Whether you choose marble, quartz, granite, or butcher block you want your countertops to be pleasing to the eye, feel satisfying to the touch, stand up to what you expect of them, and critically, crucially- get better in all aspect with age. . Whether it’s stone, metal or lacquer paint do you want the material to patina and acquire character rather than wear out or look cheap; if the surface is wood, you want to cherish the finger marks and knife scars, The physical record of satisfying use.