Engineered Stone Ban: Discover the New Era of Kitchen & Bathroom Surfaces

The Changing World of Kitchen and Bathroom Surfaces

The world of surfaces for your kitchen and bathroom is rapidly evolving. With new regulations like the ban on high-crystallised silica in engineered stone, designers and homeowners are rethinking material choices. In response, innovative options have emerged, each bringing its own unique benefits in durability, aesthetics, and safety.

But with so many choices, how do you know which one is right for your home? From the timeless appeal of marble to advanced engineered options like Dekton, porcelain, and solid surfaces such as Corian and Staron, each type has its own strengths and style. At Studio Minosa, we believe that understanding these materials—how they’re made, what they offer, and where they excel—is essential for making informed choices that align with both your lifestyle and design aspirations.

In this Journal post, we’ll walk you through the essentials of each material, whether you’re designing a dream kitchen, a spa-inspired bathroom, or a space that combines both beauty and practicality, let’s explore what each of these surfaces can bring to your home.

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Marble: The Soulful Classic

If there’s a material that embodies timeless luxury, it’s marble. This natural stone, formed deep within the Earth’s crust, is a blend of calcite and dolomite, giving it the stunning veins and swirls that are so sought after. Marble is like a fingerprint—no two slabs are alike. Each piece has a story to tell, with unique patterns shaped over thousands of years.

While undeniably beautiful, marble’s porous nature makes it a choice for those who value elegance and are willing to care for it. With sealing and gentle maintenance, marble can be a beautiful companion in spaces where its artistry takes centre stage.

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Granite: Enduring Strength

Granite tells a story of strength. Forged in volcanic heat and cooled slowly, it’s a stone that resists scratches, stains, and heat, making it a powerful ally in high-traffic kitchens. Composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, granite brings a unique durability that lets it stand up to daily demands. Its rich array of colours and speckled patterns offer versatility, yet each slab maintains a natural allure that adds warmth and character.

Granite is perfect for those who seek a balance of beauty and resilience, a surface that feels at home in both grand and bustling spaces.

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Quartzite: Marble’s Durable Doppelgänger

For clients who adore the look of marble but need more durability, quartzite is a revelation. Formed from sandstone under intense heat and pressure, quartzite is a harder, denser stone with marble-like patterns. It’s a material that combines elegance with resilience, making it an excellent choice for kitchens and bathrooms where both aesthetics and endurance are essential.

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Sintered Stone: Engineered for Life

A marvel of modern technology, sintered stone offers exceptional durability by replicating nature’s own transformative processes. Minerals like quartz and feldspar are subjected to extreme pressure and heat, creating a surface that is virtually impenetrable to stains, scratches, and UV rays. Sintered stone products, while containing silica, have controlled or non-crystallized levels, making them a safe and sustainable option for high-use areas.

For clients with a dynamic lifestyle or those who crave a low-maintenance solution, sintered stone delivers an ideal balance between performance and style.

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Porcelain: Versatile and Contemporary

Porcelain, similar to sintered stone, is engineered through intense heat, but its composition primarily includes kaolin clay, feldspar, and silica—processed to approved and non-crystallized levels for enhanced safety. This versatile material can mimic natural stones, concrete, or even wood, bringing style without the upkeep. Its non-porous nature makes it highly resistant to stains and scratches, and it’s UV-stable, meaning its colour won’t fade in sunlight—a feature that makes it as suited to an outdoor barbecue area as to an elegant kitchen countertop.

Porcelain offers flexibility and durability in designs where style and practicality need to coexist seamlessly.

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Dekton: Pushing Boundaries

Dekton is the epitome of innovation. Engineered by Cosentino, it combines quartz, glass, and porcelain using Particle Sintering Technology, a process that mimics how nature creates stone, only faster and more precisely. The result? An ultra-compact, non-porous surface that can withstand everything from high heat to UV exposure, making it perfect for both indoor and outdoor installations.

Dekton’s cutting-edge composition makes it a choice for clients who want a surface that’s nearly indestructible without compromising on aesthetic appeal.

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Solid Surfaces: Seamless and Adaptable

Solid surfaces, including brands like Corian and Staron, offer a versatile and adaptable option. Composed of acrylic polymers and natural minerals, solid surfaces are crafted to provide seamless joins and fluid designs. Their non-porous, stain-resistant nature makes them hygienic and easy to maintain, with a soft-touch finish that invites interaction. And because they can be moulded into unique shapes, solid surfaces are ideal for custom cabinetry, integrated sinks, and creative applications in kitchens and bathrooms.

With a range of colours and textures, solid surfaces are perfect for achieving a modern, cohesive look, bringing a sense of simplicity and flow to any design.

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The Art of Material Selection

At the heart of every design decision is one question: How will you live in this space? The materials you choose should not only complement your aesthetic but also support your lifestyle. If you dream of a grand statement kitchen where form meets function, granite, quartzite, or Dekton might be your ideal companions. For the serene luxury of a marble-clad bathroom or a vanity that feels like an escape, marble will always be the go-to.

Each material we select is a reflection of your story—how you live, what you love, and the moments you want to create in your home. Whether it’s the warmth of a solid surface like Corian or Staron, the raw beauty of natural stone, or the cutting-edge durability of Dekton, our goal is to ensure that every surface you touch feels like an extension of your design vision.

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The Studio Minosa Approach

At Studio Minosa, we treat every project as an opportunity to bring a client's dream to life. Our job isn’t just to select materials—it’s to curate a palette of textures and surfaces that make your home not only beautiful but functional for years to come. Through thoughtful consideration of your lifestyle and design aspirations, we guide you through the selection process, ensuring that every stone, every surface, every touchpoint enhances the way you live in your space.

Because at the end of the day, design isn’t just about how it looks—it’s about how it feels.

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