Guide to Kitchen & Bath Fabricating and Surfacing:
Surface Appeal
When it comes to surfacing, almost anything goes, with
designers mixing and matching materials, and granite and
granite-look surfaces, textured aesthetics and nature themes
commanding attention.
by Janice Anne Costa
“It’s been a good year for all surfacing materials!” enthuses
Wilsonart International’s Alison DeMartino. Indeed, whether it’s
granite-topped islands, visually textured laminate countertops,
stainless steel backsplashes or wall-to-wall solid surface baths,
surfacing materials seem to be getting plenty of attention in the
kitchen and bath, both alone, and in unique combinations. “Granite
is the area that’s most popular with my customers,” notes Sharon
Hopkins, CKD, CBD, of the Lafayette, CA-based DesignPro, who sees
consumers favoring granite in remodeling. “At the high end, it’s
granite, stone and limestone,” agrees Thomas Trzcinski, CKD, CBD,
of the Pittsburgh, PA-based Kitchen & Bath Concepts of
Pittsburgh. However, Trzcinski maintains that the market is seeing
a move away from high-maintenance materials, “i.e. people are
opting for replicated limestone tiling for its durability factor
over natural limestone.”
Hopkins believes that “There’s a move away from the traditional
laminates and tiles, especially in the kitchens, because of the
lack of ease in keeping grout clean.”
DeMartino agrees that low-maintenance is a concern, and she
believes this has driven the market to a place where educated
consumers are demanding performance as well as aesthetics. “We’ve
finally hit a point where all materials are mutually acceptable.
There’s more of an attitude of ‘I’m going to pick a material that’s
best for me,'” she notes.
As a result, she sees consumers choosing materials with maintenance
issues in mind. For example, she says, “A lot of designers are
trying to use solid surface on many different surfaces in the
bathroom for the cleanability factor there’s no grout lines, no
mildew build up, it’s repairable and it’s easy to maintain.”
Color, texture
The use of color, texture and patterns is bigger than ever in the
surfacing arena, and Terrie Buch, product design manager for
Nevamar, International Paper, and consumer color directions
co-chair for the Color Marketing Group, notes that this is becoming
so prevalent that, “More and more, you see the consumer being
offered a chance to use laminate as a material that almost becomes
part of the focal point, rather than just as a material that’s
functional and affordable. You see more consumers picking laminate
that has a look you can’t find anywhere else, patterns you can’t
find in nature. I see this as the beginning of a trend.”
“The consumer is being more daring with the use of color,” agrees
Renee Hytry, Formica Corp.’s director of design for North America.
She notes that today’s kitchens are featuring “beautifully stained
cabinets with green stain or dark cherry,” and that these colors
are being accented with countertops that reflect the renewed
interest in color. To that end, she notes, “Darker greens are
selling very well, with green shifting into the blue category.”
However, while color is hot, solid colors are not. “We’ve moved
from solids to textured solids, where visually, the surface is
broken up,” Hytry notes. “For example, in the case of our Surell,
we’re seeing more of the dark green granite look rather than the
dark green [solid].” And she adds that “Scale, too, has gone from
small scale texture to larger scale texture.”
“In solid surface, we’re seeing a move away from solid colors in
the kitchen, and heading more toward a higher design stone look,”
agrees Andrew Ballard, v.p./sales and marketing for LG Decorative
Surfaces. “The larger particulates we call them ‘quartz’ and
‘granite’ are big right now,” he notes, adding that the color trend
is “more toward earth tones, as opposed to the flashier colors you
used to be seeing.”
According to Buch, color trends are showing “a shift toward blue,
and a cooling of greens,” and she notes a move toward “warmer wood
grains,” with an increased demand for “rich, honey-type
colorations”. Hytry agrees that nature is one of the hottest themes
right now, noting that, “Textured aesthetics are popular we’ve gone
from an organized texture to a more natural texture. The next
frontier is physical texture. I see people experimenting with
physical texture to enhance visual texture.”
One of the biggest advantages of the visually textured surface,
Hytry believe, is that “it hides a lot of wear and tear.”
However, at the other end of the spectrum, Cynthia Muni of the
Northfield Center, OH-based Kitchens and Interior Design says that
many of her clients actually want the “worn” look. She notes a
trend toward the “used, beat up ‘worn’ marble,” though she also
notes “a resurgence of butcher block and glass, particularly the
sandblasted or ‘beach worn’ type of glass.”
Mix and match
When it comes to surfacing, designers and manufacturers agree that
one of the hottest trends right now is “mix and match.”
“I was just in a beautiful kitchen and bath showroom this month
where they were using a beautiful mix of laminate and tile,” notes
Buch. Hopkins sees some clients using “a variety of stones” to add
visual interest, while Trzcinski notes a trend toward “inlays with
stone, used everywhere, on wood, countertops, etc.”
“People are experimenting with different materials, even in the
same countertop,” Hytry adds. “For instance, you can work with a
laminate top and use a wood edge or backsplash.”
“Solid surfacing with edged treatments rather than rounded
corners,” is another hot trend, according to Muni, who adds that,
“the 1″x1″ mosaic tiles are really big you add in glass tiles,
embedded into slate floors, for instance, or anything with jewels,”
for a unique yet stylish look.
Buch believes, “There’s a real emphasis on furnishings in the
kitchen, so you’re seeing more upscale, intricate patterns to
complement that.”
Applications
If there’s one standard in surfacing applications, it’s that
“Almost anything goes these days,” as Trzcinski notes. “Although
it’s not new in the furniture industry,” he adds, “we’re using
granite slabs for tables and legs in kitchens.” The backsplash is
one area where Hytry sees “lots of experimenting,” particularly
with stainless steel. She notes that, “The European aesthetic of
having accessories along the backsplash is being picked up in the
U.S. market.” Hopkins notes that granite is being used in entry
halls, as well as “any of the stones.” She adds that a variety of
stones are also being picked up in fireplace re-facing, while
granite is moving into the living room.
When it comes to unique applications of laminate, Buch notes
that she’s seen people “filling the gap between appliances, or any
kind of gap, with matching laminate.” She notes one installation
where “there was a big, stainless steel overhead lighting fixture,
and there was a gap between the ceiling and the stainless steel,
and it was filled in with laminate.”
In the bath, Hytry believes that, “The traditional vanity
sitting on a box is giving way to more creative use of materials,
and people are embracing pedestal lavatories, which means people
need more creative applications of countertop storage.”
When it comes to experimenting, though, “It’s the fabricator who
really drives innovation,” Ballard believes. “We give fabricators
guidelines, but they’re the ones out there dealing with new and
different applications. On a daily basis, the fabricator is pushing
the envelope to see how a product can be used differently, and more
creatively,” he concludes. KBDN