Here are some things you should know about granite as a material for making a kitchen countertop with, before you go ahead and order one for your own kitchen:

Resilience
Granite is acknowledged to be one of the sturdiest materials known to mankind, which gives ample resistance from staining. However, one must remember that is has a pourous consistency and demands frequent sealing. Also, its density is about the same as that of a vitrified tile and reacts in similar ways to heat and water as a vitrified tile does.

Strength
Most other tiles or countertop surfaces, especially those made of man made materials, have strength ratings written on the packaging boxes. Granite however, does not come with any ratings as it is a natural stone. Its strength often varies and thus a granite piece that is to serve as a kitchen countertop is thicker than the one used to make tiles.

Here are some pointers on how to choose the colour of the granite countertop that you would like to install in your kitchen:

* Find out the nearest warehouse that gives you a wide variety of colours and textures. It is quite possible that you may get a granite piece with colour and texture of your choice. Also, ensure they have the exact size of a granite countertop for you to see whether the size fits your need or it has to be altered.

* It is important that you match the countertop with the colour of the kitchen cabinets as well as the tiles of the floor. Keep a sample of each ready or else, if you are making changes in your existing house, at least take a picture of the floor and the kitchen countertops to show it to the person at the warehouse. With those in hand, it will be easier for you to match – all you need to do is hold the cabinet sample and the floor tile sample on top of the samples of granite that are shown to you and see which one fits best.

* Make sure you settle for the one you like best! It is an investment that you will have made, and you have to make sure the money that you spend goes in the right direction. As you will be spending many an hour in your kitchen, so you must find the colours that make you want to come to the kitchen, not make you stay away from it!

* Ask the people at the warehouse to show you five to six slabs of the same colour and texture that you just chose and make sure that they have the same colours, that they do not have any dark and light spots that look ugly or unsightly and are not chipped or broken at the edges. Finally, ask the people at the warehouse if they can provide you with a handyman who could come to your house to take measurements.