Why black granite keeps winning the kitchen

Black granite has become the default choice for kitchen worktops, and it earns the position on maintenance as much as on looks. A dark, tight-grained ground hides the daily marking that shows immediately on a pale stone, and it takes a polish that survives years of cleaning.

The range is wider than most buyers expect. An absolute black reads as a solid plane with no visible pattern; a multi black carries grey and white flecking that breaks up a long run; a titanium black brings metallic movement that works better as a feature than as a background.

Specify by how much pattern you want to see from across the room, not by the name. Names vary between quarries — the same stone is sold under three or four of them.