When selecting kitchen countertop colors and finishes, it’s important to consider both the overall look of the kitchen and smaller focal points within the kitchen design. All of the big elements of the kitchen factor into this decision - cabinetry, flooring, backsplash, wall color, surrounding rooms, window exposure and appliances, especially if they stand out visually. You get ONE choice (usually) unless you are using multiple surfaces, which is another factor!
With all the choices today in countertops (and Appliance colors and finishes), it’s NOT easy to decide which design direction to take. I’m currently working on a kitchen and over time, I determined which design direction was best. “Less is more” is often a mantra to me, yet when you open up the walls, you often have the opportunity to bring in more finishes, play with contrast and perhaps add another level of decorative detail. OR NOT!
The “or not” direction brings with it a softer, more monochromatic and thoughtful expression of texture, often designed with similar colors producing a flow as opposed to a bolder (choppier?) design statement. However, there is no right or wrong.
THE VERONA APPLIANCE FACTOR
In this current kitchen I’m working on, there is one bold element - the beautiful, elegant, and matte black induction range by Verona. You look at this range and, I don’t know, it has a look of luxury but in a quiet way. It’s black, yet soft. It’s VERY sexy!
Added to the striking elegance of its finish, take a look at the lines. The lines are clean and crisp. The knobs are not enormous as we see on some ranges. They are proportioned well and are shaped, again, simply but with purpose. The functions of the knobs and buttons are intuitive. Overall, being made in Italy, a design center of the globe, this range has visual balance, is well proportioned and is beyond aesthetically pleasing.
The selection of the range, its lines and design language, has much to do with the overall theme of any kitchen design. Verona Designer Series ranges are available in six colors and the knobs can be in your choice of available colors too. The range colors are both classic shades, nuanced and one perfect Burgundy shade. Of course, the color of the range and its lines, a large design element in a kitchen, can nudge the entire design into different directions - quiet, bold, monochromatic, contrast-focused or colorful. The balance of large appliances within the room and proportions of the color and visual size of the range need to be considered carefully, preferably by a design professional.
SO - with this range in mind, the countertops need to complement the range and vice versa. After much to-do in considering dark, light, patterned, solid colored, marble and other styles and finishes of countertops, we are settling on a simple and elegant engineered stone from Silestone. We will be using Nolita for countertops, backsplash and the hood facade. Its sophisticated, non-marble pattern, yet with an authentic stone-like look, is the perfect juxtaposition of restraint and pattern.
The combination of range finish and countertop color and pattern are complementary on several fronts - the classic black and white (in this case soft shades) palette, both products are matte finishes, they both have an aesthetic which is modern and each shade features the other. They work beautifully together. Look at your countertop color and pattern and your range size and finish from an overall view within the kitchen as well as what they look like next to each other - close up. That is what a professional designer does.
One of the most difficult things to do in design is to use restraint. It’s easy to build layer upon layer of interesting textures of patterns, but the end result can be a visually cluttered design. This kitchen is on its way to being finished and there is so much more to talk about on these same products alone! The overall look will be a warm, modern, simple, kitchen design. More soon.