For and against the artificial stone in the kitchen: we deal with the pros

Granite worktop or bar countermarble? How about the gold-veined ore apron above the work area? If you decide to use artificial stone in your kitchen, you won't be able to do something impossible. Stone is one of the oldest materials for decoration. One of the most beautiful and most expensive. Until recently, he remained so. Until an artificial stone appeared. Is the replacement equivalent? Let's try to figure it out together. Artificial stone is made from stone chips, various fillers, polyester resins - and then it is an agglomerate; from clay and mineral additives - and then it is porcelain stoneware; and there are also options from colored concrete. Any of these materials is perfect as a finishing or basic material in the production of furniture and equipment: countertops, bar counters, sinks, sinks. And recently, they have even been used to decorate window sills, walls and floors. A variety of fillers allows imitating the pattern of any natural stone. Moreover, you can apply a picture to the stone. With the help of new processing methodsthe artificial stone is given any shape. And then you get the sinks and washbasins that make up the whole with the desktop. For equipment that is constantly in contact with water, this is very valuable. Artificial stone has a fairly high strength and durability. It is difficult to spoil or scratch. Marina Chernova, designer:- It is difficult to find another material like artificial stone that would be so easily combined with almost any other. And the variety of its types allows the use of artificial stone in a variety of interiors, no matter what design style they belong to. The ability to easily remove any dirt, soot, organic stains from a surface made of artificial stone makes this material the most popular for the production of aprons for kitchens and work tables. Artificial stone gives unlimited opportunities for furniture designers, since it can produce furniture of any configuration. Svetlana Ozerova, Natalia Yung, bureau designersprivate interiors Oybureau: - The undoubted advantages of artificial stone include its rich decorative possibilities. The material is presented in a wide palette of colors, it can be monochromatic, have a grainy pattern or a rich "stone" texture, interspersed. The surface of the artificial stone can be from mirror-glossy-smooth to velvety-matte and even the so-called "vulcanized" - pleasantly uneven, imitating a hewn stone. The disadvantage of this material is its artificiality - the composite is not suitable for adherents of ecodesign. It will not grow old with us, will not give unique natural patterns, like natural stone or wood, will not tell a unique story of its origin. This material is very modern in its spirit and, in our opinion, is unlikely to be appropriate in the traditional interiors of country estates and "old Moscow" apartments. And due to the number of copies inherent in artificial stone, it should not be used in exclusive, individual, especially classic interiors. It is better to turn to the variety of natural stone. facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004683243495 The artificial stone has another importantadvantage: if the interior of the kitchen bores you, you can always change it, because an artificial stone, unlike a natural one, is relatively inexpensive.