can't be all stainless. there's already so much stainless equipment, refer's, etc. between that and the steel/glazing, i need something with a different look/feel.
FRO - Is it Okite? Okite's an Italian-Made quartz product like zodiaq, only nicer.
yeah- that phenolic core stuff looks like what I'm thinking of- impervious, disinfectable surface with a nice satin black finish that'll look great after 20 years of patina. Plus you could rout in custom edge details, surface drain grooves, etc.
Ya, spray on bedliner for the redneck crowd. Carefull with the sink. requires some detail work if layin. Make sure sprayer is set to smooth texture because it can get rough. Choose your color.
A kitchen cabinet supplier I work with, Conceptual Kitchens, also reps Pyrolave, a solid glazed ceramic countertop. By solid I mean single slabs of 24"x80" pieces. It is abso-frickin'-lutely gorgeous material! None of the pics do it any kind of justice.
Quite pricey, but likely worth it for beauty, uniquness, and durability. Even just an island or one bartop done in it would make the whole room gorgeous. I haven't talked any of my clients into it - yet. But it is so beautiful it's only a matter of time. And if it matters to your clients, they would definitely be the "first on their block" to have it...
Oh, also, if the Pyrolave is too pricey, I had labtop aka Fireslate 2 in my old kitchen and it was wonderful. We didn't seal it with anything but several deep applications of tung oil on instalaltion, so it was not shiny, more of a honed finish. Then a less-intense sing coat of tung oil application every six months. Beautiful stuff, and patinas well.
Also, cf, the thought of spraying on a countertop is hilarious. My clients just had that stuff put in their garage floor, I should have talked to them about doing it in the kitchen, too!
OK I'm done yammering on this thread now (4 posts in a row!). Good luck with the project, mightylittle.
Yes kwarch - it is indeed the shipping from France that makes it so expensive. But tres elegant! But in a kitchen with "exceptionally high-priced cooking gadgets", I'd say Pyrolave is not out of reach.
FYI!
I used Alkemi for a project last year and had a bad experience with it. The material delivered was different than the control samples approved at the shop drawing stage. The surface was completely dull. The folks at renewed materials were less than helpfull and at the end of the day my client had to pay a third party to polish the material to the level the control samples had. Numerous calls to renewed materials resulted in no response.
I hate to trash talk vendors but I feel that my experience was bad enough to share. I will never use that material again, but after a lengthy sell to my client the last thing we all want is to look bad in their eyes.
is there anything visually adjacent for detail - color. texture or surface - in entry/hall/dining area - that you can key off of. You might try a matrix of materials - a mesh of metal embedded in resin that light can pass thru or panelite material
bump.
i was considering fireslate in a kitchen remodel i'm working on, but have come across some seriously unhappy customers in online reviews. anyone here used it?
They have a fairly long lead time, and don't install, so if you wait your 6-8 weeks for your top then the installer you hire breaks it you have no recourse but to order - and pay for - another piece. So that is a pain.
Oil soaks into it - oil is used as the finish - so if you knock over a cup of olive oil, you'll get stains, or if you set your bottle of olive oil on the counter you're likely to get a ring. Likewise, it reacts with acids, so if you slice lemons on the counter you'll get a whitish stain. To me, most of this stuff can be considered patina, and additional coatings of tung oil make the stains less visible.
It's meant to be a 75 year surface, not a trendy finish you'll remodel in 20 years. It's much like soapstone in that effect - over decades, it looks more and more gorgeous, but there might be some uncomfortable teen years in there for awhile. If you want something that looks perfect forever, polished granite or manufactured quartz tops are your best choices, with a glossy finish that can be buffed and re-polished if need be - the material itself doesn't really age, though the seams can look grotty after a few years. And everything chips.
Yep...the number of quartz sample boxes in our office library has multiplied exponentially in the past two years. There are plenty of options in that area.
(p.s. Has anyone noticed how nice the quartzite coutners at Starbucks look these days?)
Just Why, I can't see past those ugly thinset beige wall tiles they selected for the new Starbucks look. Not that I go into a Starbucks more than 4x/year - it's probably been their "new" look for a couple years now.
jeffe, quartz might be your best option. They do some in honed finishes now, if you don't want glossy. I've had glossy Technistone for four years and it's still in perfect condition, even with hot pots, lots of acids, my clumsiness when moving a cast iron pan, and Sharpie markers wielded by a 6 year old.
