Hi, I love the look of marbles as kitchen counter tops but am hesitant because of the problems with staining. There are lots of vitrifed glazed floor tiles which give beautiful marble look. Is it advisable to use them as kitchen counter tops? Since they come in 4x2 ft size, the number of joints will be less. Will they be chemically safe around food? Thanks in advance

I have used both with good results. The main difference between Quartz and Granite are 1) price, 2) colour range. Granite generally works out cheaper, because you can buy the exact quantity you require. Quartz comes in large slabs of specific sizes- standard size being roughly 10'-0" x 4'6", so there tends to be more wastage if you don't plan the cutting well. But Quartz is pretty and comes in a wide range of colours and can be re-buffed at a later date. Quartz also comes in various thicknesses- the most commonly used being .75" to about 1.25". And especially when you use dark wood cabinets in a kitchen or bathroom, beige and white counter tops work very well. Some people go even with coloured counter tops like blue, orange, yellow. Natural stone in light colours tend to be porous and stain easily, so I prefer to go with pure black which is safe.

Please post the image of the kitchen...

There are several companies such as AGL, Johnson, Baba, Kalinga etc that makes engineered quartz in India. The choices of colors they offer also quite extensive. The prices of these quartz are not that much higher than good quality granite. So visit one of these showrooms to get a touch and feel of these materials.