Case study · Kitchen
One block of stone, no seam in sight
A ten-foot island that had to read as a single piece, and a full-height backsplash carrying one vein from counter to hood.
Kitchen, Great Falls, Virginia
2025
Calacatta-look engineered quartz, polished, 3cm
- Material
- Calacatta-look engineered quartz, polished, 3cm
- Scope
- Island with mitered waterfall, perimeter counters, full-height backsplash
- Timeline
- 9 days from template to installation
- Team
- Homeowner, kitchen designer, Prime Stone Design
01
The request
The owners were rebuilding an open-plan kitchen around a long island with a fluted walnut base. They wanted the stone to be the calm counterpoint: a light Calacatta-look surface with soft grey veining, the same material on the perimeter, and a backsplash that rose in one piece to the range hood.
The brief had one non-negotiable: the island top could not show a seam, and the waterfall end had to look like the slab had simply been folded over the edge.
02
The challenge
At 118 inches, the island top was longer than a standard slab. Standard material would have meant a seam in the middle of the family's most-used surface. The waterfall added a second problem: a mitered corner only looks folded when the vein lines up on both faces, which means the two pieces have to come from the same place on the same slab.
The range wall had its own constraints. The backsplash ran 96 inches wide up to the hood, with two outlets and a pot-filler cutting through it, and the hood liner sat slightly off centre from the cabinets.
Island and range wall
118-inch island, mitered waterfall
Backsplash in one piece to the hood
03
How we solved it
- 01
Jumbo slabs, chosen on the scan
We sourced jumbo-format slabs from our quartz partner and scanned each one at 12K. The island top, both waterfall faces and the backsplash were laid out on the scans so the owners could approve exactly where every vein would fall before anything was cut.
- 02
Template after the cabinets, not before
Once the cabinets and the hood liner were installed we laser-templated the room. The off-centre hood was resolved on the template: the backsplash was cut to the real wall, and the outlet and pot-filler cut-outs were placed to the millimetre.
- 03
Mitered on the CNC, finished by hand
The waterfall miter was cut on the CNC from adjoining sections of the slab so the vein turns the corner. The pieces were dry-fitted in the shop, hand-polished at the miter, and installed in a single day.
Before and after
Same room, two moments.
Drag to compare the kitchen before demolition and after installation.
04
The result
The island top is one piece with no seam. The vein runs across the top, turns the miter and continues down the waterfall face. The backsplash rises to the hood in a single panel, with the outlets and pot-filler cut cleanly through the stone.
Because engineered quartz is non-porous the owners have nothing to seal and nothing to worry about with a busy family kitchen.
0
seams on the island top
3
jumbo slabs
1
day to install
The finished work
“We were told a seam was unavoidable on an island this long. Prime Stone showed us the layout on our own slab, and the island arrived exactly as promised.”
Materials and details
- Calacatta-look engineered quartz, polished, 3cm
- Mitered waterfall edge
- Full-height backsplash with outlet and pot-filler cut-outs
- Eased edge on perimeter counters
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