When it comes to kitchen counter tile nothing compares to the beauty of the natural stone countertop. If you carefully select your natural stone tiles, lay them close together, and match your grout lines, you can create the illusion of a solid slab kitchen countertop.

To achieve this you have the option of using stone tiles of polished granite, honed slate, limestone, marble, or any other stone tile that also comes in a solid slab.

All of these natural stone tiles are available in the same beautiful colors and textures as the solid slabs, but by using tile it makes them a lot less expensive. Tile also makes for a much easier tile installation, and this is a plus for the do it yourself tiler.

Stone tiles can mimic stone slabs when you choose polished, honed, or gauged stone tiles, and these tiles must be rectified. Rectified means the edges of the tiles are squared, so the tiles can be pushed close together.

Carefully select your natural stone tiles so that they are uniform in appearance and also have a fairly solid color. When you choose your tiles in this way, it helps in downplaying the seams.

Limit your grout lines to 1/8 or even better 1/16 of an inch wide. Match your tile grout to your tile color. If needed you can blend a couple of the tile grout colors together.

This will give your natural stone tile countertop the look of a solid slab, but now you need to consider how you will edge your countertop.

For a natural stone countertop you can cut your tiles to fit the edges and if necessary use bullnose tiles around the perimeter of your countertop's surface.

Make sure your grout blends well with your tiles, as this can help in maintaining the illusion of a solid countertop. If the grout is not matched correctly between your edge tiles, it can actually highlight the fact of it being a tiled countertop.

There is a wide variety of kitchen counter tile available today. With careful attention to detail and a touch of creativity, you can have just about any kitchen countertop you can imagine. And if you install your countertop correctly, you'll be able to admire your handiwork for many years to come.