Edge Detail- Half Moon

My second favorite edge detail, after the Miter, is what we call the Half Moon. I like that it adds a little bit of detail but is still quite simple.

We can make the Half Moon Edge Detail in many different thickness's depending on your stone's thickness. Most commonly you will see it in 3/4", 1 1/4", 1 1/2" and 2 1/2".

Below are a couple of photos of the edge from our portfolio.

The beautiful granite above is Golden Beaches and the granite in the photo below is New Venetian Gold.

Turquoise Kitchens....it's the color of the year!

You would have to be living under the biggest rock ever to not know that Pantone named 15-5519 Turquoise as the 2010 Color of the Year. 

It's only June and I'm about ready to punch the next person who tells me this in the face.  I don't know why, but it seems like EVERYONE is talking about it this year!  I'm a fan of turquoise, always have been, my own kitchen is painted turquoise.....but I am starting to loathe it!
Nonetheless, I am going to jump on the train and show some pictures of THE COLOR OF THE YEAR in kitchens.  Sell out is my new middle name.

I'll show my favorite kitchen first.  This is designed by Phoebe Howard and I have to say it totally rocks.  I first saw it on The House of Turquoise blog a few days ago.  You know I always love me some white marble countertops, but I also love that the turquoise tile splash is rich and fresh all at the same time, without being overwhelming.

Turquoise appliances and kitchen accessories are (of course) pretty hot right now too. I'm not going to lie, I totally swoon over the Martha Stewart Collection at Macy's every time I'm there.

Above picture from Art, Heart and Home.

This next kitchen is from Apartment Therapy.

I also really love this next kitchen from Kalibre Kitchens, the white quartz countertops just look to clean and crisp next to that turquoise wall.

Another white marble kitchen from Porter House Designs.  I also really like that chandelier and I am generally not a fan of chandeliers. 

I think this last kitchen is really interesting.  I found it on Flickr and the title is 1963 Geneva Steel Kitchen.  The caption says it was rescued from a cooking school run by nun's and they retro renovated it into their  Massachusetts kitchen.  Funny how things come around again isn't it?

So tell me, how do you all feel about The Color of the Year? Still loving it, or totally sick of it already?

Did you miss the Utah County Parade of Homes?

If you happened to miss the Utah Valley Parade of Homes that ended on Saturday there is a blog called Notes from a very red kitchen that has posted pictures of a few of the homes.
Here is a link to two of  the homes that we did countertops in that she wrote about.
Home #5
Home #11

Laundry room in Home #5.  Countertops are CaesarStone Quartz Reflections.

And the winner of the Whisky Stones is......

Thanks to everyone to entered and became a fan on Facebook and now follow us on Twitter. 
Also, welcome, welcome to all the new readers!
Now, let's cut to the chase.
Using the random number generator at Random.org, the winner of the Whisky Stones is....
#8
Jeannine at Small & Chic!!!
Congrats Jeannine!

Image credit.

Did you know we're giving away a set of Whisky Stones?

Tomorrow is the last day to enter, so get on it! You can enter 3 times. Just scroll down to find the contest post.

Kitchen Eye Candy

Bianco Romano granite.

Carrara marble.

Soapstone.

Carrara marble.

Azul Bahia granite.

White quartz.


Remember to enter our first ever GIVEAWAY!  It's pretty awesome and you can enter up to three times!  You have until Sunday, so get to it.

What do you think of the Top 20 Houzz Photos?

Do you read the Houzz website? Recently they posted the 20 most popular photos on their site.
It's pretty interesting to see what's popular with the readers.
All three of the pictures below are from that post.

Of course we'd see a white on white kitchen. Something we talk about fairly frequently around here. This was photo #3 on the list.

traditional kitchen design by seattle architect Bosworth Hoedemaker

Next is picture #5. I love how clean and simple this kitchen is. The fixtures are great and I always enjoy black countertops on white cabinets. I also really like the backsplash.

traditional kitchen design by san francisco architect Wm. F. Holland/Architect

The last picture I'll show here is photo #9 on their list. They are showing the hidden storage, which is pretty cool. I'm showing it here for the awesome onyx countertops though!

contemporary bathroom design by san francisco interior designer Olson Design and Construction

Check out the entire list here.