Yeah, I think richlite is something similar, but the school had already decided on paperstone.
Anyways, I think they're both fairly sustainable, though I don't know if most "high-end" residential clients give a shit, or if they just want something cool and expensive even if it's made out of baby seal skin.
Kinda like driving a Monster Truck to work, but saying it's the most fuel efficient Monster Truck on the market. Meh.
They were just awarded a patent for their method to create custom ceramic tiles. Work just with designers on custom projects. Boutique tile studio located in southern california.
New Solid Surface Ideas?
working on ff&e for a particularly high-end residential kitchen.
lots of commercial equipment, exceptionally high-priced cooking gadgets, lab tools, etc...
the architecture (not by me) is mostly cementitious panels, steel and glass, though it has yet to be finalized. it's in the seattle area.
i'm looking for some new/interesting suggestions for surfacing materials...
something beyond the traditional granite/marble/concrete.
thoughts?
Stainless. Everything in stainless.
what is the name of that black tabletop surface you see in science labs?
can't be all stainless. there's already so much stainless equipment, refer's, etc. between that and the steel/glazing, i need something with a different look/feel.
FRO - Is it Okite? Okite's an Italian-Made quartz product like zodiaq, only nicer.
don't know if that's it, but it's a good idea...
just found this too....
http://www.locscientific.com/trespa-laboratory-countertops.html
yeah- that phenolic core stuff looks like what I'm thinking of- impervious, disinfectable surface with a nice satin black finish that'll look great after 20 years of patina. Plus you could rout in custom edge details, surface drain grooves, etc.
Soapstone?
I would ook into using PaperStone; pretty cool stuff and easy to handle in the field, pricing is competitive
alkemi
syndecrete
both very high on recycled content...
Ya, spray on bedliner for the redneck crowd. Carefull with the sink. requires some detail work if layin. Make sure sprayer is set to smooth texture because it can get rough. Choose your color.
Fireslate (the lab tabletop stuff)
Corian
Paperstone, Richlite
Caeserstone
Avonite
to name a few. All have pros/cons.
I think you can get 8ft of butcherblock from ikea for under $100
What about concrete counters? can be dyed, finished in various ways...
carbon fiber
you spend way too much time around rice rockets...
resin -
3-form
ATTA
lab grade epoxy resin - way to go
A kitchen cabinet supplier I work with, Conceptual Kitchens, also reps Pyrolave, a solid glazed ceramic countertop. By solid I mean single slabs of 24"x80" pieces. It is abso-frickin'-lutely gorgeous material! None of the pics do it any kind of justice.
Quite pricey, but likely worth it for beauty, uniquness, and durability. Even just an island or one bartop done in it would make the whole room gorgeous. I haven't talked any of my clients into it - yet. But it is so beautiful it's only a matter of time. And if it matters to your clients, they would definitely be the "first on their block" to have it...
Oh, also, if the Pyrolave is too pricey, I had labtop aka Fireslate 2 in my old kitchen and it was wonderful. We didn't seal it with anything but several deep applications of tung oil on instalaltion, so it was not shiny, more of a honed finish. Then a less-intense sing coat of tung oil application every six months. Beautiful stuff, and patinas well.
Make that "single" coat of tung oil every six months. Sorry I get giddy when I talk about countertops.
tres boofoo lb...
but all the way from_____
france....
Also, cf, the thought of spraying on a countertop is hilarious. My clients just had that stuff put in their garage floor, I should have talked to them about doing it in the kitchen, too!
OK I'm done yammering on this thread now (4 posts in a row!). Good luck with the project, mightylittle.
i've seen some stainless steel small hexagonal tiles. could be nice for a backsplash. traditional hex but in stainless is a cool contrast.
Yes kwarch - it is indeed the shipping from France that makes it so expensive. But tres elegant! But in a kitchen with "exceptionally high-priced cooking gadgets", I'd say Pyrolave is not out of reach.
lb - no disagreement from moi on that logic
any sense as to pyrolave's durability compared to stainless?
