Best counter top materials for an art studio?
Sarah Chiu
4 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (8)
heatheron40
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Counter top material
Comments (19)not the greenest option, but a lot of the solid surface companies are now using products with pretty high percentages of recycled material, and look pretty good we just did our kitchen, and i couldnt find too many around here in Virginia that offered the recycled glass, let alone justify the price. granite was absolutely not an option(grew up in colorado springs, ive seen first hand what granite quarrying does to a mountain. the designer was boggled that i refused granite. i tried to explain, but here in this region, theyre about 10yrs behind the west regarding real sustainability or recycling). i didnt want the particle board/laminate countertops as theyre throw away. so we went with the corian. yeah its plasticish, it probably takes a ton of energy to make, but the transit to here was short(and put Americans to work) it can be repaired,(not many others can be), contained some industrial by product/recycled/reclaimed content, and it looked nice. install was fast and took little to no adhesives. will the next owners probably jsut throw it away? maybe. id like to hope that it would end up in someone elses kitchen though. i know laminate wont, and granite doesnt travel well. sure theres a lot of other options, but wheres it manufactured? hows it manufactured? and at the end of the day, whats it cost? i love the way granite looks, really, but i really find it less than functional, and tough to justify for me the stripping a mountain of million year old stone so my kitchen looks nice. thats prepostrous to me. nevermind what happens when it stains, or cracks? it ends up in the trash. thats wasteful. wasting some laminated/compressed paper, or particle board is one thing, but stone is something completely different. that crap cant just be grown again. apologize for the resurection of this topic...See MoreCraft-Art counter top - care for
Comments (3)We just moved into our new kitchen and our island includes a prep sink and a Craft-Art iroko countertop. Our new dishwasher vents steam at the end of each cycle, but that is under a granite countertop. I can't offer you an opinion informed by experience with this countertop, but I do think that steam venting under the overhang of a wood counter on a daily basis could be a problem. We previously had Fisher Paykel dish drawers under a laminate counter. Some steam is released when the lids on the dishdrawers rise at the end of a cycle, and this resulted in damage to the underside of the overhang. If you can't move the sink and dishwasher to an area with a granite countertop, maybe you could use granite on the part of the island around the sink and above the dishwasher and walnut on the remainder. On the other hand, maybe someone who has had more experience than I with wood counters will chime in and tell you there is nothing to worry about. Good luck with your project! Sarah...See MoreTransition from Arts & Crafts to Art Deco?
Comments (106)I went looking for images of those elements. Ribbed glass panels in cabinet doors is easy enough. Here's one in a bathroom vanity: Ribbed glass (or ''seeded'' glass) is also often found in period light fixtures: As for marquetry countertops, if you asked most kitchen cabinet makers for such, I imagine they would gape blankly at the gabbling woman. But there are plenty of companies doing stock and custom hardwood marquetry inlays using CNC laser cutters. Here's the thing - they are doing it in floors. Google ''hardwood floor inlay'' and see. Yes, many of the rosettes are infeasible for a 26'' counter, but look for the ''border'' designs - or create your own. Assemble a 26'' wide section of inlaid ''floor'' on a 3/4'' plywood substrate, encase it in Waterlox, and I do believe you'd have yourself a marquetry countertop. Another option - perhaps cheaper - is stenciling on hardwood, of which this is an example. And so is this What else? Beveled glass is readily available, as is chrome countertop edging, and any furniture or auto upholstery shop can cover a panel of 1/8'' plywood in soft butterscotch leather framed in silver studs (maybe not actual silver, but close enough). I don't know exactly what version of Art Deco you are headed for, or if you even like butterscotch, but the point is, you are not doing yet another white kitchen, you're doing something that isn't being done by the mainstream, so the ordinary kitchen sources are not making this stuff. Sure, there is cool Art Deco hardware around, but what passes for ''Art Deco'' kitchen cabinetry in the online catalogs is . . . disappointing. You are going to have to make it, or at least source it, yourself - and I think if you're comfortable outside the painted lines, you can. You'll find yourself hiring a floor guy to work on a countertop, hunting down the local hot rod upholstery shops, telling your cabinet maker to fit bathroom vanity faces to kitchen cabinet boxes - they'll still look at you like you're crazy, but you'll know you're not. Go for it, girl!...See MoreCounter-top Advice for old outdated farm kitchen
Comments (4)You need to do some homework. Every material has it's pros and cons, and it all comes down to what you are willing to live with. "Best" is completely subjective. Frankly, if my DH had not felt so strongly about our using a "higher end" counter top (we ended up with engineered quartz) I would have done a laminate. They are durable, warm, soft, and very inexpensive. Completely low-maintenance if you are not careless about using them. Our quartz will be fine, and looks fantastic, but we spent nearly three times what we could have spent on a high-end laminate. IKEA has some DIY laminate for incredibly little cost if you are willing to put in the effort and will buy you plenty of time to do some research on your countertop options. Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA wood and laminate countertops...See Morejad2design
4 years agoIndecisiveness
4 years agoC W
4 years agopartim
4 years agodecoenthusiaste
4 years agoSarah Chiu
4 years ago
Related Stories
KITCHEN DESIGNTop Colors and Materials for Counters, Backsplashes and Walls
Neutral colors and engineered quartz reign in kitchen remodels, according to the 2020 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study
Full StorySTUDIOS AND WORKSHOPSSee How an Old Garage Became a Colorful Art Studio
Using reclaimed materials, an artist in Ojai, California, converts a dark 1926 structure into a light-filled workspace
Full StoryKITCHEN BACKSPLASHES10 Top Backsplashes to Pair With Concrete Counters
Simplify your decision making with these ideas for materials that work well with concrete
Full StorySTUDIOS AND WORKSHOPSStudio Tour: A Painter’s View From on Top of the World
This colorful artist’s space in Australia sits up high and opens up to inspiring views of the Queensland rainforest
Full StoryKITCHEN COUNTERTOPSDesigners Dish on Their Top Materials for Kitchen Countertops
Find out which countertop materials and styles these pros are favoring in their kitchen designs
Full StorySTUDIOS AND WORKSHOPS14 Home Studios That Nurture Creativity and Art
The Hardworking Home: Houzz readers show us spaces where they paint, photograph and craft — and tell us what makes their rooms work for them
Full StoryROOTS OF STYLEArt Deco, Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts: What’s the Difference?
If the zigzag and swirly designs of the past leave your head spinning, these descriptions will straighten you right out
Full StorySTUDIOS AND WORKSHOPSRoom of the Day: A New Art Studio Paints a Perfect Picture
After painting in spare bedrooms and garages for years, Elise Marshall finally has an art studio that inspires her
Full StorySTUDIOS AND WORKSHOPSCreative Spaces: Once a Garage, Now an Art Studio and Office
See how an artist and mom on a $300 budget created a bohemian-inspired mulitpurpose studio in a weekend
Full StorySTUDIOS AND WORKSHOPSStudio Tour: An Art Salon in the Heart of Las Vegas
Two friends create a shared space for all things art in a light-filled 1940s bungalow
Full Story
katinparadise