If you're anything like me, your favorite part of renovating is the countertops. It's near the end of the process and you can see the end in sight. Plus, the thought of covering up unfinished, ugly cabinetry with a pretty, smooth surface is damn satisfying after months of hard work.
Enter your friendly neighborhood stone supplier. Not to be confused with fabricators, which cut the stone to your kitchen's specifications, these are repositories of raw material to pick from. Unlike sleek showrooms, we're talking dusty warehouses filled with slabs upon slabs of granite, marble, and quartz. It's Barney Rubble's dream house. Or maybe Dick Clark's.
Even if I know what I am looking for, I always take a few minutes to roam the aisles looking at all the materials. Some of the slabs are otherworldly, and it boggles your mind to think that they are actual natural materials that COME OUT OF THIS EARTH and not photographs from another planet. Seriously, some of them look like they rode in on a horse straight from Mars.
If you're unsure of where to go, fabricators often have a list of distributors they've worked with. Start there, and don't forget: leave no stone unturned. (I couldn't resist.)
(Images: Dabney Frake)
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Beautiful. Very helpful! And don't forget to look at the remnant section.
It can be overwhelming! So many beautiful slabs! They are like abstract paintings, you could easily frame and hang them! (OK, considering the weight, not really EASILY!)
Our local company sells remnants cut by the linear inch -- WAAAAY cheaper for lavatory counters and the like than the same stone for a large installation.
Seeing polished slabs in the daylight can be different than by interior light. The black sections of the stone we used appeared clear in the daylight and there was an impression of great depth, like looking into deep, clear water. It was breathtaking. The stone looks beautiful installed, but not so dramatic.
I work at a stone distributor and it's truly amazing to see the variety and imagination of Mother Nature! If anyone's interested, I have a blog post about how to navigate selecting a slab from a distributor to make the process easier: http://www.modernhaveninteriors.com/blog/post.cfm/tips-tricks-choosing-granite-countertops
And I'm such a lucky duck to work in a place that is CLEAN and has good lighting ... but you're right, the state of most slab yards is atrocious.
Be sure to check out the remnants if you don't need a large amount of stone. We found an amazing piece of granite (known as green eyes or green mermaid) that cost us less than half of its usual price. We had three small counters--one by the sink and two by the stove to do; the rest of our counters are butcher block.