KITCHEN is, according to many, the most important room in a house, often called as the "heart of the home."
It is where people invest a lot to upgrade as it is the area where people prepare meals. Family and friends gather in this culinary area of the house to socialize, eat and cook together.
And in the eyes of realtors, a house's resale depends greatly on its kitchen.
Thus, when it comes to building one's kitchen, a keen eye on the details and quality materials are needed.
Possibly one of the important decisions you need to make when assembling your kitchen is choosing a material for your kitchen countertop as it involves budgeting. And at the same time, looking for its aesthetic and practical functions.
A well-chosen countertop serves not just as a good design element for your kitchen, but also makes it more useful and easier to maintain.
There are a variety of materials or slabs that can be used for kitchen countertops, namely: granites, marble, travertines, onyxes, engineered quartz, among others.
Apart from the materials, cost, and design, you will also have to consider hiring a skilled professional to fabricate and install your stone slabs.
Kagay-anons, though, will have no difficulties in looking for all these things on their list as there exist a company that can give you the high-quality kitchen countertop materials and provide services needed for fabrication and installation.
Stone Depot opened its doors to Kagay-anons last February of this year with the aim to reach further new clients in Northern Mindanao.
First established in Cebu City by Miguel Aquino Jr., the company fabricates and installs various applications out of granite, marble and engineered quartz slabs, like kitchen countertops and bathroom vanity tops.
Composed of a team of young and driven individuals who share a passion for creativity, professionalism, and fun, they take care of things personally and "do the dirty work" themselves.
"Being on the field allows us to be on top of every situation. It helps us take immediate action for every feedback we get," they said.
Stone Depot's team compare their craft to the art of origami which involves "transforming simple materials into many forms of applications."
"Akin to folding paper into various shapes and figures, we turn slabs of stones into well-designed installations, such as countertops and vanity tops, for for any office or home," they added.
The team also believed that "every project should imbue timelessness and elegance like marble."
Stone Depot's first branch in Mindanao is in Davao, followed by Cagayan de Oro City.
According to Rhea Aguilar, sales assistant of Stone Depot Cagayan de Oro, that despite establishing a branch this year, they're "doing good."
She added that offering their customers the opportunity to customize their countertops give them an advantage in the industry.
"Ang samin kasi is through materials. It means, for example you're making your kitchen beautiful. Yung sizes kasi namin dito, open sya to all sizes. So meaning, may sukat kang hinahanap para sa kitchen mo. Mahahanap mo sya dito, compared to others. Yung iba kasi fixed na yung sizes nila. So fabricated na sya," Aguilar said.
"So pagbibili pa, kung ano yung binili nila, yun na talaga ang ilalagay sa kitchen mo. Unlike this one, you could create more on your kitchen, kung ano yung gusto mo sa kitchen mo," she added.
Another advantage, Aguilar shared, is their willingness to help first time homeowners in deciding what countertop is best for their kitchen.
"Hindi kami yung nagbebenta ng nagbebenta, hindi. May round table discussion din kami kung ano yung gusto nila para mas swak talaga kung ano ang hinahanap nila," she added.
In line with Cagayan de Oro's celebration of its Higalaay Festival, Stone Depot is offering a 5 percent discount (maximum of P2,000) to all their products from August 22 to 31.
With their vision to be the benchmark of the country's stone industry, Stone Depot has further expanded its services to Iloilo City, where they will be opening its fourth branch late 2019.