Counter top trends

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nosuchreality

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Lately, my guilty pleasure is watching Property Brothers on HGTV.  I used to think they were in Canada, but have found out they are actually in Austin, TX.

It seems that this season, every house in the rehab is getting fitted with white marble kitchen counter tops.  Personally, I have always loved white marble just rarely see it in anything but very very top end homes.

Is this a new emerging trend or just a promo thing?  It's white marble, like granite, not a name brand appliance.  If it every episode highlighted GE Profile appliances, I'd chalk it up to GE marketing but it's a hunk of rock.


 
Carrera marble has been around a while-  looks great on both white and darker cabinets.  It is generally less per sq ft than the better (ie. fancy) granites.  Marble is a softer stone, so it is more apt to stain- but sealing 2x a year generally keeps it looking good.

There are also white quartzites which I'm seeing more variations lately.  Very pretty and harder than marble.  Also more $$$'s
 
When I did my remodel a year and a half ago, I went with white counters. I hadn't watched HGTV in a long time but turned it on one day afterwards and noticed the same thing as you. Every home was getting white counters. It definitely seems to be the trend. I keep up with some of the online home decorating bloggers and it has been mentioned there, too. One of them - The Inspired Room - will be doing her big kitchen reveal post on 4/02. She did white counters (with grey cabinets, subway tile plus a farmhouse sink -- everything same as me, coincidentally!!) It looks great.

Imo, you really need a contrast with the cabinets to make the white counters work. Aside from the white counters, most of the time on HGTV I see they're also doing grey cabinets. I certainly didn't expect this when I did mine. Just did it because I really liked the magazine photo I found and also their setup on the showroom floor.
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
jayl23 said:
When we remodeled our kitchen, we went with our contractor's suggestion and installed river white granite.  It does look nice, maybe our contractor was a couple of years ahead of his time!
http://www.whitegranitecountertops.net/river-white-granite/
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Wow , that looks gorgeous.  How would that look with white cabinets?
Click to expand...

I know marble on chabby chic (aged provincial) white looks stunning and very classic.

The white granite on clean looking white cabinets might be a little too harsh.


Google Marble on white kitchen.  Bazillion pictures.
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
jayl23 said:
When we remodeled our kitchen, we went with our contractor's suggestion and installed river white granite.  It does look nice, maybe our contractor was a couple of years ahead of his time!
http://www.whitegranitecountertops.net/river-white-granite/
Click to expand...
Wow , that looks gorgeous.  How would that look with white cabinets?
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Probably not very good with white cabinets, but good with light pine cabinets.  One of the main selling points was the surface hides water stains very well, and doesn't darken when wet like many other granite countertops.  I'm pretty happy with it so far.
 

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im a believer in contrast. if you have dark cabinets a light/white color would look good.
 
Since darker cabinets are trendy... so are lighter/white countertops.

I actually don't think white on white is bad... as long as one of them has differentiating patterns. I prefer white countertops (we have the old school white tile ones that we STILL haven't replaced despite my countertop thread) because you can see dirt easier.
 
White cabinets with glass panel doors, over carrera white countertops, and a farm house sink is a good look to me.  Although like mentioned, they stain, are soft, pit/etch (from hard water), and suck up oil, wine, and all sorts of junk that it makes maintenance a nightmare.  Besides, depending on the homeowner, they might forget marble is a natural product, with all it's veining/variations/discolorations, and expects a certain unachievable/manufactured uniformity to go along with their design intent/OCD personality. 
 
Today's big kitchen reveal post from "The Inspired Room" for those interested in the topic we've been discussing - white counters - and how to take a builder-quality tract home to another level. Edison bulbs, grey cabinets... love it.

Kitchen Reveal - Before & After
 
From the April issue of Remodeling magazine:
----------------------------------------------------
THE NATIONAL KITCHEN & BATH Association (NKBA) has released its 2013 list of the top trends.
More than 300 NKBA member designers in the U.S. and Canada participated in the survey about
the design styles they specified during the final three months of 2012.

1. The new neutral: The popularity of gray color schemes in both kitchens and baths has dramatically
increased since 2010. More than half of kitchens (55%) and baths (56%) use shades of gray. But
despite growing popularity, gray still comes in as the third most popular color scheme. White and
off-white remain the top options.

2. White wins out: White painted cabinets have stayed on top of the chart since last
year. Use of wood tones has also remained consistent ? light cabinetry finishes (30%); medium
finishes (54%); dark finishes (55%).  Use of glazed finishes was up four percentage points this year.

3. Style options: Traditional kitchen and bath designs continue to give way to transitional
styling ? a seamless blend of traditional and contemporary.  Transitional design takes the lead
in 2012, used by 69% of kitchen designers (a 10-point jump) and 61% of bathroom designers.

4. Finishes & fixtures: Granite remains the top choice for countertops, used by 87% of kitchen
designers and 71% of bathroom designers, but quartz is narrowing the gap. Preference for glass
backsplashes has grown dramatically, rising from 42% in 2010 to 64% this year. Ceramic and porcelain
tile remains the top option for the third consecutive year, but overall use fell from 88% in 2010
to 77% now.

5. Bright light: LED Lighting is being specified by more designers, increasing to 77% from 70%
over the past year ? a significant uptick from 50% in 2010.

6. Faucet features: A third of member designers specified touch-activated faucets, compared with
20% for the last two years. Pull-outs are the clear leader by functionality, used by 94% of designers
this year.  Pot fillers are gaining ground, increasing 5 points over the past year to 33%.

7. Best finish: Satin nickel remains the most-used finish for kitchen fixtures, increasing from
42% in 2010 to 60% this year.  Bronze and oil-rubbed bronze finishes are also gaining use.

8. For the floor: In bathrooms, ceramic and porcelain tile have declined in use over the past
two years, but are still the most popular choice. Natural stone tile is the second most popular
flooring type.
 
jayl23 said:
From the April issue of Remodeling magazine:
2. White wins out: White painted cabinets have stayed on top of the chart since last
year. Use of wood tones has also remained consistent ? light cabinetry finishes (30%); medium
finishes (54%); dark finishes (55%).  Use of glazed finishes was up four percentage points this year.
Click to expand...

Journalism math.
Light: 30%
Medium: 54%
Dark: 55%
-------------
Total 139%!

 
nosuchreality said:
jayl23 said:
From the April issue of Remodeling magazine:
2. White wins out: White painted cabinets have stayed on top of the chart since last
year. Use of wood tones has also remained consistent ? light cabinetry finishes (30%); medium
finishes (54%); dark finishes (55%).  Use of glazed finishes was up four percentage points this year.
Click to expand...

Journalism math.
Light: 30%
Medium: 54%
Dark: 55%
-------------
Total 139%!
Click to expand...

Indeed, another sign that there's a bubble!!  :P
 
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