Showroom’s Use of Solid Surface Captures Top
Honors
By Barbara Capella Loehr
CHARLESTON, SC An artful use of engineered stone and stainless
steel, blended in a soft, contemporary fashion, sets this live
cooking display apart from the competition.
In fact, the display part of the Signature Kitchens & Baths
of Charleston, Inc. showroom is so impressive, it took top honors
in the Best Commercial category of the first annual SolidSurface
Design Contest. The contest, sponsored by SolidSurface magazine,
challenged designers and fabricators of solid surface and stone
products to stretch the limits of their creativity and fabrication
expertise.
“An appealing aspect of the live cooking display project that
made it stand out from other design contest entries, was its open
design combined with the hard-working characteristics of [DuPont
Zodiaq] quartz surfacing,” states SolidSurface
magazine. “Nothing beats a commercial kitchen for wear and
tear, yet this design presents a solution that is more than up to
the challenge from an aesthetic and functional point of view.”
Indeed, Signature Kitchens & Baths’ live cooking display was
one of three designs that caught the judges’ eye because of each
design’s creative use of solid surface and stone in an everyday
working environment.
Signature Kitchens & Baths’ winning display incorporated
stainless steel into the main cooking island. Then, with the help
of Columbia, SC-based fabricator Real Value, Inc., it applied
DuPont Zodiaq to the rest of the countertop and backsplash
areas.
Signature Kitchens & Baths also incorporated a Brazil stone
(black granite) island into the design, again with the help of Real
Value.
READY, SET, COOK!
The main objective of this
award-winning cooking display was “to provide a large display area
in which to demonstrate appliances and various cooking techniques,”
explains James R. McLain, CKD, of Signature Kitchens &
Baths.
It was key for the surfaces to be durable and easy to clean,
but, at the same time, the surfaces that guests would come in
contact with the most had to be warm and inviting.
To that end, McLain chose Zodiaq for the table that sits
adjacent to the stainless steel cooking island. The island includes
a Wolf French top, two burners, a deep fryer and a steamer, as well
as for the perimeter countertops and backsplashes.
Normally, Signature fabricates its own DuPont Corian
countertops, but for the Zodiaq tops the firm turned to Real Value,
Inc. to fabricate them.
“It handles like granite, so we cut it like natural stone with
wet saws and wet routers,” explains Jeff Swager, Real Value’s
senior v.p. and field manager on this project.
Real Value’s Zodiaq fabrication process for this project yielded
two approximately 5′ sections for either side of the 60″ Wolf
range, another two approximately 5′ sections for either side of the
Franke sink, and full backsplashes for both areas.
To break up the large expanse of countertop, “a stainless steel
countertop with custom-formed, 6″, double E radius edge is used to
integrate with the professional appliances in the kitchen,”
explains McLain.
“The combination of textures draws people to the area. I think
the combination of stainless steel and Zodiaq together creates an
inviting atmosphere. And though it’s contemporary, it’s very soft,”
believes McLain.
Cabinetry that incorporates wood, stainless steel and glass
doors, along with two large custom, stainless steel hoods complete
the stunning design.
“The effect is exciting and highly functional,” McLain adds.
The contest also produced two other winners. Most Innovative
honors went to a play area and medieval castle made of DuPont
Corian. Designed by Sterling-Miller Designs, Inc. in Brockton, MA,
and located in Maple Avenue Park in Cambridge, MA, it won for both
its practical and whimsical appeal. Best Overall Design went to an
Art-Deco-style conference table done in tri-color DuPont Corian. It
was designed and built by Art-Tech Surfacing, Inc. in Knoxville, TN
for the local magazine, CityView, in Louisville, TN.
“Each winning project transcends pie-in-the-sky creative fantasy
by finding practical and commercial applications in an everyday
working environment,” notes SolidSurface magazine.