Honed Granite vs Polished Granite: Which is Right for Your Kitchen Countertops?

Granite countertops are incredibly popular, and it isn't hard to see why. Combining a sought-after natural appearance with incredible durability and timeless style, granite is more or less ideal, but you'll still need to make some decisions after landing on it as your countertop material of choice. Before you start to consider colour, one thing you should really think about is how you want your granite finished during your kitchen renovation.

The finishing process involves the application of abrasive pads to soften the natural roughness of the stone, and the most common finishes for granite countertops are honed and polished. Here's a quick look at the relatively strengths of each option.

Why Should You Choose Honed Granite Countertops?

With honed granite, the finishing process is stopped before the stone takes on a mirrored sheen. For homeowners who want a more natural appearance, it's a far superior choice since it doesn't have that very modern reflectiveness. The look is at once more casual and more traditional, and you'll probably prefer it if your kitchen lets in a lot of natural light since polished granite can create quite a lot of glare.

Honed granite is also a good choice if you're worried about scratching the surface of your countertop. It will take a scratch just as easily as polished granite, but the scratch won't show as easily since the light won't catch it. Additionally, the matte surface of honed granite makes any etching hard to see.

Why Should You Choose Polished Granite Countertops?

The finishing process goes on a little longer for polished granite to create that trademark reflective sheen, so you might assume that it's the more expensive option. In fact, polished granite tends to be less expensive than honed granite since it is more popular and therefore easier to keep in stock. 

One of the reasons people tend to like polished granite is its ability to improve the amount of light in your kitchen. If you don't have very many windows, the reflective quality of the stone can help spread the light around. However, probably the most compelling benefit of polished granite over honed granite is maintenance. Since the polishing process creates a completely non-porous surface, you won't need to reseal your countertops as frequently as you would with honed granite. With honed granite, the slightly porous surface makes it a lot easier for stains to be made if you spill certain food or drink.

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