MTS Team

What Twin Cities Homeowners Are Actually Choosing

The 2025 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study found that engineered quartz led the field at 39% of renovating homeowners, followed by granite at 19%, quartzite at 11%, and marble at 4%. Porcelain slab is the newcomer climbing fast behind them.

Those numbers are a starting point, not an answer. We have been a family-owned tile and stone resource since 1930, and the right material comes down to how your kitchen gets used, how much light it takes, and what you are willing to maintain.

Quartz: The Default for a Reason

Engineered quartz is non-porous, never needs sealing, and comes in consistent patterns across multiple slabs. For a busy family kitchen with a big island, it is the lowest-friction choice on the list.

Its two weak points are heat and ultraviolet light. The resin binder can scorch under a pan straight off the burner and can shift color with years of direct sun.

Pro Tip: A south or west-facing wall of windows over the counter changes our recommendation. In a sun-flooded kitchen or a three-season porch, we steer clients toward porcelain or granite instead of quartz, because UV stability is a material property you cannot fix later with care.

Granite: Hard, Sealed, and Still Underrated

Granite is an igneous stone, genuinely hard, and highly scratch resistant. It handles hot cookware better than any engineered surface and takes a sealer well.

Every slab is one of a kind, which is the appeal and the catch. Two granite slabs from different bundles will not match, so large kitchens need slabs pulled together. Our natural stone collection is sourced from quarries worldwide, and viewing full slabs is the only honest way to judge movement and color.