TOP COUNTERS

September 25, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Granite sharing spotlight with glass, engineered stone and much more

Los Angeles Times

To anyone reading the real- estate ads in recent years, it could seem that granite was the only material worth using for a kitchen counter, as important as updated electrical or a reliable roof.

Granite isn’t going anywhere. But many designers and homeowners are turning to glass, manufactured stone, metal and other materials to create counters that work for people who actually cook as well for those who see the kitchen as a decorative accessory.

“What consumers now have seen is there is kind of this granite fatigue. Everyone has granite,” said Ed Rogers, the director of business development at CaesarStone US, based in Van Nuys, Calif. CaesarStone and other brands, including Silestone, sell engineered quartz, a durable product made from more than 90 percent crushed quartz mixed with a resin.

Manufacturers are producing dozens of colors of engineered quartz, some of them trying to replicate the look of other stones or concrete, at prices comparable to those of midlevel granites. Both a virtue and a drawback is its consistency — no fossils or natural quirks, though that could change too as companies work to mimic the natural variations of marble or add a leathery surface texture.

Glass counters too are shining. Lighted from below, they can add an appealing glow to a kitchen. Buyers also like the hygienic qualities of glass in these days of the hand sanitizer.

Granite had been “reserved for the ultra high end,” but now it’s available in big box home stores, Rogers said. “It was the home center and the production builder that moved this market.”

And moved some homeowners to other choices that are new and appealing to green consumers, such as engineered quartz, as well as some that have been around for centuries, like soapstone or marble.

“I have not done a single granite countertop in 10 years,” said Dan Campbell, a Los Angeles contractor who specializes in kitchen design and remodels. “Maybe because it’s so overused. It all blends together.”

Troy Adams also hasn’t used much granite in the high-end kitchens he designs, though he acknowledged there are many beautiful granite slabs available. Improvements to other materials, such as stainless steel with fine patterns that resist fingerprints, have made alternatives more popular, Adams said.

One of the materials he likes to use is lava stone, which is quarried from a volcano in France, enameled and then fired at high temperatures. It’s stain-, heat- and scratch-resistant, and it has a sort of crackly surface that can be made in intense colors.

It’s also three to four times as costly as many granites, Adams said.

That doesn’t mean the old standbys, including solid surfaces such as Corian, are gone from the market — particularly in budget-minded kitchen plans. Wood — often used for cutting blocks or other inserts to countertops — also can work for counters, whether in a farmhouse kitchen in the city or a sleek contemporary space.

Although it still represents a small share of overall sales, engineered quartz has been the fastest-growing category in the last five or six years, CaesarStone’s Rogers said.

Many companies also are working to make their products — natural and manufactured — as eco-friendly as possible.

Consumers who care might check a product for its percentage of recycled materials, which varies considerably, or the conditions of its mining.