FYI!
I used Alkemi for a project last year and had a bad experience with it. The material delivered was different than the control samples approved at the shop drawing stage. The surface was completely dull. The folks at renewed materials were less than helpfull and at the end of the day my client had to pay a third party to polish the material to the level the control samples had. Numerous calls to renewed materials resulted in no response.
I hate to trash talk vendors but I feel that my experience was bad enough to share. I will never use that material again, but after a lengthy sell to my client the last thing we all want is to look bad in their eyes.
is there anything visually adjacent for detail - color. texture or surface - in entry/hall/dining area - that you can key off of. You might try a matrix of materials - a mesh of metal embedded in resin that light can pass thru or panelite material
have fun!!
bump.
i was considering fireslate in a kitchen remodel i'm working on, but have come across some seriously unhappy customers in online reviews. anyone here used it?
not bumping again, but i just learned that [url=http://www.syndecrete.com/]syndecrete is no longer in business!{/url] bummer. when did that happen?
cripes.
syndecrete
jeffe, what were the Fireslate complaints?
They have a fairly long lead time, and don't install, so if you wait your 6-8 weeks for your top then the installer you hire breaks it you have no recourse but to order - and pay for - another piece. So that is a pain.
Oil soaks into it - oil is used as the finish - so if you knock over a cup of olive oil, you'll get stains, or if you set your bottle of olive oil on the counter you're likely to get a ring. Likewise, it reacts with acids, so if you slice lemons on the counter you'll get a whitish stain. To me, most of this stuff can be considered patina, and additional coatings of tung oil make the stains less visible.
It's meant to be a 75 year surface, not a trendy finish you'll remodel in 20 years. It's much like soapstone in that effect - over decades, it looks more and more gorgeous, but there might be some uncomfortable teen years in there for awhile. If you want something that looks perfect forever, polished granite or manufactured quartz tops are your best choices, with a glossy finish that can be buffed and re-polished if need be - the material itself doesn't really age, though the seams can look grotty after a few years. And everything chips.
Yep...the number of quartz sample boxes in our office library has multiplied exponentially in the past two years. There are plenty of options in that area.
(p.s. Has anyone noticed how nice the quartzite coutners at Starbucks look these days?)
staining, chipped corners, & pitting are the problems for the people who've complained.
my problem is trying to gauge my client's tolerance for a countertop material that is ideally to develop a patina.
i suspect it isn't a good fit for this project....
Just Why, I can't see past those ugly thinset beige wall tiles they selected for the new Starbucks look. Not that I go into a Starbucks more than 4x/year - it's probably been their "new" look for a couple years now.
jeffe, quartz might be your best option. They do some in honed finishes now, if you don't want glossy. I've had glossy Technistone for four years and it's still in perfect condition, even with hot pots, lots of acids, my clumsiness when moving a cast iron pan, and Sharpie markers wielded by a 6 year old.
http://www.icestone.biz/
We used paperstone for the counter of our Solar Decathlon house, I think one of the other SD houses used icestone (or something that looked similar).
The paperstone looked more modern (we used black), I think the icestone kinda stuff has more the feel of traditional stone to it.
lb - i'm thinking so on the engineered stone.
thanks milwaukee08 - that paperstone seems sorta similar in formulation to richlite...
el j-
Yeah, I think richlite is something similar, but the school had already decided on paperstone.
Anyways, I think they're both fairly sustainable, though I don't know if most "high-end" residential clients give a shit, or if they just want something cool and expensive even if it's made out of baby seal skin.
Kinda like driving a Monster Truck to work, but saying it's the most fuel efficient Monster Truck on the market. Meh.
Try this product:
http://www.photo-form.com/
They were just awarded a patent for their method to create custom ceramic tiles. Work just with designers on custom projects. Boutique tile studio located in southern california.
Those are gorgeous, gibson.
Glass - starphire to get that light blue edge and a solid color laminate back. I like vetrazzo too.
Hey thanks Liberty Bell, appretiate that.
Please let us know if you are interested on your next project, we'll offer you the "archinect" discount!
i saw a zinc benchtop that was pretty cool - got all scratched up and stuff
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