When it comes to choosing kitchen worktops things can get very confusing. If you are refitting your kitchen there are a lot of things to think about such as the cabinets, whether or not you throw out all the old appliances, whether you have room for an island in the middle (which you can use for cooking or as a table at which to eat), the flooring, and, of course, the work surfaces. You also need to consider your budget carefully because it is very easy to overspend.

Just looking at the worktops is enough to make you go cross-eyed. There are so many different choices of materials available, and all of the manufacturers and suppliers are telling you why theirs is the best (obviously). But what do you do? You can use laminates, wood, natural stone, engineered stone, glass, stainless steel – the list is almost never-ending. Every last one of them has their pros and cons.

What do you do? Should you make the choice based on price, on durability, on the hygienic qualities of a material, the look and beauty, whether it can withstand heat next to the hob or whether it can’t, how likely it is to get chipped or cracked if you drop something on it? It can almost make you wish you hadn’t bothered at all.

And yet, there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you want something cheap, go for laminates or perhaps wood. Hardwood surfaces can look great and there is a lot of choice. But they need a lot of maintenance and are subject to staining.

Stainless steel is totally hygienic and very easy to clean. Just wipe it over with a cloth. Job done. But do you really want a kitchen that looks like a hospital surgery or laboratory? Not if you are going to use it as many families do today, which is not only a room in which to cook and eat, but also a place to relax after dinner and watch the TV. Many people today invite friends and guests around for dinner and eat in the kitchen: the dining room has gone the way of the dinosaurs.

Glass? Yes, you can have a toughened glass surface, but whatever you do, don’t drop a heavy saucepan on it!

The fact is that, bearing in mind some of the foregoing, many families today who are refurbishing their kitchens are heading towards natural stone. There are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which is that, apart from the softer stones such as limestone and marble, things like granite and quartzite are extremely tough and hard-wearing. Furthermore, as natural stones, every slab is different and some of them are available in an extraordinary array of colours with incredible patterns in them.

Marble, certainly, can be found in a very wide range of colours, even though many people think of marble as white, but it has an incredible sheen to it. However, it does have the disadvantage of being porous and very susceptible to staining if you spill things on it – things that you would expect to find in the kitchen such as vinegar, lemon juice, red wine, tea, coffee, and so on.

Granite worktops in Berkhamsted, however, are in a different league. Granite is a very, very hard natural stone indeed and comes in a huge range of colours and patterns. Pink, green, blue, black and white, and red granites can all be found and will make a stunning statement in your kitchen. Furthermore, you can use it next to the hob because it is not affected by heat, and it needs virtually no maintenance. It does need sealing every now and again, but once sealed is impervious to stains, oil, cooking fat, vinegar, wine, tea, coffee and almost everything else in the kitchen. All it needs is a wipe over with a damp cloth and perhaps a little detergent.

So if you are having a kitchen refit, consider granite worktops in Berkhamsted. You get beauty combined with strength and virtually no maintenance, so granite is well worth your consideration.