Kitchen Details: The Right Edge for Your Countertop

Square, Mitered, Waterfall or Bullnose? See What Counter-Edge Style Looks Best to You

Rebekah ZaveloffJune 13, 2011

It's the details that make a kitchen unique. Every small choice intersects to create the finished product — and as many who have endured a remodel know, the small choices can be agonizing. Selecting an edge profile for your countertops is one of these choices. Here's a quick study in a few of the options and what they look like as part of a greater whole.

KitchenLab Interiors

Square and standard thickness. Less is often more. In a clean-lined and simple kitchen, a basic 3cm-square profile works best. Each kitchen has something that stands out and says “look at me.” Sometimes it’s the tile, sometimes it’s the lighting, and sometimes it’s the countertop material.

I make it a rule to avoid having everything shout for attention; that away there’s some breathing room. In this kitchen the countertops are more quiet while the tile takes a bit more of center stage.

Jennifer Weiss Architecture

Square and mitered. Most of the time when you see an extra-thick countertop, it's a mitered edge. Meaning that the thickness is standard either 2cm or 3cm with a mitered frame around the sides, making the slab look thicker. This is a great way to make your kitchen countertops the focal point, and it can work well in either a modern or traditional kitchen.

Andre Rothblatt Architecture

Eased and mitered edge. This mitered stone top has a slightly eased edge and rounded corners. As you can see, the smallest change in detail makes the stone look very different.

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Chelsea Atelier Architect, PC

Square with a waterfall edge. Another way to make your stone countertops a focal point is to run them vertically down the edge of the island.

Fiorella Design, LLC

Bullnose. This rounded edge detail is a timeless classic, great for traditional kitchens.

Ogee. I love contrasting a traditional ogee edge on an island with a more contemporary square edge on the perimeter walls. It's another timeless classic that works well in traditional kitchens.

Marine edge. This is profile is more often seen on stainless steel countertops. It’s a built-up thickness, but rather than mitered, the outside edge is raised. I’m assuming the term “marine edge” refers to how this detail keeps liquids from running off the countertop.

Make sure your countertop pro is capable of doing this edge before you commit

House of Cline Design

Unique variations. This edge profile almost looks like a square Dupont. Take a look at the profile drawings at the end of this ideabook.

Danenberg Design

This intricate profile looks like a Dupont Square with a rounded-top edge.

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Meredith Heron Design

This custom edge profile looks a bit like a mini French Cove mixed with an Offset Dupont. I love the contrast of the modern sink and the more traditional cabinetry and edge profile on the stone.

KitchenLab Interiors

Here are a few line drawings of countertop edge profiles for reference. As you can see the options are almost limitless.

KitchenLab Interiors

Feel free to get creative by starting with one of the basic profiles and asking your stone fabricator to modify it.

Next:
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