Kitchen Counter Choices Are Changing

Particularly here on the East End, high style in the home cooking area is all about the functionality of a commercial-grade kitchen while also maintaining the elegance of the Hamptons aesthetic.

Last year, Rich Raffel installed stainless-steel countertops in the kitchen of a client. The household chef had worked in commercial kitchens and wanted the utilitarian look and function the metal provides.

“It will show wear and tear, but it’s very hard to ding or dent and it doesn’t stain,” Mr. Raffel said of stainless steel. “It’s a real workhorse.”

Mr. Raffel, the owner of E.T. Raffel in Southampton, said he occasionally installs stainless-steel countertops along the edges of stove ranges in local homes as well. Today, previously unconventional materials—including stainless steel, glass, concrete and reconstituted stone—are a growing trend in kitchen remodeling and design. And according to Mr. Raffel, homeowners are now departing from what was once 
the end-all-be-all in kitchen countertops: granite.

Marble currently reigns as the most on-trend natural stone, according to several local designers.

Erin Escobar of Hampton Design Interiors in East Hampton has numerous clients who request a smooth white marble, she said. The stone fits into the classic Hamptons house: a fusion of traditional and contemporary design.

“Plain lines, clean looks, and the simple less is more,” Ms. Escobar said. “That seems to be a trend that we’ve been doing recently.”

Some homeowners, who may be wary about the maintenance marble requires, opt for reconstituted stone surfaces, including popular brands such as CaesarStone and Silestone, according to Ms. Escobar.

Many of Jack Vivonetto’s clients at La Moda Ceramic Tile in Westhampton Beach choose the reconstituted surface—casually called “quartz”—when they’re re-vamping a kitchen, he reported.

“It’s a lot less maintenance, and it’s stain resistant,” Mr. Vivonetto said.

The popular quartz products are made from ground-up granite or quartz bits adhered together with an epoxy, according to Mr. Raffel, He added that the products, such as natural stone, are virtually indestructible against heat and scratching. The natural components in CaesarStone and Silestone give the material a natural finish and feel, unlike other man-made options that are thinner and made completely from inorganic materials, he said.

The reconstituted stone surfaces offer another bonus: Unlike marble and granite, they do not require sealant. Marble, which is porous and stains easily, usually has to be sealed every year, Mr. Raffel said.

A good test to find out if a countertop is ready for a reseal is to spill a drop of water on the surface. If it soaks quickly into the material, it’s time for a 
new round of sealant, a 
chemical process that should be done by a professional, Mr. Raffel said.

Marble is also soft, and acids cause etching, pushing some homeowners to have their countertops sanded and honed regularly, Ms. Escobar said. But others leave the stone alone, allowing it to take on a natural-aged look that they may 
think has more character, she said.

“It looks okay beat up and you will see homes that have had marble in them for 100 years and nothing’s been done to it,” Ms. Escobar said. “It depends on the client and their preference.”

For Mr. Raffel, marble sometimes does not seem to be the standout material. He’s regularly incorporating out-of-the-box-type surfaces such as walnut, concrete and limestone, which he has in his own home, he said.

Instead of traditional butcher-block counters, Mr. Raffel has built wide-plank wood tops in teak, oak and zebra wood. The wooden surface gives the kitchen more of a living- or dining room-feel, and can be sanded and refinished with time, he said.

In contrast to warm, wood tones, concrete countertops give kitchens a polished look, Mr. Raffel said. Concrete fabricators can blend the material to a nubby, sandy consistency; a completely smooth one; or somewhere in between.

“In contemporary kitchens, we’re using more and more concrete,” he said.

Ms. Escobar has finished projects featuring glass countertops, a pricier choice that lends a sleek look to a room, she said.

“It’s not so much rustic,” Ms. Escobar said. “It’s very clean and transitional.”

For Mr. Vivonetto, green and a crystal white are the most popular glass colors.

Even with the influx of new countertop options and trends, Mr. Raffel said he still urges customers to go with a natural stone over a reconstituted product. He finds that man-made 
materials look too consistent for his taste.

“The time to use man-made is when you need a color or texture that’s not practical or available in natural stone,” he said.

When homeowners and interior designers do choose granite, which is still considered the most durable of natural stones, they select one that’s not mottled with dark spots, Mr. Raffel said. That look peaked in 
popularity approximately 
five to 10 years ago, he added, saying that the prevailing aesthetic has changed to one less busy.

“They’re looking for something unusual, in creams and golds, or with more of a solid color and look,” Mr. Raffel said of his clients. “They’re much more discerning.”