Kitchen upgrades heat up

As homeowners emerge from their recent state of “recession hibernation” and start spending money on home improvement projects again, companies like Imperial Stone in Elk Grove Village are enjoying a resurgence of their businesses.

“2014 was the best year in the 11-year history of Imperial Stone,” said Derek Wawryca, manager.

Homeowners are investing in their homes for their own enjoyment and in anticipation of a possible sale and relocation in the future. Kitchens and baths are the key rooms for such renovation, as people seek to improve the rooms that families use most often.

Imperial Stone provides not only the granite and quartz countertops that their name implies, but also the cabinets, tile backsplashes and even flooring to go along with them.

“Luckily for today's homeowners, the granite countertops everyone wants came down in price by about 40 percent eight or nine years ago, thanks to the opening of new quarries and more competition. So more people can now afford granite and they are investing in it,” Wawryca said.

“About half of our customers are going with the natural granite while the other half is choosing quartz, which is man made. Quartz demands less maintenance, comes in more colors and can be chosen from small samples instead of having to look through huge slabs and choosing one,” he said.

“The manufacturers are also now able to make the quartz look more like natural granite, with all of the movement that entails, if that is what the customer wants.

Granite is natural and beautiful, but it does require sealing, Wawryca said.

“But even that isn't like it used to be. There is now a sealer on the market with a 15-year warranty,” he said. “The prices of the two materials are comparable. It is really a matter of personal taste.”

Imperial Stone also supplies cabinets, tile and sometimes flooring. It provides installation of any of these items, particularly the granite countertops, but the business will also let a homeowner hire their own contractor to install the items it sells.

Imperial Stone also provides a design service. An experienced Imperial Stone designer will travel anywhere in the Chicago area (including nearby locations in Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan) to take measurements and design the kitchen or bath of each particular homeowner's dreams.

Most homeowners who are remodeling their kitchens today are choosing maple or cherry cabinets, although white and cream-colored cabinets are starting to make a comeback, Wawryca said.

“And most of our customers are choosing to have uniform cabinets throughout their kitchens, not different colors on the island and perimeters, for instance, like they were doing a few years ago.”

Imperial Stone carries three brands of cabinets: Kraftmaid, Waypoint and Shiloh. These sell at decidedly different price points, so Imperial Stone is able to accommodate most budgets.

Today's kitchen designers are opting to have tile backsplashes extend all the way between the countertop and cabinet. Four-inch granite backsplashes are no longer in style, according to Wawryca.

The name of the game when it comes to countertop and cabinet interaction in both kitchens and bathrooms is contrast, he continued. If a homeowner chooses darker cabinets, lighter granite is preferred. If the cabinets chosen are light, then darker granite is usually the choice.

Imperial Stone will hold an open house from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at its showroom, 460 Lively Blvd. in Elk Grove Village. For more information, visit www.imperialstonecollection.com or call (847) 640-8817.