Kitchen Design: A Look at Countertop Edge Profiles
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(Image credit: Maria Siriano)
The shape of your countertop’s edge can have a huge effect on function, impacting everything from cleaning to safety. It’s the surface you’ll come into contact with most as you move through and use your kitchen, so its shape matters. Here are a couple of examples of some drastically different countertop edge profiles.
It’s a common complaint that a bull-nosed edge profile like the one above can make it difficult to wipe crumbs from the countertop. Have you had this experience? I know I have.
A completely square edge can be downright dangerous. A truly square countertop edge would be razor sharp! Even if you want a perfectly square-looking profile, most installers will provide a small “kerf” to ease the edge a bit. This serves a dual purpose: to make it less sharpand to prevent chipping and breakage. A sharp corner is much more prone to breaks than a slightly eased corner like the one above.
What is the edge profile of your kitchen countertop at home? What do you like/dislike about it?