This kitchen came to us as part of a new construction home in the Boerne area of the Texas Hill Country. Our client had a clear priority from the first conversation: the countertops needed to hold up to daily family use without looking like a compromise.
They landed on Bianco Superior quartzite in a leathered finish. Quartzite is one of the harder natural stones we fabricate, and the leathering gives the surface a soft matte texture with a little grip to it, which reads warmer than a high polish and hides fingerprints and water spots far better.
The slab itself does most of the work. Bianco Superior carries a bright white to cream field with natural veining that moves across the surface, so each run of counter looks different depending on where the light hits it. We laid out the slabs so the movement carried through the space rather than stopping at a seam, then fabricated and installed the countertops for the finished kitchen you see here.
Homes across Boerne and the surrounding Hill Country lean on natural materials, and a leathered quartzite fits that setting without feeling fussy. It is a surface the homeowners can actually cook on.
Material used: Quartzite
Location: Boerne, TX
Find answers to the most common questions about our quartzite countertops here.
Quartzite is a metamorphic stone made largely of compressed quartz, which makes it very hard and highly resistant to scratching and to heat from hot cookware. It is more scratch resistant than marble and generally harder than granite. Like any natural stone it is porous, so it should be sealed on installation and resealed periodically. Acidic spills such as citrus, wine, and vinegar should still be wiped up rather than left to sit.
A polished finish is buffed to a reflective shine that deepens the color and makes veining pop. A leathered finish is brushed with abrasive heads that follow the natural texture of the stone, leaving a low sheen matte surface with a subtle grain you can feel. Leathering disguises fingerprints, smudges, and water marks better than polish, which is why it works well on islands and around sinks. It also gives a lighter stone like Bianco Superior a softer, more organic look.
Day to day care is simple. Wipe with warm water and a pH neutral stone cleaner, and skip bleach, ammonia, glass cleaner, and abrasive powders, all of which wear down the sealer over time. Use cutting boards to protect your knives more than the stone, and trivets under anything coming straight off a burner. Reseal on the schedule your fabricator recommends, usually every one to three years depending on the slab and how hard the kitchen gets used. A quick test: drop a little water on the surface, and if it soaks in rather than beading, it is time to reseal.
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