When we saw the selections made for this new home in Bettendorf, we knew we had to stop by once everything was in place. From the surfaces to the sparkling lights, we are so thrilled to share some of the highlights with you in this feature. Village Home Stores was honored to partner again with Aspen Windmiller Homes and source select materials for this client who has incredible taste. An open-concept great room kitchen with a combination of White and Charcoal Blue painted cabinets is frosted with gorgeous Florida Wave Quartzite countertops in a honed finish.
Quartzite Natural Stone Countertops
Wait… is that granite, marble, or one of those marble-look-engineered quartz surfaces? None of the above! The surfaces in this kitchen are natural stone called quartzite. To get the details on quartzite, we called in THE stone expert Jeff Bass at Epic Stone in Davenport, Iowa. Here is what he told us about the Florida Wave quartzite (shown installed here in with a honed finish applied).
“People sometimes confuse 100% natural quartzites with manufactured quartz surfacing. Quartz is naturally a very hard mineral. It is found in granites, and it is one of the minerals that makes granite so hard. Quartz surfacing is a manufactured product that uses the mineral quartz as one ingredient. Quartzites are stones that form from silica (basic beach sand). While they will perform similarly to granite, they are quite different. Quartzites are metamorphic, as opposed to igneous granites. They form when the grains of silica begin to fuse together through intense heat and pressure. They go through a progression, starting out first as a sandstone. As the heat and pressure continue, those grains fuse so tightly together that they lose their individual identity. Groundwater carries other minerals in, and they act as the cement that holds it all together. In this kitchen’s case, you see that in the darker gray/black veining.”
An intermediate quartzite like this Florida Wave has cross bedding visible and a subtle grainy texture to the background. In the picture above, you can see the cross-bedding in the subtle white waves on the waterfall end panel. The cross-bedding is a tell-tale sign of a quartzite.
“Imagine a beach, and the wind blows the sand across a ridge,” Jeff says. “As the top of the ridge builds up, it eventually becomes too much and falls down the other side. That is the cross-bedding. These silica-based quartzites are very hard and very scratch resistant, just like granite. But just like granite, they are not scratchproof. Nothing is. These intermediate quartzites can be very porous as well, as the silica grains have not fully metamorphosed. Quartzites like Florida Wave are quite popular for kitchens because you get the benefits of scratch resistance, but the aesthetics of a marble look.”
The installed slabs of quartzite in this home are storied, stunning, and downright hypnotizing if you stand and look at them long enough. Natural stone is a fantastic investment in your home projects because you get a luxurious unique material customized to your needs.
If you are shopping for countertops surface options and considering natural stone, be sure to let us set you up with an appointment to view options at Epic Stone. Epic Stone is where our Quad Cities area clients can browse and select slabs of stone to be fabricated by our friends at Surface Resource. Some natural stones are consistent and see little changes from slab to slab, others have such dramatic characteristics that you may want to shop them in person to select your stone. You can watch a clip from our tv show here where we visited Jeff at the warehouse with our stone fabricating expert BJ from Surface Resource.
Let’s pull back from the focus on the countertops in this kitchen because, truly, the entire space is magazine-cover-worthy! The cabinetry for this design is from our Koch Classic line. The door style is named Prairie, and we have used a combination of painted White and painted Charcoal Blue finishes. Press play below to see a 15-second tour of the space.
The cabinet hardware selected for the kitchen is a beautiful brushed Mod Hex nickel handle from our Emtek Hardware line. The look is heightened by adding a hardware backplate to each handle and knob. Including backplates with your hardware is a surefire way to elevate your cabinetry look and give it a furniture look.
Walk-in Kitchen Pantry Goals!
How could you have a bright open kitchen like this and not include a dream pantry nearby? We provided Koch cabinetry for the walk-in pantry space in the same style as the kitchen to help make the space an extension of the kitchen. Custom cabinet door panels were ordered to match the kitchen cabinetry and conceal a large refrigerator unit in the main kitchen, but rest assured there is plenty of storage for beverages in the pantry. A full-size beverage cooler is right inside the pantry door.
The pantry offers base cabinetry storage, plenty of counter space, and lots of open shelving. There is a door to conceal the pantry from the main kitchen if needed. This kitchen really looks amazing during the day when the room is flooded with natural light. We imagine it would be equally as charming as the sun sets during cocktail hour.
That is the beauty of going with a classic white cabinet in an open-concept kitchen design like this. The whites can shift and change throughout the day. Natural light is truly the best lighting for any space…but one does need task and ambient light sources as well.
Open Concept Home Lighting
Selecting light fixtures for an open-concept kitchen and great room space can be challenging. You want the light fixtures to complement each other without just simply matching them in a variety of sizes. Curating the right finishes, textures, and sizes of lighting takes time and attention. At Village Home Stores, we have time and attention available for our lighting customers.
The dining room is just steps away from the kitchen in a shimmering wallpapered space with wide openings to the kitchen and living room. The fixture above the dining table is named “Charles,” and it is from our Hudson Valley line. Ten lights hang from a round polished nickel frame. We also provided two wall-mount picture lights for the fireplace wall in the living room. These linear picture lights are from our Mitzi line. The finishes are a combination of polished nickel and glossy enameled navy blue.
The natural stone used as kitchen countertops and backsplashes was just too perfect not to spill out into another wing of this open-concept great room. Ribboned slabs of the same Florida Wave quartzite line the fireplace and hearth area. The light fixture hanging at the center of the great room is truly an art piece. Also from our Hudson Valley Lighting line, this 28-light flowering chandelier is named “Luxe Excellence,” a perfect title that summarizes the entire great room space.
Sadly, this write-up only showcases a few of the rooms of this gorgeous home. Village Home Stores was thankful to source cabinetry, countertops, hardware, and lighting for this entire Quad Cities home. Find the full album of photos from this new home project here on our Houzz portfolio (you will love the lower-level bar area).
Planning on a kitchen remodel or building sometime soon? Contact our team to learn about our products, the bidding process, and the exclusive bundle offer we give to our new home customers. If you want to learn more about Aspen Homes, you can visit their website here. Thank you to this amazing client for inviting us into her beautiful home to show you around.