[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house.

[00:00:07] Maggie Ellis: Yeah. No, I appreciate that. Yeah, it's, it, porcelain I think has had a, a bit of a reputation for being tough to cut. And that was one of the things when we launched Corey and Endura, we really wanted to make sure we were offering a material that was easy to cut and the fabricators would like.

[00:00:22] Maggie Ellis: And so I have to say that, that, you know, the feedback has been really good and, uh, they say it, it cuts like quartz, uh, which is, you know, we're really excited to hear and that's a

[00:00:32] Eric Goranson: huge compli. You know, because, you know, of course, quartz has been such a huge part of the industry out there for countertops.

[00:00:39] Eric Goranson: Right, right. And for, for a, for a fabricator to go, Hey, this cuts just like that. That's perfect.

[00:00:44] Mario Romano: Absolutely.

[00:00:45] Eric Goranson: When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a lot to know. We've got you covered. This is around the house. Welcome to the round the house. Is where we help you get the most outta your home through information and [00:01:00] education every single week.

[00:01:02] Eric Goranson: Thanks for joining us today. I really want 'em today to dive into countertops, and it's a subject that's really important and a little bit later on the show, we'll be talking to our friends over at Corey and Design here, but I wanted to start out with some countertop basics here so we could kind of set the stage for this.

[00:01:20] Eric Goranson: Now, years ago there was the DuPont Corian product, which is that acrylic countertop that's been around for, you know, 30 plus years. As long as I've been designing just about, and here's the thing with Corian, I absolutely love the product, but they've had a brand change over the last few years. So DuPont, which makes Corian has their different countertop brands.

[00:01:45] Eric Goranson: They have now created Corian Design. Now, Corian Design is the umbrella which Corian Quartz, Corian solid surface, which is the formerly Corian that you're used to seeing over the last number of years. And the [00:02:00] Corian Endura high performance porcelain. So just so you understand, the different products when I'm talking about Corian Quartz, that is their quartz countertop product versus the solid surface, which is the Corian we all know and love that is the resin based acrylic version.

[00:02:17] Eric Goranson: So I wanted to talk about that a little bit. The differences between things is the, the Corian solid surface. You know, as we talked about, there is the acrylic crescent mineral content that looks really good. You can do a ton of things with it. Easy to clean, seamless, and repairable. So what's nice with that product is you can sit there and actually do a repair on it and you really can't see it, which I absolutely love.

[00:02:44] Eric Goranson: That is one of the beautiful things of that product, and I think it's really good for a lot of different things. I like it in. Projects like showers, I like it in walls. I love it in commercial [00:03:00] applications where you need to do a repair or any kind of a high traffic use with that. Now the thing is, is it is polish, so it will, with heavy wear, get a little more dull in scratch because it is a resin, so it is not entirely destructible.

[00:03:16] Eric Goranson: From that way, there's not a countertop that really is to be honest, but there are ones that are better suited for other applications. Some of the things I've done in the past with Corey and solid surface is I've taken it and done, uh, thermal where you heat it up and you can actually bend it, and there's things that you can do with that as well, which is a fun way to go.

[00:03:37] Eric Goranson: And of course we'll be talking a little bit later here about the product because there are some cool things you can do with it as far as texture. We'll get into that in a little bit. Now, this Corian Quartz, this is the quartz countertop that everybody loves and is one of the most popular products that go inside your home.

[00:03:54] Eric Goranson: As far as the countertop material, it is an engineered with, uh, you know, with pure quartz crystals, and it gives you [00:04:00] that visually striking, just beautiful, unique, natural aesthetic to it. That is beautiful. If you want that look of marble or stone or one of the other materials, the cool part is it's stain resistant, non porous and dur.

[00:04:14] Eric Goranson: So it's gonna be much more durable than maybe a natural marble. So if you're trying to do it, that is a great material for that. Now, the product I put in my house is the DuPont Corn Endura high performance porcelain, and you're like, what's the difference between quartz and porcelain? The difference is, you think of porcelain is is basically a hundred percent natural mineral that they create a product out of.

[00:04:39] Eric Goranson: So it doesn't have the. The resins and things in there that are not great with heat, so it's ultra durable. It's UV resistant, so that way I could use it on my outdoor kitchen. The problem is if you use, uh, maybe a solid surface or a quartz out there is those binders in the quartz can change colors with uv [00:05:00] and then you could also, you know, do that same thing with an acrylic.

