BATHROOM AND KITCHEN COUNTERS
A crucial
component of maximizing wall space is the installation of counters. An important
design decision is how to treat the surface space of counters, that is, what
material to use. You'll need ample horizontal surfaces in these rooms for
practical reasons, and because of their visual prominence, making them
attractive as well as useful is important.
Before installing any new horizontal surfaces in your bathroom, question the
location of the toilet. If it is opposite the entrance to the room, you'll
either have to keep the door shut or look at a necessary but essentially
unattractive fixture. The view into a bathroom should be enticing. This may
require relocating the toilet. By tucking it to the right or left of the
entrance door, it is out of sight until you are in the space
Next, place the bathtub, the fixture that takes up the most space. Once the
toilet and tub are set, then you can think about the ideal spot for the sink and
counter space. Aim for one elevation with a surface long enough for a sink with
ample space on either side. Don't crowd in two sinks at the expense of generous
counter space. Better to select a wide, oval sink with plenty of room left over
for flowers, hand towels, and soaps.
In bathrooms, I prefer glazed ceramic tile surfaces because not only are they
beautiful and available in a variety of colors and designs, but they are very
easy to clean. You can cover a plywood surface with any tiles you choose. One
client covered her bathroom sink counter with British Library— green handmade
French-glazed tiles. Now she can leave her bathroom door open and feast her eyes
on the beautiful green tiles reflected in the mirror above, which doubles the
visual space as well as the impact of the tiles.
Most bathrooms have a cabinet underneath the counter, but in a small bathroom,
the cupboard doors may seem confining. In small spaces, I prefer ledges with
open space below. One client chose an elegant pair of Lucite legs to support the
sink ledge in her bathroom. They have the look of crystal, with brass tops and
feet to add a light touch of grace. Consider hanging some prints on the wall
underneath the sink to enjoy them from the bedroom or when taking a bath.
If you decide not to have under-sink cabinets and don't want the traditional
medicine cabinet above, you'll need a place to keep bathroom items. Perhaps
small shelves or cubbies could be installed on either side of the sink
elevation, or you could store supplies in a free-standing cabinet against
another wall.
If you have a small, high window in your bathroom, consider installing a ledge
and covering it with four-inch-square tiles, repeating the same style on the
front ledge, to give an awkward window some definition and beauty. You can even
repeat these same tiles in several rows on the three walls above the tub for
continuity. If the tiles are especially elaborate, use primarily white tiles to
line your walls above the tub, interspersed randomly with the patterned tiles.
If your tub doubles as your shower, tiles should continue to the height of the
shower head or to the ceiling.
Next to glazed ceramic tiles, marble is my choice for sink counter material.
Marble is usually more formal than glazed tiles, but in a classical, traditional
house, it is elegant and appropriate.
If you own your house and intend to live in it for a long time, invest in
mirrored walls or large expanses of mirror in the bathroom because they make the
space twice as commodious. But don't install mirror where it will have direct
contact with water.
There are several options when choosing the ideal material for kitchen
countertops. I have a special passion for butcher-block counters because not
only are they practical for chopping but I find them organically beautiful,
warming up a space that contains cold, inanimate appliances. In a New York City
apartment kitchen a client's two-inch-thick butcher-block counters line up with
the window trim of a huge picture window on the wall opposite the door into the
room. To the left of the window is a square counter with a round copper bar
sink, leaving enough space for a small, square, American pine farm table where
the family can have breakfast. By installing an eight-inch-deep ledge underneath
the kitchen window and covering it with two rows of tiles, the client can place
flowering plants in the morning sunlight. The counters continue on the north,
south, and west walls, with one area raised from thirty-six to forty-one inches
high so the client can stand and work without leaning or sitting on a high
stool. (If you are tall, you will want high counters in the bathroom and laundry
area as well as in the kitchen.)
As a result of the attention given to the counter space in this kitchen, the
family uses this light, bright space as a gathering place. Kept free of
appliances and clutter, the counters are ready to be used by children decorating
gingerbread cookies or by parents paying bills or wrapping birthday presents.
Butcher-block counters not treated with a protective polyurethane coat require
regular sanding to keep the surface fresh. Though there are a wide variety of
practical materials for kitchen countertops that are easier to maintain than
untreated butcher block, I prefer the raw maple for two reasons. First, water
eventually causes the polyurethane to peel off; second, the coating gives the
wood an undesirable orange tint. Untreated wood also shows all the grease spots
that attract insects, so once you rub out these spots with sandpaper, you know
your counters are sanitary.
The easiest counters to care for are water and stain resistant, namely plastic
laminates and pressed marble, though some hard marbles have these qualities as
well. But there are really no maintenance-free materials. If someone puts a hot
kettle on a wooden surface it can be sanded until the burn mark disappears, but
if the same kettle is put on a pressed marble or plastic laminate counter, the
surface will melt, making you replace the whole counter.
Organic, non-synthetic materials tend to age well. Even if marble is cracked or
glazed ceramic tiles are chipped, this is not necessarily unattractive, but
scratches in plastic might be. Finally, it is important to choose a material you
love for your kitchen counters, because you will touch them more often than most
surfaces in your home
