Yesterday I worked on a North Tacoma project with a client who has used RAS for granite on a home previously.  This time, the look is traditional. White cabinets, dark granite, square edges.  With three kids still in school however, fingerprints were a big concern.  One possible solution was to look at the new blacks with satin or textured finishes.  The finish is very flat, so no concern about cleaning, but feels leathery.  The satin finishes have been growing in popularity and while once blacks were the norm, you can now find a number of colors with this finish-- even lighter options such as Kashmir White and Yellow River etc.  The material is not polished, so light reflects off it in a different way, resulting in nice-looking seams. 
     In this case, we have a center island made of a reddish wood.  The thickness of the wood top may be considered at some point, since it hasn't been ordered yet, to work with the size of the granite edge since most satin finished stones are 3 cm or 1.25" appx. single-thickness when installed.  Many times, wood tops can be ordered in different thicknesses, depending on what should take center-stage etc.  The warm tone of the wood can really be poicked up in the blacks that have some warm undertones such as Cambrian Black Satin or Mysore Black Satin vs. other that have more cool undertones.  The client shyed away from Absolute Black Anticado which is a heavier texture and seemed greyer and commercial for this application.
     Darkness was an issue, as we want the darkest look we can get.  We discussed the possiblie application of an enhancer/sealer.  There can be pros and cons since the enhancer may need to be re-applied  every so often and may not always go on evenly.  The material after the application of a test area of enhancer was at least a shade darker.  Enhancers can be purchased and applied either by the fabricator or homeowner, but the directions should be carefully read as some restrictions apply regarding temperature etc. 
     The texture finish will mask the fingerprints that would be a cleaning issue for this size family, and with the warm tones in the granite may feel more friendly in the long run.  The North Tacoma area is a beautiful community with many historical homes.  This kitchen should fit in perfectly, and many of the black satin finish granites are a bargain in price.

Pitched Edge

     Yesterday I worked with a couple from Olympia who are doing an island only with surrounding countertops to be laminate chosen after the granite is selected.  They are in a great situation as they have no overhangs, just cabinets below, so they have the advantage of selecting either a 3 cm material or a laminated 2 cm material.  A lot of times, in looking at islands, it seems like the architect or cabinet designer hasn't fully thought out if the island will be larger than a normal slab resulting in a large seam or large unsupported overhangs such as eating bars etc.  In a 2 cm with plywood, you  can overhang about 12" without re-support such as corbells etc.  With 3 cm you are limited to about 9".  There are a few other steps that can be taken, such as rodding the underside of a 3 cm material or imbedding flat bar into the substrate for 2 cm, if necessary.  A number of jobs chose to laminate the 3 cm material to about 2-1/2" finished edge, which really sets the island apart as a centerpiece of the kitchen.  To laminate 3 cm you will also need a sub-top of usually 1" material.
     In this case, the island is about 48" x 84" so easily fits on most slabs. We will be looking at a special edge which looks broken that is called pitched edge. 

We have a special new tool that creates a natural broken look either in a single edge or built-up.  Examples of this can be seen at RAS showroom in Tacoma.  Since there will be a cut-out for a cook-top, we will want to map out where the island will be cut and how it will be visually seen  in the kitchen space, so we know exactly what will be lost in the cut-out.  Sometimes the cut-out is saved and used later as a lazy susan or cutting board etc, if the edges are later finished.  Usually the home owners are involved in how the island will be cut on the slab, so they can anticipate the finished look.  We found several choices that would allow good possibilities for the laminate color choice.  The clients have been married over 30 years and this is the first kitchen remodel for them, so very exciting!

Working projects

     As an owner & salesperson here at RAS Granite, I work with lots of different people on various projects.  Yesterday was a busy day, meeting on site to see a project we are working on in University Place with a new design graduate Biz Lund of Design 54.  We went on to Seattle to visit a supplier Meta Marble where we pulled out slabs of 2 cm Red Dragon.

The slabs were matched like a mirror, which is called book-matching.  You can do a lot of special effects with book-matched slabs, and we used tape to look at how we might cut the pieces on the slabs including splash, keeping in mind how the veining might play into the whole picture of the room.

     In the afternoon, I met a client at Pental Granite & Marble in Fife to look at different options on Soapstone.  Usually 3 cm, Soapstone is softer than granite and usually a mineral oil is applied to the installed countertops to darken.  We looked at a number of blocks.  A block is a group of slabs.  Within a block, slabs should be similar, but when you pick out your slabs you may want to not the number of the block as well as slab numbers to be sure you have gotten the actual slabs you selected.  There are a number of different kinds and colors of soapstone-- in this case we were looking at Origional Green which is really more grey.  The slabs are sometimes smaller than granite which can impact your seams. 
     Last night we had a great time at a Remodelers Council meeting at Hammond Knoll in Tacoma.  They really have an amazing ability to clean and restore carpets and furniture.  It's great to be a part of a big local group of designers, remodelers etc.  There's a lot of history among everyone, and you know you can really count on people you know.