Friday, July 6, 2012

Counter Tops

Counter Tops
There are several new trends out there for counter top styles. Counter tops are being made of laminate, solid surface, granite, concrete, and quartz.

A very modern look is the water fall were the counter top on two sides extends to the floor. The above drawing depicted this trend on the island. This space is modern with the use of dark woods, Natural Wenge, and white counter tops in white Zeus Extreme by Silestone. We used open shelves with closed in cabinets and glass doors cabinets.

This drawing also features another trend for counter tops which is quartz. "Silestone is a compound made of natural quartz, which makes it extraordinarily hard and resilient. This is the one and only countertop made of quartz with bacteriostatic protection, giving it hygienic properties that are not to be found anywhere else on the market. It is an excellent surface for kitchen countertops, bathrooms, floors and wall cladding using the minimum number of joints." from silestone web site


Another trend is not having a high bar but a standard table height that surrounds the island.  This is great for those that hate the high bar stools, like my family. We are short people and our feet never hit right.  It is also great for families with small children. The above drawings shows this trend with the use of gray cabinets and Lyra Silestone Nebula Series, a white counter top.

Also the thickness of counter tops are changing.  A new trend is to have a very thick counter top. Standard are 3/4" and 1 1/4" thick but as a designer I'm seeing a lot of clients asking for 1-1/2", 2" and 3" thick.

Above is a collection of standard counter top edges top edges that can be done in solid surfaces, granite or siltstone.

These are just a few ideas for those of you considering counter top changes in your future.