CounterTop Trends & Materials

Laminate Countertops
Well known by trade names such as Formica, these countertops have stood the test of time. New innovations make for a broad range of colors and patterns and more recently, the addition of textures.

Solid Surface Countertops
Solid surface is basically a plastic but that's where the blandness ends. Many styles and colors are available and the seamless characteristics work well for expansive countertops and integral sinks.

Natural Stone Countertops
Granite, slate, soapstone, quartz, marble, gemstone... . Natural stone has an inherent beauty but there is some maintenance involved in keeping them 'healthy'.

Engineered Stone Countertops
Predominantly a quartz material that's been crushed and combined with resins to form a hard surface like stone, but without the maintenance requirements like periodic sealing. Some of the colors and patterns do a pretty good job of mimicking natural stone.

Wood Countertops
Wood countertops no longer mean just butcher block. Large full-expanse wood kitchen countertops are available and offer a beautiful warm look. There is some maintenance involved to keep them looking good however.

Metal Countertops
Stainless steel is probably more widely known but if that's too clinical for you, picture your kitchen countertops in the rich color of copper, which gain a unique patina over time. Or consider the interesting gray pallet of pewter countertops.

Concrete Countertops
Concrete offers endless design options since they're fabricated to your specifications, either right in your home or in a design studio and then shipped to your kitchen. Concrete offers a smooth surface in just about any color along with a stoutness that embodies solidity.

Composite and Recycled Materials Countertops
Composite and recycled materials deliver some interesting alternatives for kitchen countertops. Some are made from recycled paper and combined with resins to form a surface that's hard yet warmer than stone. The eco-friendly nature of these choices may also give you the satisfaction of having helped the environment.

Lavastone Countertops
Lavastone is volcanic lava that's hardened into a stone-like consistency. Most Lavastone countertop material is covered with a hard enamel that makes the surface similar to tile, except you don't have to deal with grout lines like you do with a tile countertop. It can be expensive but you have a virtually unlimited supply of colors.

Tile Countertops
Tile's another choice that's been available for years but you're not limited to just the basic 4-inch squares anymore. Natural stone tiles like granite are available and come in large sizes which means you could have a granite countertop with just a few grout lines for less cost than a granite slab.

Glass Countertops
Glass offers a sleek, modern style that doesn't have to look like a bland glass tabletop. You can find various colors and different textures to give it some distinction. Glass countertops are sturdy enough to stand up to their role however you'll still want to be sure you avoid dropping something large and heavy on them.

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Many shops automate to reduce employees, but sometimes that same technology creates a need for more.

Concrete Interior Designs Inc. invested in a CNC router and ETemplate measuring software to replace two production employees and soon discovered the technology is creating more work and skill requirements than the shop's staff can process.

Since automating six months ago, the Scottsdale, Ariz., custom concrete manufacturer has tripled the amount of kitchens it can do in a month. "On average we now do about 15 to 20 jobs per month," says co-owner Jody Crawford.

The manufacturer maintains a showroom with several kitchens and constantly updates them to showcase concrete's limitless applications. Cutting production time is imperative to keeping wait times at a competitive four to six weeks. "Most people don't understand how long concrete takes," says Crawford. "It's a process and requires curing time unlike materials, such as granite."

Concrete is the ultimate chameleon and Szczech estimates the shop has only scratched the surface of its market. "Kitchen countertops are our most popular product right now," says Szczech. "We take out a lot of natural stone or solid surface countertops and replace them with concrete."

Crawford estimates approximately 40 percent of customers want a more modern look with a 90-degree turn down edge and 60 percent prefer an old world look with fancier edges.

Earth tones are the most-requested countertop colors, but many customers have been opting for modern colors, such as white, gray, blues or black.

The manufacturer offers more than 2,500 color choices and combined with acid stains, colors can be layered to produce thousands of patterns and colors. "With a layered acid stain, concrete can mimic natural stone or wood," says Crawford. "We also can add decorative elements, such as glass, rocks or shells."



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Designers agree that granite is the overwhelming favorite in countertops in the Chicago area. "Quartz is also very popular," says Liz Bruckner, designer at Atria Kitchen Design, located in the River North area of Chicago. "People like the quartz for maintenance." Other materials, such as glass and wood, are used for island tops for a distinctive difference, she says.

Claudia Martin, interior designer at studio m interiors inc. in downtown Chicago, says that with the price of granite going down, it’s a product getting more affordable to more people. People are finding more exotic colors within their price range, instead of just black, says Martin. The move now is to lighter and more natural colors in granite and other products.

