Kitchen Encounters

10/7/2008

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kitchen encounters WRITTEN BY Megan Joyce

IT HAS WITHSTOOD THE SPILLED CONTENTS OF baby bottles and the creation of countless peanut-butterand-jelly sandwiches, not to mention the heat of just-baked holiday cookies, the vibrations of the electric Thanksgiving turkey carver, and the repeated clink of wine glasses at parties and family get-togethers.

Your kitchen countertop has served as both a literal and a figurative fixture in the lives of you and your family members for years, perhaps even decades. And after all that time, many baby boomers are looking at their countertops with new eyes.

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IceStone, (shown right in Moroccan red), made of recycled glass and concrete, is one of the new “green” certified countertop materials available.

The blue quartz kitchen (left), by Caesarstone, is a manmade material that boasts many of the same qualities as granite.

And now that your nest is emptier and your expenses (ideally) a bit less restrictive, you might finally have the money needed to transform your kitchen from the kidfriendly and lovingly used area it’s always been to a sleeker, 21st-century living and cooking space. As you move into your 40s, 50s, and beyond, your kitchen—the “heart” of any home—may need some much-deserved TLC and a chance to reclaim for you some of its original equity.

So whether you have a whole-room revamping in mind or the less drastic tweaking of a few decorative aspects, replacing your kitchen’s counter spaces is one of the smartest and most room-altering investments you can make.

The National Kitchen & Bath Association says that remodeled kitchens can expect a five-fold return on what was spent when the house is sold.

Mark Celebuski, general manager of Pinnacle Cast

especially Brazil. Carmine Pantano, of Frank’s Custom

Concrete, said he sees a lot of boomer-aged customers

Granite & Marble, believes it will be a long-term trend.

inquiring about kitchen upgrades—especially the

Because it’s a natural material, he predicts granite won’t

countertops. “People are staying put with the housing

look “dated” in a decade or two, unlike the way we now

market [being down], so people are spending money in the

crinkle our stylish noses at the Formica countertops popular

homes they already own,” he said. “The kitchen’s one of the

in the 1970s. Granite’s from-nature appeal, its durability,

most redone areas, and it gives you more return for your

and its stain resistance are counted among its pluses.

buck than any other room in the house.”

Celebuski noted that rather than upgrading to a newer

Granite is also a low-maintenance material. “A lot of myths out there say you need to seal your granite once a

home, boomers are updating the home they already have.

year; on most granite, that is not true,” explained Pantano.

“When sales of new homes drop, sales of remodeling often

“The sealer only needs to be applied maybe once every 10

pick up,” he added.

years, or even never again, because the sealer technology is

There is a wide range of countertop products available on the market these days, and the trick is determining which

getting a lot better.”

When it comes to countertop upgrades, however, take

material best suits your needs, your lifestyle, and your visual

into consideration the age, quality, and wear-and-tear level

preferences. Granite, quartz, and marble, as well as newer

of your existing kitchen cabinets. Jack LeCesa, owner of

“green” materials like concrete and IceStone, present the

Rojahn Custom Cabinets, cautions against putting “a 100-

homeowner with a variety of substances from which to

dollar saddle on a 10-dollar horse. Lots of times, the

choose, each with its own pros and cons.

cabinets break down because the weight of granite it too heavy.”

Granite The craze for granite exploded in the mid-1990s and is still going strong today, being mined from all over the world,

As for its cons, price is counted as one of its few downsides—but cost really comes down to customer preference. “Granite can be the least expensive, but it can

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This kitchen countertop (left), by Caesarstone, is stain-resistant and scratch-resistant.

White Carrera marble (right) makes for a beautiful countertop in this kitchen designed by Rojahn Custom Cabinets. also be the most expensive because there

is dropping in price because of the

are many exotic colors with granite,” said

competitive nature of the business,”

and is also heat resistant, but does not

Pantano. “There is a very large variation in

Celebuski said.

withstand heat quite as well as granite

granite price.”

LeCesa noted that many fabricators now

And what about the recent concern over potentially harmful levels of radon found in

placed between a pot and a [quartz]

granite? Those in the granite business reject

countertop, even though it can handle a

customers, a computer-generated depiction

that as a fabricated scare tactic concocted

good amount of heat,” Pantano said.

of your countertop and its fixtures. “They

by manufacturers of other countertop

take a slab of granite and then superimpose

materials. Pantano called radon “almost a

places, including Canada, Spain,

your sink area, your island, your pieces of

complete non-issue,” and explained that all

Jerusalem, and some from right here in the

granite left and right of a cooktop, maybe

natural materials harvested from the earth

United States. A quartz countertop is an

even a mantle or hearth, and in a blue tape

will contain negligible amounts of radon.

engineered stone (top manufacturers include

look,” he said.

This is especially useful for granite, with

“If you pull a potato out of the ground,

comprised of 93 percent quartz with 7

from the ground technically has some in it.

percent pigments and resin. The end result

As for it being harmful, there’s no case for

looks similar to granite but with a more

variations. “You don’t want that orange

that,” he said.

uniform appearance.

