concrete, granite, quartz & other Kitchen Countertops
Portfolio of Innovative Countertops ( Continued) back
Isle of Height
Another way to differentiate countertops is through the varying of surface heights – especially on islands, the designers agree.
“We’re seeing more and more of that,” says Stephen Rosenblatt, president of Petaluma, CA-based Sonoma Cast Stone, Corp. “In fact, we are working on an oval island that must be about 14-feet long. It is a huge thing and it is in a bright, white concrete. It is very attractive.”
Moon continues: “No longer does the client have to do something at a place that is uncomfortable for them. When they are baking, they want the height to be a little lower because they like to hold the bowl a little lower. We can fit that into the island and put a lower section [and try to] use different heights.”
Rosenblatt concludes: “The bottom line is that good designers are recognizing that the kitchen is a place to congregate, and therefore needs to be made more comfortable.”
Easy Does It
Edge treatments are also becoming less decorative in order to project a simpler, cleaner look.
“More often than not it’s an eased edge,” says Rosenhaus.
Rosenblatt agrees: “Typically, just the straight edges are the most popular with a slight radius on top.”
He continues: “We do a lot of ogee edging and beveled edging, as well as edging with metal put into it. We have also done some edging with the angle on it for a hard, industrial look. It is a metal angle all the way around with the concrete matching at the seam exactly at the same level. It all becomes very level looking.”
Gaylor also sees the same treatment being requested by her clients.
“An eased edge is all I ever do as a designer. It has a very plain, slab-like look to it. I generally try to shy away from anything that is [overly] curvy or fancy,” she says.
Moon adds: “On the wood tops, we do anywhere from 2" to 3" edges because that big, beefy wood look is really popular.”
To complement the look, other areas of the top are typically done in granite at 1-1/4", she notes.
“Bigger edges are popular because people like drama,” she says.
Wattles agrees: “We’re finding a lot of requests to go to a 2", and sometimes even a 3" top.”
Moon concludes: “There is much more of the simple edging being done right now, especially with the clean-lined look going on so much. The eased, 90-degree edge creates a very clean and very simple looking edge. It is very consistent with the clean-lined cabinetry and European-styling we are seeing taking effect overall.”
next page
|
