Countertops That Pop

My clients are always asking me if they should use more than one countertop material in their kitchen design. Well, I always choose to color outside the lines.

ISLAND USING THREE DIFFERENT COUNTERTOP MATERIAL

I say, “absolutely”, why not make a wow moment? This particular kitchen is showing black Soapstone at the sink level, a perfect material to prep on. The seating area is distressed walnut adding warmth to the social gathering spot. The serving area is Pyrolave, lava stone, creating a splash of color and the perfect serving counter.

RAISED COUNTERTOP FOR SEATING AT ISLAND

BAR STOOL HEIGHT SEATING

VIEW FROM WORKSPACE

Raising the seating height is your opportunity to change material. This also gives emphasis to the shape of the seating area.

HALF MOON CHERRY COUNTERTOP AT SEATING

CRESENT-SHAPED CHERRY COUNTERTOP AT RAISED SEATING

The asymmetric shape adds importance to the countertop.

ASYMMETRICAL COUNTERTOP

When changing countertop materials at the same level it is important to transition the materials correctly. To do this you must increase the thickness of one of the materials allowing the other material to butt into a flat transition.

WENGE AND MAPLE END GRAIN BUTCHER BLOCK TRANSITIONING INTO SOAPSTONE

The butcher block has a 1/2 bevel around the top of the block and above the top of the Soapstone. It is always recommended that you use a professional when having different materials transitioning into one another. This is not a job for the do it yourselfer.

LAYERED LAVASTONE COUNTERTOP AT SEATING

This application has to be engineered to cantilever out from the countertop that it is layered onto by using embedded steel plates. Again, I want to stress the importance of involving a professional for this application.

SIDE VIEW OF TWO MATERIALS TRANSITIONING INTO EACH OTHER

VIEW LOOKING DOWN AT TWO DIFFERENT MATERIALS TOGETHER

I think using different materials in the same kitchen not only makes an interesting design but can be very useful to the different tasks being performed on them.

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