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Cambria quartz counters just installed!

18 years ago

I have been lurking 6 weeks or so...have gained much confidence in my kitchen & bath reno by learning from all of you. My Cambria Cranbrook quartz counters got installed this morning in my kitchen & onto 3 bath vanities!



My backsplash tile sample is Mannington's porcelain in Carmel.

Comments (29)

  • 18 years ago

    It looks nice : ) What is the name of your quarz? It looks similar to what I had installed on Friday!!! Any more pics and a few close-ups : )
    Enjoy!

  • 18 years ago

    Looks great and I agree, we need some closeups!
    Also your cabinet finish color is beautiful very rich.
    And finally, what sink is that? I need it!
    Great installation.

  • 18 years ago

    Thanks! Here are some closeups. The last picture shows the drilled hole for the faucet/air switch/instant hot/soap dispenser.

    The counters are Cambria in a new color from their Quarry Collection called Cranbrook. Saskatchewan girl is that the same a yours?

    Salonv the sink is FRANKE ORX-110 ORCA purchased on ebay.

    Can't wait to have sinks & running water on my main floor today. The laundry tub in my daylight basement laundry room room has gotten a major workout these past 2 weeks!

  • 18 years ago

    Lovely, and yes that is the same as we have........and the colors seem to be identical, and we are in Canada!! Pretty good work from Cambria!
    Hope you enjoy yours as much as we do : )
    SK girl

  • 18 years ago

    SK Girl, I definitely intend on enjoying them to the fullest. Aren't the colors fantastic? My final cabinet install had to wait for the counters, since it has an appliance garage that sits atop the counter. That will happen tomorrow & then I can finally finish putting everything away back in the new cabinets!

  • 18 years ago

    Yes, nice look! In that same new group of colors, they have one called Preston that I love, too.

    Anyone see a recent episode on HGTV (it was on either Get it Sold or Designed to Sell... eesch, I can't recall) in which the expert on what changes to make in the house in order for it sell quickly told the California homeowner that the granite tops in the kitchen should be ripped out and replaced with engineered stone (!). The expert said that in LA now, granite is "out" and people are moving to engineered stone (he said something about it being a more uniform look, vs. busy, and said that's what people want now). I am not trying to pick a fight with the granite lovers (I love granite) but just thought that was interesting. So, So CA people, any truth to this?

  • 18 years ago

    My sister in Thousand Oaks, CA & several of her neighbors just had granite installed, so I wouldn't say granite is "out" in So Cal. I just happen to prefer the look of engineered stone. I nearly went with Silestone through Costco. But, my cabinet designer accompanied me (on her own time) to a local stone company that represented many (if not all of the) quartz companies as well as granite & solid surfaces and I fell in love with the Cambria colors. Also, Cambria is a Minnesota family business & the only producers of natural quartz product in the U.S.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Cambria USA

  • 18 years ago

    Beautiful! I love the entire line of Cambria colors.

    try_hard

  • 18 years ago

    I'm putting in Brownhill.

  • 18 years ago

    Thanks everyone for "feeling my joy". I'll post more pictures after the back splash tile goes in. Cpanther, when is your Brownhill going in? It is a beautiful color.

  • 18 years ago

    Another nice thing about the Cambria company. They gave a very large donation to a local Minnesota High School to help build a new athletic field, for which they only asked naming rights. Then, they declined to name the field "Cambria Field" choosing instead to honor the men and women in our armed forces by naming it "Veteran's Field".

  • 18 years ago

    katieb2007 i LOVE that; thank you for sharing that info

    Just bought Cambria counters which i love but now when i look at them i have a newer respect

    thank you!

  • 18 years ago

    I really like your new countertop. That company's counters look more natural to my eyes. Do they mix the size of the quartz? However they do it, the counters look better than other manufacturer's quartz countertops, I believe.

  • 18 years ago

    Great pictures! We also put in Cambria in our kitchen and 2 bathrooms. We used the quarry series also, and picked Cambria because of the more realistic look of the engineered stone.

    You'll love the cleanup and maintenance. I've found blue Windex or its equivalent is the best thing to use. No streaks that way. When I used anything with soap, it tends to leave a haze or film, which dulls the finish. I also use a soft t shirt or towel instead of paper towel or sponge.

  • 18 years ago

    Polie, yes, they do mix the size of the quartz so that there is a more random look than in some of the other manufacturers. The installer recommended that we look at the 2 slabs at the warehouse before they were templated. One had a larger splotch of color than the rest & we requested that they template it so that it wasn't used.

    Brunosonia, thanks for the cleaning tips. Sounds very easy!

