If you’re remodeling your kitchen or bath then you’re going to have to choose a material for your counters. While most of our clients opt for the simplicity and easy-care of quartz, if you want a truly unique and beautiful look you may find yourself taking a field trip to a slab yard for some wonderful natural stone options. I promise you will not be disappointed. I felt like a kid in a candy store the first time I went. SO MANY pretty things to see!

That said, even as a designer my first trip to the slab yard was slightly intimidating, and I wasn’t quite sure where to start. To save you from that intimidation here is a guide to how to approach a slab yard based on some things I’ve learned along the way:

How to visit a slab yard (and not be intimidated)

1) Make it an event, and come prepared. If you are the kind of person who’s easily overwhelmed consider getting a head start online. Bedrosians has an online gallery and, while a photo is never as good a representation of color and texture as seeing it in person, you can start to get a sense of what is available and what you’re drawn to. 

Once you’re ready, set aside an afternoon when you have several hours and aren’t in a hurry as the warehouses are huge. Wear comfortable shoes and maybe bring a coffee. 🙂 Many of our local showrooms like Pental Surfaces  and Bedrosians are in the Georgetown area (just south of downtown Seattle) and located relatively close together, making it easy to visit both in one day – *if* you wore those comfy shoes lol. 

Not all slab yards carry other materials, but both Pental and Bedrosian have a good-sized tile selection too, so you can browse tile samples that you might use for your backsplash or floor and take them into the warehouse with you to pair up with the slabs. If you’ve already selected any other elements for your remodel (for example, the cabinets or the floor tile) be sure to bring along a sample of those with you on your visit. It’ll make it SO much easier to sort through the slab options and make sure your ingredients work together! 

2) NOT ALL STONE IS EASY TO MAINTAIN. How and where you plan to use the slab will affect what kind of stone is right for you, so narrow down your options by doing a little research about the different types of materials before you go. Stones in the quartz or granite families make great kitchen and bathroom countertops because they are low maintenance and very durable. On the other hand, stones like marble or soapstone are gorgeous and luxurious, but can stain and scratch easily and *will* change (or “patina”) over time. Choose wisely, and remember that if you really want that marble look, there are some *amazing* quartz options out there that can give you a very similar look without the maintenance. Check out Statuario and the other marble-look options in Pental’s Natural Collection (you can see the slabs in person when you go to visit the natural stone.)

3) Remember these come from mother nature – NO TWO SLABS ARE THE SAME. The slabs are usually shown in bundles that were cut from the same quarry (the place where the stone came out of our planet – so amazing!) and you might only see tiny differences between them if you are looking at a fine-grained stone like this, or huge variation if there is a lot of “movement” in the stone like this. 

It’s totally normal to ask to see a slab behind the one in front – just find a warehouse employee and they’ll grab a forklift and move these heavy suckers like they are nothing. Some warehouses require an appointment but most are happy to help same day. PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO FLIP THROUGH THE SLABS YOURSELF. They could literally kill you.

4) Slab-hunting is like treasure-hunting. If you love it, reserve it! Particularly if you choose a unique stone, it may be one of a kind. Go ahead an reserve it, even if you still need to go home and check a few details – you’d hate to fall in love and then find out someone else snagged it. The stone yards will happily reserve it for you for a few days while you contact your fabricator to get pricing, etc. (more on fabricators in a minute).

5) THEY WILL NOT TELL YOU A PRICE. When visiting a slab yard it is rare to get pricing up front. That is because most warehouses do not sell to the end user (you) and the price will be determined both by the cost of the slab and by the fabricator. The fabricator is the person who will pick up the slab, cut it to size (and cut out any holes needed for sinks, faucets, etc), and finished the edges. That labor *plus* the slab determines the price of the job, and that is why the slab yard won’t tell you a price. You can, however, avoid the most costly options by paying attention to the slab yard’s rating system. For example, at Pental the slabs are priced A-D (A being the least expensive). If you haven’t chosen a fabricator yet it’s okay, most yards will let you hold a slab for up to 7 days without a fabricator (and up to 30 days if you have your fabricator’s information).

WHAT DO YOU DO ONCE YOU’VE FOUND YOUR SLAB?

Your work isn’t quite done yet. Once you have found your slab you’ll need to: 

1) CHOOSE A GOOD INSTALLER (AKA FABRICATOR). The key to a great counter installation is to have a great fabricator. A great fabricator will not only help you figure out a great layout to showcase your stone (see below), but will also do their best to create nearly invisible seams, especially where there are veins. 

Remember, the more “movement” you have in your slabs the harder it will be for the fabricator to make the seams look seamless. It might mean they need you to order extra material to give them more to work with, or that you need to be okay with seeing some seams. Here is a great blog post that talks about some of the things that could go wrong with seams!

Great examples of not-so-great seams!

2) MAP OUT THE LAYOUT. If you’ve chosen a good fabricator (or a good general contractor who has a good fabricator) you may be able to rely on them to make good decisions about how layout the cuts of your slab. It’s an art because no two slabs are the same, and because sometimes mother nature puts “flaws” right in the middle of your perfect slab. For example, there might be a big rusty blob in your otherwise perfect slab, but maybe you can plan to have the sink cut out of that spot. The more unique, expensive, and full of movement your slabs are, the more you should be involved in mapping that out so you are happy with the final result. 

The whole point of choosing natural stone is to have something beautiful, and how you layout the stone will influence how well it is showcased. For example, you can layout your kitchen with an uninterrupted island or install a waterfall edge as shown on the island below to show off a large gorgeous section of your stone: 

 … or create a beautiful feature wall (in this case, using a technique called bookmatching, read more about that technique here): 

3) CHOOSE YOUR EDGE DETAIL. Details matter! Take a look at this blog to learn more about edge types – we most commonly choose an “eased edge” for a simple clean look or an “ogee” for a more tradition design, but also love the look of a “raw” or “chiseled”, natural edge (note, that takes a lot of skill and is a more costly edge. It’s not just broken stone – they carefully chisel away the edge so you have a natural look that won’t snag fingers or clothes).

Don’t be afraid to head to your local stoneyard – even if you are not in the market for new counters it makes for a great field trip! The sooner you go the less intimidating it’ll be, and you won’t find yourself scrambling at the last minute to find your perfect stone. 

May your home always be happy!