When you’re considering a remodel, there are so many design options that we find our client’s often becoming overwhelmed with the choices and the material selection decisions that clients need to make. We want to simplify our clients’ process by breaking down the options into design categories and explaining them thoroughly; this will give you a focused learning experience without too many distractions.
Today we will be focusing on countertops. Whether it’s your master bath, powder bath, hall bath, kitchen, office, or garage remodel, you’ll find that you need countertops in almost every room you use. And you will also find innumerable material options from the type of material to the design on the material and designs or patterns you can make out of non-patterned material. We will share the pros and cons of each countertop material with you and why you may consider each of them.
Related: 25 Southern California Kitchen Designs and Why We Love Them
Choose a Material that Fits Your Lifestyle
You want to be sure that you select a material that fits your lifestyle and space usage for the room for which we’re selecting countertops. For example, if you are an avid home chef and love wine, marble does not belong in your kitchen. Marble is highly porous and absorbs liquids faster than a college frat boy. All the bakers in the house are grimacing now. However, not to worry. We can design that perfect spot to have a small marble slab to roll out your dough. Often you can have this built into your island as a pull-out or embedded into a design. And for the rest of us, quartz has become the new popular kid on the block and our savior due to low maintenance and stunning designs made available through manufacturers.
Countertop Aesthetics
For the lavish countertop lover, we can confirm you are not alone. Aesthetics is more critical to most homeowners than anything else. Unfortunately, if we do not guide you in this process, you may find yourself with material installed that just won’t work with your lifestyle – sunk costs for material that you now cannot tolerate in your space because of the stains and chips. Not to fret, there are plenty of stunning countertop materials that now mimic some of your favorite natural stones. Again, quartz comes to mind as an excellent, manufactured material designed to look like marble, granite, and quartzite.
Designing to Your Layout
You want your house to flow, and if you have an open concept, you’ll like it even more as the materials between rooms are visible. Consider this and possibly where you may want to resurface a bookshelf or match your fireplace to your kitchen.
Even if your home is not an open concept, you will want to keep the flow and color palette as not to have too much going on in your home that it feels disjointed. You can do this by having some base colors in your color palette and using similar under-toned accent colors. From blues to greens, to purples would be a good example when paired with gray as the neutral color.
Related: Remodeling? Why You Need a Residential Designer
Tile vs. Solid Surface
Nowadays, most folks think of solid surface materials and find tile to be passe. In reality, tile has become a creative way to use the posh and pricey material that you cannot afford in a slab, but when that material is in tile form, boom, your budget has met its match!
The modern design also has tile installations with practically no grout lines, making your material look that much grander. Tile is also handy for low maintenance as most folks that survived the 80s know the toothbrush cleaning drill on white grout. Another reason for choosing tile is it is easier to repair if it becomes chipped or scratched.
And of course, the benefit to a solid surface is the ease of maintenance—no grout to consider or get caught on. Beautiful clean and uninterrupted design enables waterfall design and ceiling height continuous material, giving you an expansive and luxurious feel in your new space.
Are you looking for help considering your countertop replacement options? Check out Sea Pointe Design & Remodel today!
Edging
When using solid surfaces, you will also have edging options to consider when designing your countertops. Edging is an aesthetic feature on your countertops that contour the edge of your countertops to a design that meets your style; from traditional to modern and contemporary, there are dozens of edging styles from which to choose.
Certain materials are more brittle than others making some edging options unavailable to certain materials. More complex edging will work better on softer natural stones than harder ones.
Eco-friendly
If you are a greenie and consider your environment in everything you do, you may want to consider more eco-friendly options when choosing your countertops. If you wish for natural stone, you will want to source it locally to reduce your transportation emissions.
Or you may opt for even more eco-friendly materials such as recycled glass and concrete countertops. You may also consider stainless steel for the clean and eco-friendly chef look, or an alternative may be natural wood – just don’t cut on your wood countertops as you don’t want them looking like your cutting board.
Think About Long Term Maintenance
While we all want that gorgeous kitchen with stunning countertops, we must pause to ask at what never-ending cost. Cleaning is something that cannot be purchased at the mile of tile in Anaheim; rather, you will be in charge of the day-to-day maintenance of your new countertops. Choose wisely!
Both granite and marble must be sealed annually and are difficult/expensive to repair. Again, quartz is the hero here and probably why the name keeps popping up; it checks most of the boxes for aesthetics and maintenance needs in the short and long-term.
Are you considering fresh countertops for your kitchen or bath? Check out Sea Pointe Design & Remodel to find solutions!
Consider Sink Mounting
Design evolves just like everything else. As with solid surfaces taking the countertop market by storm, under-mounted sinks have astonished the market. Above mounted sinks have been the more traditional with two basins.
Under-mounted sinks have many options and styles to choose from, making it fun to pair with your new countertop design. Most under-mounted sinks are one large rectangular basin that neatly fits under your countertop surface and is held between the cabinetry and countertop. You can choose from copper, hammered metal, porcelain, stainless steel, colored porcelain, and many more options. Your designer has your back here and will show you options that meet your design style. The only limitation with under-mounted sinks is that they work best with solid surface countertops like granite, concrete, marble, and quartz.
What’s Your Budget
It may have been prudent to start with this, but we do hope you’re still in fact-gathering mode, so it’s not too late to start your project off right. Be sure to understand what portion of your budget will be spent on countertops so you can plan accordingly.
Let your designer know your budget, and they will be sure to steer you in the right direction to avoid sticker shock. And as mentioned, there are clever ways to get the desired look you want, you just need to know the ins and outs of design, and that’s why we’re here to help!
Related: Are Home Improvements Tax Deductible?
Talk to a Countertop Design Professional
While we know quartz is the popular kid and superhero to low-maintenance needs, there are still dozens of options within quartz and outside of quartz pending your style. Your professional designer studies these materials and frequently meets with the material miners to learn more about available opportunities. Let the professionals do the heavy lifting, and you sit back and enjoy the design process.
If you are looking to remodel your home or freshen up your kitchen with new countertops and backsplash, give us a shout. (949) 861-3400.