In Top Form

Creating a spectacular countertop design sometimes requires a counter-intuitive approach. Whether it’s mixing and matching the unexpected, taking a countertop material and using it in a different application or adding a unique edge treatment, the best countertop projects are often the ones that bring something different to the table.

Of course it’s important to meet clients’ aesthetic and functional demands, but sometimes the addition of something out of the ordinary is what really makes the design.

Kirsten McElwaine, owner of Kirsten’s Kitchens in West Chester, PA, explains: “The keys to a dynamic countertop application are color, texture, proportion and the ‘wow’ factor. The unexpected is always a winner.”

Bobby Leatherwood, who along with his two sons owns and designs for the Canyon Lake, TX-based Picassa Crete, notes that edge treatments are equally important in getting that “wow” effect. The kitchen and bath design firm owner and manufacturer of the Old World Stone Countertop System (made from manufactured limestone), states: “We look at colors in the immediate areas and then the design of the entire room. The hardest part is to design which edge fits the home, and what type of stone look to achieve.”

Of course, performance and ease-of-maintenance remain important considerations, and today’s consumers seem to gravitate toward products that are as functional and “health conscious” as they are beautiful.

Mix and Match

The mixing and matching of materials remains a hot trend for several reasons. First of all, this allows consumers to create an eclectic look, personalizing their spaces with both the material choices and the placement of those materials.

Mixing and matching materials also helps to use color, either sparingly or boldly, as well as create texture and balance. It can create different surfaces for different purposes. And, mixing and matching countertop materials allows consumers to benefit from being able to enjoy high-end materials, even if they are working on a tight budget.

“Today there is so much integration of different materials,” says Tom Trzcinski, CMKBD and principal of Trzcinski Design Group Kitchen & Bath Concepts in Pittsburgh, PA. “We’re seeing a lot of stone being combined with elevated glass – that type of thing is being done quite a bit,” he notes.

Sometimes, one surface will be used to add high drama, while the other surfaces play a supporting role. Other times, several lower-profile countertop choices are combined to create a clean and streamlined look. However, whether it’s one material or several, natural materials and hues remain a hot trend.

Trzcinski notes that, in some cases, this can create challenges. For instance, he frequently deals with clients’ desire to use wood surfaces because of their warm, natural feel, yet he needs to also consider the durability factor. “This is especially true around lavatories,” he says.

He recounts a recent master bath project where he addressed this issue. “It was a contemporary bath where we had almost an 8" or 9" band across the front of the cabinetry. We wanted to design it to look like it was a big block of wood, but we inset quartz into the top of it to give it a durable finish,” he says. “Aesthetically, the color tone of the quartz was the same as the wood, and we used vessel bowls to give it the durability and the look we wanted.”

Another project he worked on featured integrated glass built into the countertop. He states: “We glued the edge of the glass right into the surface of the stone. It was all at the same level, but you could see the difference naturally where the glass ended and the stone was situated. It was all melded together so all we had to do was just smooth it out.”