A lot of people are asking about marble and soapstone, says Martin. "I'm designing more kitchens with painted cabinets and the soapstone and honed granite complement it nicely." Martin says that concrete is also growing in popularity. Marble is sometimes used for specialized work areas in granite counters, she says.

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When it comes to countertop colors, especially in the home environment, they are more often a backdrop for more intense accent colors in the kitchen or bath, says Ginguei Ebnesajjad, DuPont Surfaces director of product styling and development. “Trend-forward colors are going to be in the role of the accent color and we have to provide a backdrop to make it look good,” says Ebnesajjad.

Countertops will often be in a neutral, something that is more comfortable for the eye.

Read more: Countertops: Color backdrop

Where do old glass containers go to die? Instead of littering the dump, they now have a new purpose - elegant, environmentally friendly countertops.

Gilasi InnerGlow surfaces are composed of more than 87 percent recycled material, the bulk of which is 100 percent recycled glass. "We call the slabs InnerGlow because you can see into the surface through the glass," says Garrett Obluck, operations manager.

Read more . . . Green Countertops: Green Alternative

When Steve Prescott of Fiddlehead Designs in Brunswick, Maine, builds a kitchen, no matter what color the countertop, it's always "green." He builds environmentally responsible kitchens, featuring Richlite countertops.

Made from resin-bonded paper that has been manufactured from sustainable forest resources, Richlite compares favorably with solid surface and granite, says Prescott. He notes it machines well with conventional woodworking tools, but is much heavier and denser than solid surface materials.

Read more . . . Green Countertops: Going Green

Twelve patterns of Formica brand laminates have been introduced with the new Radiance finish. High gloss and punctuated with texture, the finish features holographic facets that refract and reflect light in a natural veined pattern.

Read more . . . Laminate Countertops: Laminate Shines

The Geneva, a third new contoured edge profile from VTI Industries, gives postformed laminate countertops the look and feel of granite, natural stone or solid surface at a much lower cost. The full-wrap edge profile features a subtle modern drop ogee, a concave arc flowing into a convex arc, and is Greenguard certified.

Read more . . . Laminate Countertops: High Style on a Tight Budget

Think tile is old-fashioned? Think again. Nothing revitalizes a kitchen space like the look of glass mosaic tile on a kitchen backsplash or bathroom countertop, says Ann-Brit Malden, marketing and sales for Hakatai Enterprises Inc.

Read more . . . Glass Countertops: Custom Glass Tiles

It starts out primarily as pure sand and becomes a material nearly identical in appearance to pure white Thassos marble, a product that is much desired and hard to come by. Unlike marble, this crystallized glass, Glassos, is similar to granite in hardness but has zero porosity, so it won’t discolor and requires no sealer. It is also a fraction of the price of the marble it resembles.

Read more . . . Glass Countertops: Crystalized Glass

The new colors feature light shades and natural tonalities. Alpine White incorporates contrasting components of light whites and tans with dark flecks of cherry and brown. Mountain Mist is a darker selection with black undertones along with gray, brown and beige touches. Derived from Southwestern nature, Sierra Madre contains copper shading distinguishing black, brown and cream speckling.

Read more . . . Engineered Stone Countertops: More Quartz Colors Added

The nine marbled quartz colors range from rich terra cotta to deep lapis lazuli, all of which combine the look and feel of marble with the durability of a quartz surface. The beauty of the veined movement of the collection provides homeowners and designers with cutting-edge materials from which to create inspiring kitchens and baths.

Read more . . . Engineered Stone Countertops: Expanding the Quartz Palette

Mike Bowers was looking for a countertop that would add to the "wow" factor of the kitchens he was creating for his company Choptank Mills Associates, located in Marydel, Del. He wanted a material that would complement his cabinets. His choice is concrete.

"You can do anything with it. You can make it a total reflection of both you and the customer by incorporating things into it," he says.

Read more . . . Concrete Countertop WOW!

The possibilities of concrete are endless. Charles Miles of Charles Miles Construction Corp., located in Nazareth, Pa., creates concrete countertops to match just about any paint chip, including metallic, in either a matte or high-gloss finish.

Read more . . . Concrete Countertops: Concrete Possibilities

There's something refreshing about artists who can transform a pedestrian material into something completely new. Since the '70s, Berkeley, Calif.-based architect and designer Fu-Tung Cheng has developed the art of molding concrete into stunning and practical countertops for homes in California and around the world.

Read more . . . Concrete CounterTop Master: Fu-Tung Cheng