How to Add Impact and Personality to Your Kitchen Design

Choosing the right mix of materials is one of the most important parts of any interior designer’s job. It’s a process Ethan Greenfeld of Los Angeles–based Ethan Charles Design takes very seriously. But Greenfeld takes his attention to materials a few steps further, adding a unique flair to some projects by introducing unexpected shapes, angles, and textures to the surfaces he specifies. When it comes to stone surfaces, that extra level of detail requires careful fabrication—something Cambria is particularly well suited for.

For example, in this kitchen featured in the 26th issue of Cambria Style, Greenfeld gave a transitional space an updated attitude with a bespoke island design. “We decided to wrap the whole thing in Cambria Ironsbridge. Then I thought, ‘what if it isn’t just flat in front?’” The mitered design he drew up meant a complex template and a fabrication and installation process by Cambria fabricator Cano Tile Marble & Granite that took almost all day. “It was well worth the extra time,” says Greenfeld. “The island is small in scale, but the design and the fabrication make it a focal point.”

In another kitchen project, Greenfeld designed an island with a Cambria end panel fabricated with a fluted effect. He says, “That was actually a pivot. The original design was for a pill-shaped island, but the cabinet shop made a mistake and we had to revise our island plan to fit the cabinets we ended up with. We could have just gone with a waterfall edge, but we wanted a lot of interest, so we came up with this fluted look that the fabricator created with a water jet.”

Greenfeld sees his surface treatments as useful tools for adding impact and personality to a design. He says, “I think a lot of people automatically think that to warm up a space you have to add a lot of color. In the design world, we’re not always as big on color—or at least that’s not how we warm up a space. It’s really all about texture and detail, so adding a fluted island end, or an angle, or any other kind of unique detail—that’s the way to build interest.” 

See more unique Cambria quartz surface installations.