Mixing Countertop Colours and Materials for Design Enhancement

In this article, we would like to discuss the mixing of countertop colours and materials to further enhance the design options and colour pallets of your current project and to facilitate future updates.

In our last Blog (March 2016), we discussed the pros and cons of the 3 major solid surface countertop material options – quartz, granite and marble. In our initial Blog (August 2015), we discussed two-tone cabinet designs for design flexibility and future updates.

At Ekko Custom Cabinetry and Design of Calgary, we consider the opportunities for mixing and enhancing your cabinetry to be extensive and a welcomed challenge to our service for our clients. Those options can be driven by your wish to expand your colour pallet, practical utility requirements, a design emphasis or purely to create a unique and awe-inspiring “WOW” feature.

Colour Pallet Expansion – by bringing together (2) complimentary C/T colours, you have doubled your options for co-ordinating the colours you have to work with, not only on this project but for any future updates as well. Consider the design in the picture below. This shows darker island cabinets with a lighter Quartz C/T. The perimeter incorporates 2-toned light coloured cabinets with a darker Quartz C/T. The 2 Quartz selections come from the same manufacturer (by “Caesarstone”) and come out of the same colour pallet range so they compliment and enhance each other as well as the cabinetry they’ve been paired with. Now, consider the ensuing design opportunities for completing the presentation (tile, flooring, paint and other staging features).

 

 

Utility Requirements – You’ve researched the C/T material that best suites your lifestyle and colour pallet. You’ve chosen a Quartz material but feel you need a wood Butcher Block for a food preparation zone. The material selected can be purely utilitarian or it can be a feature of your Calgary custom kitchen cabinets. Each wood species provides different colours, grains …… and prices. Consider some of the following options :    Hard-Rock Maple, Black Walnut, Hickory, Beech, Wenge, Tigerwood, Zebra Wood, Bamboo …. the list goes on. Butcher Blocks used to be set loose on top of the C/T and stored out of site when not being used. More often, we are now in-setting these stunning wood features into our countertops – generally allowing them to sit  ¼” higher than the rest of the tops – this is a detail to be discussed with your designer. Check out the picture below showing a 26” X 36” American Black Walnut Butcher Block set into a “Windermere” Quartz (by “Cambria”) – utility with style !

 

 

 

Design Emphasis and the “WOW” Factor – this is where the design process gets to be fun ! This is when cabinetry moves from being a stunning quality component of your kitchen to being a memorable feature of your household. It should be remembered as a defining statement of you and your home. There is no set formula for how these ideas evolve – often the space and the client inspire the ideas generated by our Designers. Take a look at the (3) pictures below to see where this “mix and match” creativity can lead.

 

 

         

 

Creating your dream space should be much more than “plugging” cabinet boxes into a space with a countertop. This space should make a statement and significantly enhance the appeal and value of your home ….. to yourself, your family and visitors.

At EKKO Cabinetry, we strive to exceed your expectations. Our custom kitchen and bath design staff can help or lead you through a Design process that will give you the space that you have dreamed of ….

 

T.E. (Tim) Pressey  

Ekko Custom Cabinetry and Design of Calgary, Alberta