Cabinets
Kowalske Design Studio has chosen Seville Cabinetry as their preferred maker of custom cabinetry.
Choose a Cherry, Hard Maple, Hickory, Red Oak, or Knotty Pine wood and finish it with one of the
standard finishes. Or request a custom color match from an existing finish you may already have
in your home or noticed elsewhere. Visit our showroom to choose from a wide variety of door styles.
As artisans, you and your designer pick and choose the elements that will make up your own unique
creation. The selection of the right wood, the perfect finish, and the design features that match
your style will surely create a masterpiece you can call your own and nobody else's.
Hardware
Kowalske Design Studio coordinates all hardware accessories with The House of Handles.
You are sure to find exactly what you have in mind with the thousands of styles and designs to choose from.
Sinks
The sink is the most frequently used area in your kitchen. It serves as both a busy work area and a
fashionable focal point. Kowalske Design Studio uses manufacturers with the highest quality and innovative
design. Choose the enduring elegance of trusted names including Moen, Blanco, Oliveri and Swanstone. Your
choices are endless and you can be assured of its long-lasting beauty and strength.
Faucets
Today's faucets are no longer just utilitarian — they combine enhanced functioning with distinctive
design statements. Here are some choices and things to consider when buying a new faucet. One of the
latest developments in faucets is the pull-out faucet that can disperse water in a spray or stream.
Faucets can complement any style from city to country — from rustic to retro. Tall-necked faucets
are handy when placed near the stove for filling and cleaning large pots. A new trend is for soap
dispensers to be integrated with the line of faucet and handles, keeping clutter to a minimum. A
huge variety of finishes and metals are available for today's stylish faucet: brushed or satin,
antique, high polish, chrome, pewter, nickel, copper, platinum, gold, enameled plastic. A variety
of handle styles are available: single lever, double lever, cross handle. Water filters can be
incorporated directly into the faucet. When using a stainless-steel sink, a brushed metal finish
looks best. Enameled plastic can match the sink color, but its finish can be scarred. For those who
love vintage wrought-iron faucets reminiscent of faucets used in the early 1900s may have an old
style, but there’s nothing old fashioned when it comes to their functionality. Today's faucets
combine beauty and function. Homeowners looking for a crowning touch to a kitchen or bath will
like what they see in new faucets.
Countertops
Today, we want countertops that delight the eye, stand up to heat, keep out food stains,
are easy to clean and are more durable than the deck of a battleship. Amazingly, a variety
of materials, natural and man-made, manage to fit the bill: plastic resins, sheet metal, wood,
stone, ceramic tile, concrete, even slabs of quarried French lava. Prices range from less
than $5 per square foot for post-formed plastic laminate to $300 per square foot for rare
granite. In addition to their many practical contributions, countertops also make a big
visual and tactile impact. The huge variety of materials -- each with its own range of colors,
textures, performance characteristics and cost -- allows a kitchen countertop to fit neatly
into just about any lifestyle and architectural tradition. Spending thousands of dollars
isn't hard to do, but far more economical alternatives also exist. The only trick is wading
through all the options.
Butcher Block
Butcher block is one of the few totally natural kitchen-countertop materials. Usually
made from strips of hard maple. Other species of wood are available, 1 1/2-in. thick butcher-block
counters are glued up to expose wear-resistant edge grain. Wood must be oiled regularly to
prevent drying. Cleaning is necessary to remove bacteria the same as wooden cutting boards.
Concrete
From a design perspective, few countertop materials are as malleable as concrete. Cast
upside down in molds or formed in place, concrete counters can be made in virtually any
shape and thickness. A nice hard surface but due to concrete being a porous material some
level of maintenance and sealing is necessary.
Tile
As a countertop material, ceramic tile offers nearly as much design flexibility as concrete.
Tile is available in a huge variety of colors, patterns, textures, sizes and prices, 6 x6 – 24 x 24
field tile to hand-printed works of art. Porcelains strength and non-porous nature makes them
longwearing, highly heat resistant and nonabsorbent. Tile can be set on a mortar bed or over cement
backerboard with thinset mortar. Tiles major short-coming is the grout between the tile. The smaller
the grout joint, the less maintenance you have. Tile is more impervious to heat than solid surfaces,
but easier to chip and break, so extra tiles should be purchased and stored for replacement
Solid Surfacing
Synthetic materials acrylic resins or polyester plus a filler called ATH -- that resemble and feel
like polished marble. Pricey, but popular because they are durable and easy to keep clean.
Few products have had more influence in kitchen design in the past 35 years than DuPont's Corian.
What was the world's first solid-surface countertop material now has many rivals. Avonite, Gibraltar, Surell,
Pionite, Swanstone, and Fountainhead all are brand names for the same type of materials. Solid surfacing
comes in plain colors, patterns that resemble stone and more recently, translucent versions that are
glasslike in appearance.
Solid surfacing is the same material all the way through. The surface has great performance benefits but
it can scratch. This is the main factor in lowering it’s popularity as of late. Sinks may be under-mounted,
which makes cleaning easier because there is no lip to catch dirt.
Slab Stone
Granite, slate, and soapstone are the common types of slab stone. Slab stone, especially granite,
is cold to the touch, heavy, hard to work and expensive. Granite comes from all over the world, in a
variety of colors and patterns.
Granite: Sold in two thicknesses (3/4" and 1 1/4"), granite is resistant to heat and scratches.
Most countertop material is polished, but it also is available in a honed (matte) finish.
Requires resealing with penetrating sealer every couple of years to prevent stains.
Soapstone: Both slate and soapstone come in smaller slab sizes than granite
and in not nearly the variety of colors. Blue gray and lightly variegated when newly installed,
soapstone oxidizes and darkens with time to a rich charcoal. It is extremely dense, with better
stain resistance than granite. But soapstone is also soft. Soapstone is usually treated with mineral
oil. Scratches in soapstone can be sanded out.
Stainless Steel
Once found only in commercial kitchens, stainless-steel counters are gaining ground at home.
Like stone and concrete countertops, stainless steel can't easily be modified on site. Countertops
are usually fabricated from templates, often in 16-gauge material. Sheet metal is glued to a
substrate of medium-density fiberboard. Sinks can be welded in. Counters are typically made
from 304 stainless with a #4 brushed finish, the same stuff used in commercial kitchens. Length
is usually limited to 10 feet, widths to 4 feet. Larger sheets can be ordered. Stainless can be
cleaned with a mild detergent or baking soda or vinegar diluted in water. Avoid bleach. Some
foods - mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice - that sit on the counter may cause a white surface
discoloration that can be rubbed out with a fine Scotch-Brite pad.
Quartz
A composite of 93% quartz, resin binders and pigments. With all the elegance of a natural
stone but great performance that solid surface and stone cannot touch. Non-porous surface
that is heat resistant, scratch and stain proof with a warranty to back it up.