News from M S International, Inc.

2009 NKBA kitchen design competition
trend report

Marble as a kitchen countertop material

The times they are a changing.
It seems like the latest trend, marble materials being used for kitchen countertops, happened over night. Five of this years NKBA kitchen design winners used some type of white marble in their design. Though marble has been used in European kitchens for centuries, here in the U.S. it has rarely been the case. Over the last couple of years however, marbles, especially white marbles have become an extremely popular kitchen countertop option.

To meet this new demand, MSI now stocks over 10 types of white marble nationwide.

Click here to see MSI's Marble Collection

Backsplashes

8 of the 16 winners in this year's competition used some type of complimenting tile backsplash. Tiles & mosaics made with natural stone, glass, ceramics and porcelain provide a special warmth and beauty to kitchen backsplashes making them a popular choice among designers and architects alike.

Commonly overlooked by fabricators when selling their services, backsplashes can be great "added value" profit center.

MSI offers a large variety of wall tiles for backsplashes in natural stone, glass, ceramic and porcelain tiles. For those of you who have showrooms we also have a beautiful wall tile spinner display available at a great value.

Be sure to become familiar with our wall tile collection and make every kitchen you sell not only more beautiful, but also more profitable.

Click here to see our Wall tile collection
Click here to download Backsplash design guide
Click here to see the new Wall tile spinner display

Flat polished / 90 degree edges are in

Contemporary flat polished, pencil round and wide 90-degree mitered edges were used in 15 of the 16 winning kitchens. The other winning kitchen used an ogee edge. Not one winning design used a standard bullnose.

Seven used some type of white material be it marble or quartz, five used quartz surfacing and one even used Durango travertine!
The message here is keep your design mind and eyes open. With a wide variety of backsplash materials, marble, granite and Q premium natural quartz
kept in stock nationwide, MSI is your one stop source for cutting edge, award-winning kitchen and bath design materials.