Some Reasons for using Solid Surfaces

Cabinets may be the packhorses of the kitchen, but countertops are the workhorses. That's where we lay out supplies, peel and chop, roll and knead, mix and serve. It's fair to say that the countertop is like the carpenter's workbench. It needs to be tough, level, smooth, and big enough for the work we do. A kitchen needs at least one 36-in. continuous countertop space, preferably sinkside. For two cooks, provide two separate 3-ft. counters. Refrigerators and cooktops require landing spaces on one or two sides. Any hardworking kitchen will demand even more countertop space but locate it outside the work triangle (between refrigerator, sink, and cooktop) to keep meal preparation efficient.

A countertop and its vertical helpmate, the backsplash, bestow a kitchen with much of its style. Both can be highly polished, satin, or matte, and their edges can be profiled in several ways. A variety of materials serve well as countertops, from ages-old wood and marble to the heatproof, waterproof choice of the restaurant-kitchen, stainless steel. Always economical, plastic laminate comes in an ever-widening array of colors and patterns, as does the more expensive but longer-lived solid-surface countertop. Richly colorful, formable, and durable, concrete is coming into its own as a countertop material. A backsplash can be more decorative than a countertop, because it serves not as a work surface but as a protective one. Here's where three dimensions can come into play, such as in a bas-relief tile panel or a backsplash/turned-shelf. Finally, there's no reason why a kitchen can't be fit up with more than one type of countertop material, each customized to suit the task.