03 Aug Kitchens, Countertops and Selection, OH MY!

As with anything in home building, the choices and options can almost be infinite, both in styles AND materials. We’ve worked with many different options and materials in our years here in the Emerald Isle and Crystal Coast area at Guthrie Construction, so we hope we can explain the pros and cons of some of your more common choices when it comes to, specifically, your kitchen selection. Ultimately the decision will be yours, between personal preference and budget limitations, we understand this can be different for everyone. However, maybe we can answer a few questions or educate you a little if/when you need to make that choice for yourself.

Some of, in our opinion, the nicest looking of options are going to be going with a stone of sorts. Like any stone, figuratively and literally, found in nature they are not all the same however, and can vary in both quality and price. Take granite for example, as it is available in a decent variety of color/pattern options, looks wonderful and each piece is genuinely one of a kind. It can, however,  be on the expensive side and although quite durable, may take a bit of work in order to maintain through the years. Much of the same can be said for it’s beautiful counterpart in Marble. A gorgeous surface without argument, it is however susceptible to stains and chipping, making it a costly choice if not careful or maybe used in a limited application. There are numerous other options worth mentioning that fall into the basic “stone” catergory as well. Choices like concrete, which is finding a much larger and variety of use than ever before, as well as granites more expensive but just as impressive counterpart soapstone. With all of these stone options, it should maybe go without saying, are obviously quite heavy as well. So the need to make sure the surface(s) they will be mounted or place upon are of the highest grade and quality as well. We feel this is worth the mention simply due to the costs overall to your project as well as prolonging the life and quality of the materials you choose in the final decision.

Topping out some of your choices as far as reasonability in price, in comparison to color/pattern options are going to be your more “engineered” options. Materials like, composites, laminate, tile or quartz. These materials are generally less expensive, but depending on the exact choice can possibly rival its stone brethren. The bonus here, is going to be your color options and general maintenance overall. Generally being of manmade materials, patterns/colors and the like are almost limitless in options. Most of the surfaces will, typically, be easy to clean although you may sacrifice a bit in the durability department. The flipside is because these choices are manufactured they tend to be lighter in weight, and easier to replace/repair if there are any “accidents”. We won’t go into every little detail with all of these, as we’d be here all day going over each, one by one. We will suggest doing your homework thoroughly if you are going to soon be in the market yourself. With advances in the fabrication process and materials themselves you could easily find something that surprises you in both quality and price when compared to options you may have already had in mind at the beginning of the design and brainstorming phase of your project.

At the end of the day you’re going to know you better than anyone else. You’ll know your likes/dislikes, your budget and your habits. Do some investigation of your own and find out what will work best for you and the budget, as well as the space, you have to work with. As always, with any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact your local professionals with more specific scenarios you may come across. Chances are, like us here on the Outer Banks, the ones who work with these types of things firsthand on a regular basis are probably going to have the advantage through experience that you just can’t find floating around the interwebs or your neighborhood hardware stores. Investigate. Educate. Save yourself time and/or money in the long run. Sometimes it really can be just that simple.