintenance too, but itās not as beautiful as granite.
I have cambria quartz countrrtops, never had an issue with crock pots or toaster ovens or anything. I have a toaster oven I use a few times a day, and itās been on for over an hour at a time. They arenāt a white base, so possibly any minor discoloration is hidden, but otherwise nothing noticeable.
Granite can crack from rapid temperature changes or variations across the surface. Most needed regular sealing when I last looked.
Pros and cons of just about everything. I have had good experiences with quartz.
I have definitely heard mixed reviews on quartz and some seems to hold up better than others. Itās possible my friend had poor quality quartz, but of course thatās not really something I can ask her.
āHey, I heard your quarts are shit based on my researchā
At the time, cambria seemed to have the best stimulated natural patterns. This was 7 years ago. Some of the other brands at the time were just weird mixes of different colors. Some of their newer patterns look really nice.
I have some kind of engineered marble in the family bath. The walls and floors are kinda marble, that seems to be about as hard as marble, and the vanity is Corian in a matching color. Itās worked fine. I donāt use hot pots or sharp knives in the bathroom, nor have i ever dropped a pot or dish in the bathroom.
The marble is pretty. I like it.
1 Like
It depends on the granite. I specifically shopped for one that was heat-resistant. That meant i had to get a moderately fine-grained, simple speckled slab. (And i didnāt seal it.) I routinely take the hot broiler pan and put it on that surface. I donāt put the hot frying pan on it because Iām afraid the thermal stress might damage the pan, but Iām not at all worried about the stone. The unsealed granite has stained, but the discoloration is surprisingly even across the slab, and i barely noticed until i pulled out a spare chunk of granite to compare.
Thatās my guess.
Confirmed I 100% baby my countertops (this was before I found out I could possibly melt themā¦ found out on here, just now).
I guess I was already in the habit since I knew how much I paid for the 10 foot island slab in my former McMansion.
Husband has been warned.
Hmmm. Hadnāt thought about porcelain. Have to ask SO about that.
The comparison chart at the end of this article is helpful.
Second picture is what I currently have in mind. But I could be persuaded differently.
Weāve had quartz for about 3 years now. Weāve made many a meal in our slow cooker and Foodi. No ill affects whatsoever on the surface.
I have quartz (silestone specifically). I donāt particularly love the design I picked, but it has held up just fine. itās a white with grayish shades, and doesnāt really show stains, or if it does, it just blends with the grayish shades. Iāve had it for almost 7 years.