Kitchen counters
What Material Should My Toe Kicks Be? You might assume your toe kick — that small vertical area between your floor and base cabinets — has to match the material of your cabinets. But what if your cabinets aren’t one consistent color? Or what if you’ve used a sparkling white cabinet, but you don’t want the toe kick to get dirty every time it gets, well, kicked? If your island is a different material from the rest of the cabinets, you can let its toe kick differ from the main cabinets. Another option is to use a third material that ties all the cabinets together: Stainless steel makes a great toe kick if you have stainless appliances or handles, tying the whole palette together.
One of the most popular choices for a counter profile is the “bullnose” or demi-bullnose option, which means essentially a half circle or quarter circle. The look is less “sharp” than a minimalist eased edge, but so is the experience of bumping into it by accident. Ultimately it’s a decision that comes down to personal priorities. A very rounded edge is not always the best choice for laminates though. The edge tends to give away that the material is fake because the curves look unnatural.
When mixing wood counters with other wood finishes, it’s often best to stick to either warm or cool tones across the board. Red-brown woods are more traditional, while ashy gray tones have been a popular modern trend in recent years. Whichever tones you prefer, they will be less likely to clash if you stick to one family or the other.
11. Island Sink With Light Countertop Stainless steel had been my go-to finish for sinks for many reasons, including its durability and availability at many price points. Then I realized it’s not always the best option, depending on the countertop’s finish, as well as the look you are trying to achieve. With a lighter countertop, a stainless steel sink may look like a dark hole in the island. A white sink, though, will not.
2020 Cosentino launched several new colors at KBIS, including Dekton Rem, a white with brown and gray veining. Photo from Cosentino 4. Neutral Countertops Light and neutral colors for countertops remain popular for remodeled kitchens and bathrooms, Houzz research shows, and manufacturers at the shows displayed plenty of whites and neutrals. This photo shows the new Dekton Rem pattern from Cosentino, which has a white backdrop and brown and gray veining with touches of gold. This pattern is part of the company’s new Dekton Portfolio collection and is inspired by white marble.
Butcher block or other wood countertops. If you’re choosing a countertop material for an island that’s different than your perimeter countertops, consider butcher block or a wood slab. Recent Houzz research reveals that among renovating homeowners who want a contrasting island material, 41% choose butcher block or a wood slab, followed by a distant 28% who choose engineered quartz. For this kitchen in Saratoga Springs, New York, the homeowner built the wood-top island.
Porcelain. While engineered quartz will continue its rise in popularity as a countertop material (51% of renovating homeowners choose the material, according to the latest Houzz research), some designers are looking for alternatives that deliver a more polished look with the same durability. Designer Tom Johnson of Hyde Park Renovations is excited about porcelain slabs, which he used for the island in the kitchen shown here. “With porcelain you get very vivid patterns while still sharing stain- and heat-resistant qualities that make quartz so popular,” he says. Better look than quartz for marbeling look
Green-Blue Greatness Designer: Susan Bednar Long of S.B. Long Interiors Location: Dallas Size: 264 square feet (25 square meters); 12 by 22 feet Homeowners’ request. Update a dark, 20-year-old kitchen. “I felt the biggest thing to impact the space was to change the color of the cabinets,” says designer Susan Bednar, who used Houzz to gather ideas for paint colors and overall themes. Blue cabinets. Inchyra Blue by Farrow & Ball. “Most of the house has stained wood trim, casing and doors,” Bednar says. “I felt the green-blue paint color was a great complement to the warm orange-toned stained wood, and the color would modernize the space but still be bold enough to work with the stained wood.” Other special features. Honed gray quartz countertops. Large stainless steel vent hood. Designer tip. “Streamlining the items inside glass cabinets to all white [makes them pop] against the blue and presents a clean, modern look,” Bednar says.
Love oak countertop Shades of Gray in Scarsdale Transitional Kitchen, New York Kitchen Photos This townhouse kitchen was in Scarsdale New York transformed from a constricted galley to a spacious island kitchen by removing one structural wall. Skylights flood the kitchen with light while calming grey cabinetry keep the kitchen from feeling too stark. Kitchen and cabinetry design, Studio Dearborn. Interior design, Strauss Home Designs. Appliances, Thermador, Sharp, GE. Cabinetry and Character Oak countertop, Schrocks of Walnut Creek. Range hood (with custom wood top) by Thermador. Photography, Timothy Lenz.
Designer Susan Klimala of The Kitchen Studio of Glen Ellyn is also a fan of using quartz counters in her kitchen projects and believes it’s a trend that will last. “Quartz is low-maintenance and adds a nice, clean backdrop for the other elements being used in the space,” she says. Klimala used a mostly solid black quartz for the countertops in this kitchen in the Chicago suburbs.
Solid-Color Quartz Designer Jennifer Gilmer notes that engineered quartz is among the most popular countertop materials used in kitchens, and she sees the trend moving in the direction of solid colors. “The fake granite and marble looks are already starting to feel dated,” she says. Quartz is also a winning kitchen countertop material for designer Cillesa Ullman because it’s “hassle-free, durable and requires no maintenance.” She especially likes solid white quartz counters as a way to balance colorful cabinets, as it does in this Oakland, California, kitchen.
Maple butcher block except around sink and that’s quartz
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