Also, have you entered our Giveaway yet? Be sure to enter before Sunday, you can enter up to three times!

Home #11 Carter Construction

This is the last week of the Utah Valley Parade of Homes, if you haven't been yet be sure to check it out by Saturday!
Today I thought I'd show some pictures of another house we did the countertops in.  This is Home #11 in the Parade and was built by Carter Construction.  This beautiful home is located right on Sleepy Ridge Golf Course in Orem.

The Kitchen countertops are #6350 Chocolate Truffle CaesarStone with a Mitered edge detail.  CaesarStone is a man made quartz, the Chocolate Truffle color has recycled content in it.  Pretty cool eh?

I love the glass tile backsplash in the Kitchen.  I like how they put it between the upper and lower bar on the island.

The homeowner wrote an awesome testimonial about MGS by Design.  Here is a snippet...

"I had an idea of what I wanted when I came to MGS. BJ was very informative and helpful throughout the entire time. After meeting with BJ and discussing different options, I ended up doing a mixture of quartz and granite and I couldn't be happier. They go together so well. Unless I tell guests, they do not know that they are looking at two different types of countertops. It is amazing!

BJ also had some great input into different features. We added quartz to our fireplace hearth as well as two small quartz window sills in the kitchen. I really appreciated the expertise and the great suggestions."

Below is the Master Bath.  The countertops are Golden Leaf granite with a Mitered edge detail.

The rest of the bathrooms are all the Golden Leaf granite as well.

The Laundry Room is the Chocolate Truffle CaesarStone.

Last in the Downstairs Kitchen.  It's a pretty awesome kitchen, especially as a second kitchen!  The countertops are the Golden Leaf granite.  As you can see, the Golden Leaf granite and the Chocolate Truffle CaesarStone look very similar.

Also, don't forget to enter our Giveaway that we posted yesterday! 

20% off Eco-Friendly Countertops again!!!

For the month of June The Green Building Center is offering 20% off all of their in stock Eco-Friendly countertops. 
They had this special in April as well and it's a really great deal! 
Their current inventory includes IceStone, Squak Mountain Stone, PaperStone and Trinity Glass.

Above photo is Trinity Glass.

Jump on this deal while the getting is good!

Above photo is PaperStone.


Also don't forget to enter our first ever Giveaway!!!

In celebration of our 100th post, we're doing a GIVEAWAY!!!

Today is our 100th post on this blog.
Thank you all for reading. Seriously. Thank you.
I felt like I was writing to myself or to B.J. for awhile there. But then you guys started reading and then some of you started commenting and that meant more to me than it probably should. :)
So, to thank you all for reading....and to bring out some of you readers that don't comment, I thought we'd do a little giveaway!
We are giving away one set of Teroforma Whisky Stones!
Did you read my post about them here?
Whisky Stones are made from Vermont Soapstone. Due to soapstone's natural softness (it won’t scratch the glass) and its unique ability to retain temperature for extended periods of time, they are a great substitute for boring ol' ice.  Even if you aren't a whiskey drinker I think these would be great in soda or water!





You are all eligible to enter three times! 
1- Leave a comment here and tell me your favorite color of granite or any type of stone.  You can tell me why you like it too if you really want to humor me.  Also, please include your city and state.  I'm nosy and want to know where your from.  :)
2- 'Like' MGS by Design on Facebook.  It's kind of sad, we don't have many friends on Facebook, so we're going to bribe you to like us!  After you click that 'Like' button come back here and leave another comment letting me know you did so.
3- Follow us on Twitter.  Again, after you do so, come back here and comment letting me know you are following us.
*Make sure to leave a separate comment for all three entries!

The contest ends this Sunday, June 20th at midnight Mountain Time.  I will draw a winner and announce it here on Monday, June 21st.  I will mail out the Whisky Stones to the lucky winner later that week.
Good luck!!!

New Feature! Soapbox Saturday.

I know snarky blogs have their place.  I'm not going to say I don't read them, I do.  They are funny & usually have a good point.  They have their place in this crazy blogging world. 
It's just that's not what I wanted for this blog. 
I wanted this blog to be a source of information and inspiration. 

