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[11. REALIZE THAT EDGE DETAILS ARE IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF COUNTERTOPS.]
The devil is in the details, and choosing the wrong edge finish for your kitchen and bathroom countertops can create unexpected problems. “Always ask about a countertop’s edge,” says Gibson. “A full bullnose finish is popular, in part because some stone comes manufactured that way from China. But that’s not a great edge choice for a countertop that includes a sink, such as a countertop in a kitchen or a bathroom, because the water wicks around it and goes down the face of the cabinets into your drawers. A bullnose edge is great for a center island where people will sit around a breakfast bar and stroke its edge.”
When it comes to edge detailing and backsplash design, there are a lot of decorative options. “I’ve done frosting with air chisels, and there are laser etchings that take a digitized photo and transfer it to the surface of the stone,” says Rigutto. “That tends to work better with darker colors. It gives you what looks like a black-and-white photograph.”
[12. FINALIZE THE DESIGN OF YOUR TILEWORK BEFORE YOU BUY THE TILE.]
Whether you’re planning a patterned backsplash, a stove surround or a floor, work out the details before making your final material selections. Don’t just buy tile that’s on sale hoping that a pattern will eventually emerge. “People often think that using remnants is a cheaper way to go, but having a design from the beginning is more cost-effective,” says Carlile. “Using remnants is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. It requires a lot more hours of labor from the tilesetter to make everything fit and come up with a design as you go. It’s better to work from the beginning with a designer who knows how to put tile together.”
[13. CONSIDER USING NEW STONE-COMPOSITE PRODUCTS THAT EXPAND THE PLACES IN WHICH YOU CAN INCORPORATE STONE.]
While natural stone will always have the benefit of longevity, there are new materials on the market—think tile made of recycled marble—that increase stone’s appeal and functionality. “I’ve seen a tile that’s a composite of travertine on the top and porcelain on the bottom, which gives you the beauty of travertine and the cutting ease of porcelain,” says Carlile. “A tile like that would be a great choice for a bathroom: The moisture would stop at the travertine level, so the porcelain would provide an extra barrier.”
[14. LET YOUR COOKING STYLE LEAD YOU TO THE PERFECT COUNTERTOP—THEN THINK ABOUT COLOR.]
If your kitchen always looks as if the Swedish chef from “The Muppets” uses it, take that into account when choosing your stone. “I always ask my clients how they really use their kitchen,” says Brandt.
“If you’re a heavy user, granite is probably a better choice for you. If you’re a light user or if you’re very meticulous and always wiping up, then you could go with marble countertops.” Eliminating possibilities early on can make your visits to showrooms more effective. “Different stones are suitable for different applications, so it’s best to eliminate some of those options when you’re choosing a stone for a specific use,” says Ince. “But then there are still hundreds of different colors, so think about which colors you’re looking for in a countertop, as well.”
[15. RESEARCH HOW A COUNTERTOP'S FINISH WILL WEAR ON A DAILY BASIS, AS WELL AS OVER TIME.]
The more you learn about stone and how to maintain it, the more confident you can be in making a good selection. Choosing the right finish can also help protect the countertop and maintain its beauty, which is important if you’ll use a lighter-colored marble or more porous material for your countertop. “I recommend using a matte-like honed finish in the kitchen,” says Ince. “With the polished finish, the polish wears off over time. I also like to encourage people to use stones other than granite in the kitchen. I’m from a stone family, and my family in Turkey is my supplier: My mother has had marble countertops for 15 years, and my sister has the same. My mother’s countertops still look good, and now have a beautiful natural patina.”
[16. BE BOLD IN BOTH YOUR COLOR CHOICES AND YOUR TILE USAGE.]
Would you love to have a kitchen back-splash made of palm tree embellished tiles, but you’re defaulting to white subway tiles for resale purposes? Step away from the tile showrooms and embrace the tile that really speaks to you. “A common mistake people make, particularly when remodeling their kitchens, is to be too safe with their tile choices,” says kitchen and restaurant designer John Hurst of John Hurst Design in Portland. “To encourage my clients to try bold colors, I tell them to pick a few tiles in bolder colors, make a plaque out of them and hang it on the wall. That way they can have bold colors against the subtle pattern on the wall, and if they get tired of it, they can take down the plaque or make a new one.”
[17. HIRE A FABRICATOR WHOHire a fabricator who makes house calls.]
“It’s important to visualize the piece in the space you’re going to have it before the material is fabricated,” says Gibson. “We actually go to your home and make a template and help you figure out how your slab’s pattern should lay. Sometimes, for example, a slab will have one different-colored vein, and we can plan on putting that in the back or getting rid of it when we cut a hole for a sink. The same is true for seams. Most countertops will have seams, and you want to minimize them. When your fabricator comes out, make sure you talk about exactly where the seams will be placed.”
[18. Know that not everything about stone is set in stone.]
If you’ve often heard that marble is more porous than granite, you could conclude that a dark granite is the best choice for a kitchen, but that’s not always the case. “There’s a tendency to throw everything that’s a granite into the same bucket and everything that’s a marble into another,” says Brandt. “In reality, the way a stone is formed in nature creates the density of the material. I have some marbles that have a high-density factor and some granites that are a little softer than marble.”
Remember that just because a marble won’t work with the way you cook, doesn’t mean that you can’t use it somewhere else. “Marble is harder to take care of as a kitchen countertop,” says Ince. “but for a bathroom vanity or floor, there’s no problem.”
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