Forget Midrange Granite: Alison Victoria's Preferred Countertops Are More Luxurious And A Better Investment

Alison Victoria, skilled interior designer and host of the HGTV show "Windy City Rehab," is an expert at transforming upscale, modern homes. She is known for offering tips and tricks for creating a luxurious aesthetic on a budget by combining DIY upgrades and upcycling with cost-saving strategies like finding smart dupes and shopping at discount stores. One of her best suggestions for homeowners planning a kitchen renovation is to skip midrange granite countertops and opt for a material that offers better long-term value and a higher return on investment.

In an interview with HGTV Magazine, Victoria says that granite countertops are gorgeous, but not very user-friendly for most households. She says that one of the disadvantages of granite countertops is that they are naturally porous, making them vulnerable to stains. To protect them, you need to invest a lot of time into maintenance, like sealing them every year. Victoria recommends engineered quartz as an alternative because it is more durable and lower maintenance. She says that midrange granite is roughly the same price as a quartz countertop, making it a smarter investment.

Midrange granite, also called mid-grade or level two granite, is a budget stone that is typically ¾ inch thick. It's designed for daily use in home kitchens, but it isn't as durable as high-grade granite. The average cost of mid-grade granite varieties like Baltic Brown and Giallo Ornamental is between $8 and $55 per square foot. The average price range per square foot for an engineered quartz countertop is $15 to $70.

Engineered quartz countertops were rated highest among all countertop materials by Consumer Reports. These man-made surfaces are manufactured out of a composite of natural quartz, polymer resins, and pigments, resulting in a surface that is non-porous and resistant to stains and chips, so it won't need to be sealed. While you need to protect quartz counters from high heat and sunlight, the surface is incredibly durable – in fact, more durable than granite. With proper care, it can last a lifetime. Conversely, the average lifespan of granite countertops is around 15 to 20 years when carefully maintained.

Quartz requires no special cleaning products or ongoing maintenance costs. Assuming you pay $1,500 to $8,000 for your counters, carefully protect them from damage, and plan to live in your home for the next 60 years, the annual cost of your countertops will run between $25 and $133. Should your countertops get damaged, you may end up paying around $200 to $500 in repair costs, depending upon the location and extent of the damage and who you hire to repair it.

Granite countertops will need to be sealed annually or every 18 months, and store-bought products can cost around 50 cents per square foot. Professional sealing may cost as much as $200 and repairs can cost as much as $1,200. This makes quartz a better choice if you want a kitchen countertop material that offers the best return on investment.