But.....
the other day BJ and I were having a little bit of a rantfest about the differences between stone shops like ours and guys who fabricate in the homeowner's driveway.  B.J. asked me if I had read Paramount Granite's blog post titled "Is Granite Just Granite" from June 3rd.  I hadn't yet, so he told me about it and we continued on our rant.  I told B.J. that I would like to talk about things like this and rant about other things here on the blog, but I explained that I didn't want to turn this blog into a snarky and/or mean blog. 
This is when B.J. came up with a brilliant idea. 
An idea he decided to call "Soapbox Saturday".

So, what is Soapbox Saturday you ask? 
It is our day to rant.  Plain and simple.
We may not post Soapbox Saturday every Saturday....or we may have so much to complain about that we can hardly wait to post about it until Saturday. 
We guarantee one thing though.  It will happen on Saturday and only Saturday.  I promise on Sunday things will return to normal, we just need one day to rant.  So if you are looking for my original intention of "information and inspiration" please don't read on Saturdays.

A little defense for us though, I think that Soapbox Saturday will actually give you some information most of the time.  If you think 'granite is just granite' you may have something to learn.....even if it is written a little snarkily.  :)
 
So stay tuned.  Soapbox Saturday will premier next Saturday.
We hope you join us and understand our need for an occasional, scheduled, rant.

FAQ Friday: What should I clean my granite with?

I talked about what I use to clean my granite back in March.  You can read that post here.  I keep getting the question of what to use though, so I thought it may be fun to ask people I know who have granite in their homes what they use.  We in the stone business can tell you what to use to clean your countertops, but as we all know.... actions definitely speak louder than words.

*I use Method Daily Granite Cleaner on my granite and limestone in my house. I love how it makes my honed granite feel smooth and I love the smell.  Plus it cleans great!

*B.J., the Sales and Marketing Manager here at MGS by Design, uses The Rock Doctor granite cleaner.  When I asked him why he said that he loves how it smells.

*Cory, the owner of Italia Granite, uses either soap and water or The Rock Doctor.  B.J. takes credit for introducing Cory to The Rock Doctor.

*Nate, our shop manager, uses soap and water.

*Spencer, from Contempo Tile, uses Nanoseal Everyday Cleaner.  You use this cleaner if your countertops have been sealed with Nanoseal.  Before his countertops were sealed with Nanoseal he used Method Daily Granite Cleaner.

*Skip, one of our Sales Reps, has Galaxy Black granite in his kitchen.  Polished black granites show finger prints and streaks really easily.  So he uses Windex to clean his granite.


*Andrew, the owner of CambioLabs, generally uses hot water.  He said they use soap and water about twice a week.

What do you use to clean your stone?  Tell me, I really want to know!

Let's look at this bath again...

I thought I'd post this Master Bath again.  B.J. originally posted it in December, but (thankfully!) we have quite a few more people reading our blog nowadays.  :)

This Master bathroom is one of the best I have seen in awhile. From the globe lighting to the mixture of marble with quartz in the tub front and tub deck. 

The tile accent with metallic mosaics is also adding to the overall look. 

The tile in the shower and the Carerra White Marble and the countertop and tub deck is Pebble Cesarstone in 2cm thickness. 

Home #14- Jody Riggs Construction

Here is Home #14 in the Utah Valley Parade of Homes. It is a new home built by Jody Riggs Construction. Hamilton Park Interiors did the Interior Design. It's a beautiful Arts and Crafts styled home located in Pleasant Grove.


In the Kitchen we did #2400 Champagne Limestone CaesarStone with a 1 5/8" Mitered Edge Detail.



In the Laundry Room and a couple of bathrooms they selected #9601 Oyster CaesarStone. This is the Powder bath in the photo below.

The next three photos below are the Master Bath. It's the Champagne Limestone CaesarStone. The edge detail is the Half Moon.





The next two photos are the Oyster CaesarStone again.
The shape of this countertop is kind of unique, I like it when people make good use of weird angles like this instead of just having dead space.

The Laundry Room is also the Oyster CaesarStone.

Last is the Downstairs Bath. We don't do stainless sinks too often in bathrooms, so it's fun to see something different. The granite is Juparana Fantastico with a Half Moon edge detail.