The best little granite shop in Austin, Texas
Remodeling Your Kitchen? Some kitchen remodels are small. Some kitchen remodels are big. What is yours? Kitchen remodels, from easiest to hardest: Replacing the old kitchen countertops with granite or quartz Re-arranging a few cabinets (or adding some), then installing new granite or quartz countertops and backsplash Installing new cabinets, countertops and backsplash Moving walls, [...]
Like White and Grey Countertops? We see them absolutely everywhere in design mags. Especially in vintage kitchens, french-inspired design, modern design, contemporary design and remodels of older homes. Oh, wow. That’s like saying: everywhere. This stone is also called Super White Quartzite, Donna Maria and White Fantasy. The one we found at Shenoy Granites here [...]
Confused by the Term “Undermount Sinks”? Here are some examples of undermount sinks installed under granite counters. You can see that the opening must be perfectly cut for the size and shape of the sink. Also, the edge is polished, just like the top of the counter. Since 3cm granite (the typical thickness found in [...]
Ripping Kitchen Idea Pages out of Magazines? If you’re like most of our clients, you’ve probably been collecting pages from magazines that have styles you like for your new granite kitchen counters. If you haven’t discovered Pinterest, now is the time. Check out Alison’s Kitchen Islands pinboard. The magazines have been showing a lot of [...]
Granite Samples are Great for Shopping. So, you’re getting new granite counters. You take a few little granite samples home. You put the samples on your cabinets and pick one. Sounds perfect, right? Well, maybe. It sounds perfect until your counters are installed and they look nothing like the little sample you selected. Here is [...]
Do We Cut Corners? Well, how nice of you to ask! We come across a lot of kitchens with sinks in the corners, usually on an angled cabinet. The granite countertops for these kitchens is trickier than those where the sink is along a straight run of countertop. Sometimes we can cut the entire corner [...]
Need to Pick Your Granite and Don’t Know What to Do? When you get new granite or marble counters, you get to pick the stone you want! Here are the basic steps: Talk to us about your plans for new counters and look at some of our samples in the showroom. Visit some Austin stone yards to [...]
Ah, Yes, Another Bordeaux Granite. Today I did a happy dance, then held my camera up high and tried to stop wiggling for long enough to get a clear shot. The object of my affection? A piece of Golden Bordeaux granite destined for a bathroom countertop. This is going on a zig-zaggy cabinet, a custom [...]
What Would You Expect a Granite Company to Say? What we want to say: heck yeah, you gotta put in granite! What we’re actually going to say: sometimes granite is recommended for resale, and sometimes it isn’t. It all depends on the neighborhood, and the price-point (market value) of the home. Seriously: do you want [...]
What is Blue Stone? We had some material delivered to the shop today on North Lamar in Austin that knocked our socks off. It’s called Blue Stone and it is one of those stones that just makes your jaw drop and then you stand there gaping. We’ve been happily cutting it up into kitchen countertops [...]
Want Santa Cecilia Granite like Your Neighbors Have? You’ll need to go pick out the exact material for your kitchen to make sure you get just what you want. If you don’t, the Santa Cecilia might be waaaay different than what you were expecting. We can fab almost any thing you pick into the perfect [...]
Replacing Older Counters with a Granite Countertop? If your faucet is old, you might not be able to re-use it. Many older counters are thinner than the typical thickness of the granite installed in the Austin area. Most of the granite found in Austin is 3cm thick (3 centimeters, or about 1.18 inches). Many older [...]
Getting New Granite Counters? Want seams all over the place, running here and there and everywhere? Didn’t think so. Some Granite Seams Are Unavoidable. One of the signs of a cut-rate (and cut-quality) granite fabricator is counters with a lot of seams – or more specifically – a lot of unnecessary seams. So, what makes [...]
Confused by Granite Fabrication Terms? In the Austin granite biz, the people that transform granite slabs into granite countertops are called fabricators. The fabricator may be just one person, but it is usually the term for the whole company – the group of people that work together to turn granite slabs into kitchen or bathroom [...]
Want to See a Vintage Kitchen Makeover? So did we. This vintage kitchen is from a house built in the late 1950s in the Wooten area of Austin, Texas. We tried unsuccessfully to buy it, dashing our fantasies of remodeling this dated house. It’s the one that got away. And yes, we’re still talking about [...]
Level Granite Needs Level Cabinets. Planning to have granite installed? If your cabinets are new, they should be level before your granite counters are installed. If your cabinets are old, they should be level before your granite counters are installed. Oh, goodness, that sounds almost the same! The reason is simple: you want your granite [...]