    And, Katie that is great information on the Cambria company.

    We ordered our backsplash tiles yesterday. I'll post photos after they're installed.

  • 18 years ago

    I love your kitchen! What type of warehouse did you go to to view your slab? Was it a Cambria manufacturer or a stone warehouse? Do color shades and patterns vary much between the different slabs of material? Does it vary like granite does?

    I'm thinking about using Cambria in one of my bathrooms. I love the look of it.

  • 18 years ago

    Busymom, thanks! We ordered our color from a 4 inch sample from a local stone company that represented at least 6 engineered stone (quartz) companies as well as granite & solid surfacing like Corian. They then found out where our selection was available regionally and had our order shipped to their facility. When it arrived at their cutting facility, they suggested we preview the slabs (we had to order 2 slabs since we were doing both our kitchen and 3 bath vanities) before they cut them for our templates.

    The person who came to make our template commented that Cranbrook is a new color for Cambria and he felt that their new colors have some slightly larger pieces of quartz color throughout allowing for a more natural look.

    So, for us, it was not like buying granite slabs where you have a selection to choose from. They just wanted us to preview what we ordered and allowed us to make suggestions for templating. On our two slabs, we only saw one *splotch* of color that we didn't want to use and they were able to work around that.

    It is hard to make such an important design decision from a 4 inch square sample, so we were thrilled that we loved it even more after seeing it in an entire slab.

  • 18 years ago

    Thanks for the info! I think its great that you were able to preview your Cambria in slab form. You really made a nice selection.

  • 18 years ago

    Beautiful cabinets, as well. Would you mind sharing that information, too? Thanks!

  • 18 years ago

    Thank you! The cabinets are from DeWils Custom Cabinetry in their Expressions line with inset doors and drawers. The style is Vienna with no beads (normally that style has a beadboard inset) in cherry. We love the soft-close doors & drawers, full-extension drawers and plywood box construction; all of which comes standard.

    Just found out our backsplash tile is backordered 2 weeks...darn.

    Here is a link that might be useful: DeWils.com

  • 18 years ago

    I love your kitchen! Thanks for sharing. Would you mind sharing more pictures of your kitchen layout and cabinets? I also have a corner sink and am working on the layout now. Thanks.

  • 18 years ago

    Thank you for nice compliment. Finally, now I can sleep through the night, not worrying about the many decisions. The flooring & backsplash seem to be taking forever though.

  • 18 years ago

    I'm waiting on Cambria Southampton to be installed in my kitchen. Our kitchen is blue with white cabinets and appliances with beige floor tile and backsplash. I was only able to see a small sample, but this color seemed to have a lot of black with white and beige accents.

    Makeitsew, I think my gas range is identical to yours. What cleaning product do you use to keep your grey grates so clean? I love my range, which is a GE Profile Dual Fuel, but I HATE those grey grates!

  • 18 years ago

    Sewcontent, we do have the same range. This is my second one with gray grates and the previous one was worse to clean. I try to thoroughly clean monthly in all its nooks & crannies. Comet seems to work best, but with my new counters I may take take them to my laundry tub to clean - don't want to have any scouring cleansers available in the kitchen for someone to accidentally use on the counters.

  • 18 years ago

    Thanks for the tip on using Comet. I've tried soaking the grates in a vinegar solution like the manual suggests, but it didn't work very well for me. Do you use comet around the base of your burners too?

  • 18 years ago

    I have a similar range too and have not had great luck with the grey grates so I will try comet- thank you.
    For the white base of the burners though, I have found those mr. clean erasers work wonderfully well. (my range is about 7 or 8 years old for what its worth)

  • 18 years ago

    Your counters look great! I was wondering if you would mind telling me about your seams. I just had Caesarstone counters installed, and noticed that I can feel the seams, which surprised me since I thought manufactured stone would be easier to make flush so the seam would barely be noticeable.

    If you rub your hand over your seam with eyes closed, can you tell it is there? Do you feel that water and dirt can accumulate in that seam and will have to be cleaned out by running a cloth down the length of the seam?

    Just want to see if I'm being too picky! Thanks!

  • 18 years ago

    Sewcontent, I'll use Comet if there is a buildup around the base of the burners. Usually I just wipe the top down with a Windex type product.

    Smarge, yes, I can feel the seam, but I'm not concerned about it. Some parts of it are more noticeable than others (can't feel it at all where it is bullnosed at the edge). Much of the time I can't see it....only certain times of day when the light comes in from the south facing window.

    Maybe that would make a good new thread asking others about their seams.