Saturday, March 23, 2013

Making Countertops the Best they Can Be

The Homeowner Wanted Sink on the Clear Side
When you select granite or marble countertops, you start by selecting the slabs first at the supplier's yard.  As you move up in options and cost, nature's movement in the stone makes each piece unique.  So when you first see the stones, the initial color and movement grabs you.  From there, you take the sinks and template them and have a template meeting where you discuss where you want the cutout for the sink to go.  People like to do this, so that patterns or interesting portions of the particular slab you are selecting are not covered by a hole.  This picture is a stone called Colonial Cream.  You can see the natural movement going on in this stone, and just to the right the cabinet extends to legs and there is a table there that will accept another piece of the countertop so that people can sit there while the homeowners are cooking or entertaining.  The homeowner was given advice to put the sink on the lighter side of the slab, so as not to interrupt the brown flow of the counter on the left side.  There was some miscommunication and the under mount sink was installed on the other side.  It is still beautiful but this just gives an example of why people place templates on the slabs.  Countertops are personal and an expression of your tastes and home so if you have an opportunity to visit the fabrication process ahead of time I highly recommend it.