Countertop Supports
Fitzpatrick—A good friend of mine bought a house last week and e-mailed me snaps of the place. The kitchen is attractive—large, angled and white. But what stuck out in the photos were the brackets supporting the bar countertop overhang, also called corbels, those curved almost boomerang-shaped pieces of wood that are the aesthetic equivalent of orthopedic shoes. They’re in the kitchen of my little piece-of-garbage tract house too and were the first things my general contractor-brother mentioned every time he came over. (He doesn’t visit anymore). What are they doing in a residence worth twice as much?
Answer: lack of imagination on the part of the builder or design professional. There are many design-worthy brackets available, from intricately-carved wood to wrought iron to solid surface-clad. If you want to emphasize the counter, not its support, the overhang may be engineered with outriggers, strips of wood that run from the vertical surface under the top and remain invisible.
All cabinet companies make the homely brackets and sometimes offer no alternative. If this is your only choice for support and you are set on it being visible, buy a quart of stain from the company and finish some appropriate corbels you purchase elsewhere.
In rare situations, the high school shop-worthy brackets are appropriate, just as those shoes are—like if your new fashion look is 1950’s-woodshop-teacher. Always keep an open mind and never say never in life and design.
Answer: lack of imagination on the part of the builder or design professional. There are many design-worthy brackets available, from intricately-carved wood to wrought iron to solid surface-clad. If you want to emphasize the counter, not its support, the overhang may be engineered with outriggers, strips of wood that run from the vertical surface under the top and remain invisible.
All cabinet companies make the homely brackets and sometimes offer no alternative. If this is your only choice for support and you are set on it being visible, buy a quart of stain from the company and finish some appropriate corbels you purchase elsewhere.
In rare situations, the high school shop-worthy brackets are appropriate, just as those shoes are—like if your new fashion look is 1950’s-woodshop-teacher. Always keep an open mind and never say never in life and design.
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