Plastic laminate is an alternative countertop product that gets my vote. Even if you don’t install it yourself, the cost savings is substantial. The question, though, is will it look beautiful or just cheap? And that is what so excited me about Karran Edge Sinks when I saw them at KBIS.

Pyrolave has studios throughout the world, including our own USA, which has been importing these exceptional countertops since 1993. The countertop material itself, although available in a large range of colors, is natural, made of Volvic lava stone quarried from Auvergne’s volcanoes in France.

The Grothouse Lumber Company bears the name of him who founded it, Paul Grothouse. Paul’s father was a period furniture maker, so Paul learned both the craftsmanship and the integrity of one of those old-time woodworkers on the East Coast, elements which are now on display in his company.

Karran Edge Sinks is surely one of the more innovative items I saw at KBIS, if not THE most exciting. What they have done is develop a sink (available in both acrylic and stainless steel) that enables one to install it below a Formica countertop with a unique, waterproof, gunk-proof seal.