Marble and Granite's Blog

Homeowners and kitchen designers alike can find incredible inspiration from the 2012 Kitchen of the Year as chosen by House Beautiful. Designed by Mick De Giulio, this award-winning kitchen design combines style and functionality for a space that is simple yet sophisticated. As Giulio told House Beautiful in an interview, "Kitchens can get very complicated. I wanted to keep this simple and classic. It's also a little bit glamorous." 

One of the most notable features of this award-winning 1,000-square-foot kitchen is the thoughtful combination of materials. Giulio chose to use Fair Lady Supremo 1650 quartz countertops by Caesarstone for the main island and the perimeter of the kitchen. These stunning yet durable countertops helped Giulio achieve the perfect balance of elegance and edginess. 

To round out the earthy yet industrial look Giulio was aiming for, he incorporating warm natural wood, cool stone tiles, polished stainless steel and sparkling glass. Giulio's wow-factor or "hook" - as he likes to call it - was achieved with a unique, navy blue sink, which creates a nice contrast with the crisp and clean countertops and tile backplash. 

Open shelving and a custom kitchen island design add both efficiency and aesthetic appeal. To make this a true gourmet-grade kitchen, Giulio added a fabulous butler's pantry and an innovative storage system for hanging pots and pans. As if this wasn't enough, Giulio supplemented the main kitchen with an outdoor kitchen featuring a gorgeous bluestone island. 

To see and learn more about the 2012 Kitchen of the Year, take the online tour on the House Beautiful website.

Marble and Granite can help homeowners and designers achieve a kitchen design that is elegant and earthy while still functional and durable. As the largest natural stone wholesaler and exclusive distributor of Caesarstone in New England, Marble and Granite can help you find just he materials you need to achieve an award-worthy design. To begin exploring the design possibilities, browse our products online or make an appointment to visit one of our showrooms in New England. 

Designing an island for a high-end kitchen involves several decisions. To begin the design process, here are five questions you should as yourself. 

1. How will I be using my kitchen island?

2. What kind of features or appliances do I want my island to have? 

3. How much storage does my island need to have?

4. What shape do I want my island to be and how will it fit into the kitchen layout? 

5. What types of materials and colors do I want to use for my island? 

As we all know, the kitchen island is no longer designed purely for preparing food. As interior designer Shoshana Gosselin wrote in a Houzz design article,  "it is a prime gathering spot and a place for homeowners to add personal touches: beautiful rich tones, sparkly finishes, comfortable seating - and color, whether it's just a little or a lot." 

For high-end designs, the kitchen island is where you add your "wow factor." For inspiration here are five unique design ideas for luxury kitchen islands that make a statement. 

Marble and Granite has bianco statuario, colored granite, onyx and many other luxurious countertop materials to help you achieve your dream kitchen island design. See the Marble and Granite online product inventory page or come to one of the New England showrooms to begin the search for your perfect natural stone slab. 

Onyx is a truly unique stone. As a banded calcite, onyx has distinctive patterns and incredible color variegation that can feature tones of gray, white, yellow, gold, orange or even deep amber. Because of its intriguing aesthetic appeal, this natural stone is used in various ways throughout the home do add elegance and drama. 

Onyx can be used to design a striking wet bar. 

You can dress up doors to create an inviting entrance with door panels mad of onyx slabs or onyx tiles. 

Onyx can extend from vanity or countertops to make an eye-catching accent wall. 

While these designs are certainly stunning, one of the most popular ways to decorate with onyx is to take advantage of its translucent qualities to create beautiful, illuminated surfaces. When a slab of onyx is cut to a 3 to 5mm thickness, it can be lit from behind to create a gorgeous glow as light filters through its warm colors and swirling or rippling patterns. This lighting and design technique is commonly used to achieve...

... glowing backlit onxy furniture;

a fiery backlit onxy fireplace surround;

a brilliant backlit onyx kitchen island;

With the value that natural stone adds to the home as well as its natural durability and beauty, many homeowners and designers would agree that natural stone is an ideal material for bathroom surfaces. In our last post we discussed the different surface options for bathroom design and renovation. Now, we will offer up the different options when choosing natural stone surfaces for the bathroom. As advised by the Marble Institute of America and the National Kitchen & Bath Association, here are the stones most suitable for bathroom applications as well as the design possibilities with each.