The other two factors that can affect the

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Silestone, Cambria, and Zodiac) that is

its naturally irregular patterns and color

your island,” LeCesa added.

((

Quartz comes to us from a variety of

there’s radon in that. Anything that comes

streak going right through the middle of

does. “We recommend a hot pad being

create virtual countertops for their

will overlay it to see how it’s going to

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Quartz is comparable in price to granite

“The biggest thing would be for the Quartz

customer to know how much maintenance

Looking for a stain-resistant and

they want and then also what their eyes can

price of granite are the availability of a

scratch-resistant countertop, but aren’t

handle. They have to wake up to this every

particular color and how difficult your

wowed by the natural look of granite?

morning,” said Pantano. “If they like

choice is to work with. Some granite is

Consider quartz, a manmade material that

something wild and exotic, you want to go

hard and dense, where other versions are

boasts many of the same good qualities as

to granite. If you want to be more

fragile and can fall apart if not handled

granite, including requiring almost no

conservative and don’t want to see a lot of

with care. Its very popularity is also helping

maintenance and being able to withstand

movement, then we recommend the

to drive down the cost of granite. “Granite

repeated use.

quartz.”

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Marble Marble’s largest selling point is its beauty … but its pros are quite limited, especially when it comes to functionality. “A lot of people are very disappointed when they put marble in the kitchen,” cautioned Celebuski. Marble will age and lose its sheen with time, and scratches and stains easily.

It’s also a very high-maintenance product, revered for its beauty but often impractical because of its soft and porous nature. “It makes for a beautiful counter, but we don’t recommend it in kitchens because it stains and will scratch very quickly,” Pantano said. If you love the look of marble, Pantano suggested using it in the bathroom instead—but even then, any mess made with soap and water must be wiped up immediately to prevent damage from occurring. “All the other countertop products are a lot more forgiving,” he said.

Cost is also an issue when it comes to marble countertops. Celebuski said Italian marbles can easily reach $100 per square foot.

IceStone As with everything else these days, the building and remodeling industries have hopped on the

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Its main con? Price. “Not everyone wants to spend the money on going green,” said Pantano. “I think it’s only going to attract people looking for that green certification.” IceStone also requires a little more maintenance than other substances in that it needs to be Concrete kitchen island with embedded natural river rock.

“green” bandwagon and now present environmentally friendly options for your kitchen and bathroom countertops.

Made of recycled glass and concrete,

surprisingly beautiful appearance.

sealed more often, perhaps once every one to three years.

Concrete

“It almost looks like bits of smashed

The price of a concrete-only

glass bottles thrown into a bed of concrete,”

countertop is a bit more tolerable— about the same as mid-range granite, said

IceStone is available in a wide array of

Celebuski, who noted that concrete is

Brooklyn, N.Y., company for the past few

color variations—after all, its color palette

seen as a green material in the building

years. Its biggest selling points are its green

is only limited by the innumerable colors of

industry. Its other main appeal is that

certification as well as its unique and

glass that are now created.

it’s entirely conformable to what the

Kitchen Designed by Marc Goodwin

Pantano explained. “It looks pretty neat.”

IceStone has been manufactured by a

D e d i c a t i o n To Craftsmanship

33 West Maple St. Dallastown, PA 17313

717–246–2693 www.rojahnkitchens.com 38

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Celebuski said concrete is the most

created within 50 to 100 miles of your

doesn’t exist [as a countertop] until you

versatile of all the materials and

home, a plus for those wishing to help

decide how it should exist,” Celebuski

estimated that it will make up 7 percent

stimulate their local economy. Celebuski

said.

of the countertop market within the next

said that sourcing your materials within

Instead of walking through a granite

decade. Also, due to improved sealer

that distance will also cut down on

yard and selecting a nice-looking slab,

technology, concrete counters can now be

transportation costs.

customers interested in a concrete

made stainless, and newer, high-

countertop can have a sink or drain board

performance concrete means the cracking

urged costumers to consider functionality

actually cast into the concrete. They can

issues of the past are no more.

first and foremost when the time is right

add color, texture, or dropped edges.

Concrete found its place in the kitchen

Concrete can scratch, however, so it’s

LeCesa, Pantano, and Celebuski all

to update your often-used and well-loved

a better choice for homeowners who are

counter spaces. Though the memories

by creative individuals seeking an artistic

past the life stage of raising little ones.

embedded in the old counters may be

outlet for their home, but it’s now become

“If you have a concrete sink and two kids

hard to relinquish, it may be high time to

more functional. “Now it can actually be

under 5, you’ve got 12 to 15 more years

update and upgrade them—if not to aid

a working part of the kitchen rather than

of telling them not to put that knife in the

in your home’s eventual resale, then

a piece of art,” said Celebuski. “It can

sink,” Celebuski laughed.

just for your own viewing pleasure

still be art, but just working art.”

Concrete countertops can also be

) ) ) kitchen encounters

customer wants. “Its biggest pro is that it

and use. ) ) )

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Website: www.jrmarbleandgranite.com • Email: jrmgcreations1@aol.com Hours: Mon.–Fri., 8 am–4 pm • Sat. 10 am to 5 pm • Sun. by appointment winter 2008|

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