The Kitchen & The Countertop Controversy

This will be the fourth kitchen we have designed and built. As with anything you do in life, each time I learn something new. Some things I would change and some things I would do again. Countertops seem to be where I learn the most. Our first kitchen was in our remodel. We had a speckled type quartz slab countertop. It was a sand color and reminded me of the beach. I loved it soooo much! Quartz is one of the most durable and tough countertop materials out there. It is more durable than granite. This countertop hid every thing and gleamed when it was clean.

Contemporary Kitchen Countertops by Vancouver Interior Designers & Decorators Christine Austin Design

We did a more solid tan-ish quartz in our last home. It didn't have little quartz specks nor a color variation. I initially loved it because it had the smooth concrete countertop look. BIG mistake (to me at least). It showed every crumb and water spot. When it was clean and dry it was beautiful, but let's be realistic, the kitchen is the most lived in room in our house.

 

I made another mistake by putting honed black granite in the kitchen of one of Joe's spec homes (see above). I didn't learn until months later that it is a big NO NO in the design world! I guess it shows everything too. It looked so nice though. I hope the homeowners don't hate it now that they have lived in it.
 

Onto the "next house's" kitchen. I have always dreamed of a crisp white kitchen, but was always too scared to do it. This time we are going for it! It seems to me that white cabinets are the most timeless. I feel like there are beautiful stained wood cabinets out there, but in some cases you can tell how old the house is by the color of the stained cabinets. With white it is ageless!

Here are some pictures of inspiration that helped us create our future kitchen.

Traditional Kitchen by Boston Architects & Designers Jan Gleysteen Architects, Inc

There are so many elements from this kitchen that we are bringing into ours.
The white cabinets with the inset shaker doors and drawer fronts.
The feet and posts of the cabinets that go all the way to the ground with no toe-kick.
The box beam ceiling.
The white subway tile backsplash and farm sink.
 

Traditional Kitchen by Seattle Design-Build Firms RW Anderson Homes

 

We love the design of this hood over the range. So clean and simple.

 

We found this beautiful blend of contemporary and traditional, pull down faucet on Amazon.com.

 

The Countertop Controversy!

 

Most of the pictures of kitchen inspiration I found have marble countertops. Marble is so beautiful and so timeless, but not ideal for our family. Marble is a delicate, porous stone that requires a lot of TLC. I don't have time to give my countertops TLC. I need something that can handle life being lived. At the same time, I LOVE the look of white Carrera Marble. I have been researching for a year for the durable alternative to marble. Here are my findings...

 

Quartz:

Like I said before, quartz is very durable and low maintenance. Quartz is a composite "man mad" material therefore it can be found in a variety of colors. Some quartz countertops are actually made of quarried slabs of the natural stone, but the new engineered material is actually created through a manufacturing process that mixes about 95 percent ground natural quartz with 5 percent polymer resins. Brands of quartz countertops such as CeaserStone and SileStone have created a somewhat marble look to their slabs. Here are some options to get that marble look.

 

Q Premium Natural Quartz: Fairy White
 

Bianco River by Silestone USA

Natural Quartzite:
This may be the answer to my prayers. Quartzite is quartz so it has the durability. But unlike it's engineered counterpart, it comes from a quarry (a.k.a. The Earth). Like other natural stones of marble and granite, quartzite has a natural movement of lines running through it. Once I discovered this, I was in search of a quartzite that looked like marble.

Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing.......
           White Macaubus Quartzite!!!!!

Contemporary Kitchen by Cherry Hill Tile, Stone & Countertops Stoneshop

       OOOOOOO! AAAAAAAA!

Traditional Kitchen by Chicago Interior Designers & Decorators TZS Design
 

I recently talked with a very knowledgeable lady, Laura, at Global Granite. She explained how great this stone is as an alternative to marble. Laura also explained that sometimes it can be difficult to work with the very linier veins of White Macaubus. Apparently because the veins run somewhat uniformly in the same direction, it is hard to seam it together in U shaped kitchens. She is the first person, out of many, that I have asked who actually knows about this type of quartzite. We have sent her our kitchen plan and she will tell us if it is workable or not. Fingers crossed!

So there it is, the bits of inspiration that created our future kitchen. I am so excited to see our kitchen come to life and LIVE in it!

**Again, I am not a professional designer. These are all just opinions from my experiences. :-)