[00:05:03] Eric Goranson: It will change colors with time. UV is not its friend outside. So really that corn endura is super durable and I had a picture up on our social media recently where I had a, a picture of it out there with, you know, five inches of snow sitting on top. It not gonna hurt it. and this summer, if it gets to be 110 or 119 like it did last year, it's not gonna hurt it as well.

[00:05:27] Eric Goranson: So it is literally something in my house that takes all the beading. It could be ice covered pine cones falling out of the trees, a hundred feet up to sap, to wine, to anything else that gets on it. And literally I just take a rag and wipe it off. It's that simple, and it's really great in things like my shower, for instance.

[00:05:48] Eric Goranson: We put it in my steam shower in there. Now, in full disclosure, I'm not sure if it's rated yet for a steam shower because. I did it. I knew that I was voiding warranty. I'm good at voiding warranty [00:06:00] sometime in full disclosure there. But, uh, you know, it wor has worked very well in my application, in my residential steam shower.

[00:06:07] Eric Goranson: It has been beautiful and it holds up. I have it on the walls. I even put it on the ceiling. So there's a lot of different things and it's captured in there fully. So there's, uh, beyond using, you know, the, the ma that's holding it up to the ceiling on that system, the side walls in the back are capturing it as well.

[00:06:26] Eric Goranson: So it is, it is in a good spot. It's not going anywhere. It's probably one of the most safest places in the house because it is. Solidly locked in place. So that's a little bit of the background with these materials and I just wanted to be able to, uh, kind of set the stage for our conversation today because all of these are great materials in their own place and they have their best places to be used, you know, the solid surface.

[00:06:50] Eric Goranson: Uh, there are some great things you can do with that. And the courts is a little more budget friendly, typically to the Endura, but they're both in that same kind of price range and a [00:07:00] lot of it just, just, And a lot of it depends on your fabricator and what they're gonna charge with the courts versus the prc.

[00:07:09] Eric Goranson: Now porcelain over the years when it first came out, had a little bit more of a difficult reputation of being hard to work with because it is more durable than the quarts, which means it's usually a little bit harder to cut. The nice thing that happened on my project is that the manufacturer had the right tools that was doing the fabrication and the installation.

[00:07:28] Eric Goranson: They were used to working with it, and they absolutely loved. And to me, they said, Hey, this stuff cuts like quartz, which means that's gonna save you money as well because you're not paying an upcharge that some places will charge for dealing with porcelain just because it is such a hard, durable product, which means it's a little more time consuming to cut and polish.

[00:07:50] Eric Goranson: The advantages of all three, these different materials over like wood, which holds up horribly around a sink and can be troublesome as [00:08:00] far as cleanliness and keeping bacteria out of it, that can be a problem, and that's one of the things that I really worry about with this trend of wood countertops is that you should use something that's.

[00:08:10] Eric Goranson: Food grade, so you put food down on it or something happens there, you're not getting some chemical sealer or whatever you put it on there. So whatever finish, whether it's just a food grade, mineral oil, or any one of the stains and stuff that I'm seeing put up, people put on there, that needs to be able to be in your food.

[00:08:26] Eric Goranson: Because if you put food on it, guess what? It can end up in there. Especially if you're, you know, working with it where you've got maybe a, uh, knife or something like that. People end up cutting. Or working with things on it. So just make sure that you have something food grade. But the other issue is, is it around a sink?

[00:08:43] Eric Goranson: You can get that water soaking in or that dirty water soaking in, and that can be its own durability issue there that I want you to be really careful with because that's one of those things that can cause other health issues and you don't want an unhealthy countertop. You want to have something in today's age, day and age.

[00:08:59] Eric Goranson: If you [00:09:00] get, uh, well, let's see, you're working on a chicken, getting ready to cook some chicken. You don't want it to be soaking into that material there. And that's the nice thing with either one of these three materials is that you've got something that you can easily sanitize and keep clean, and that is one of the disadvantages with Natural Stone.

[00:09:17] Eric Goranson: I absolutely love the natural stone. Spot. You have to make sure you seal it and you make sure that, uh, nothing gets soaked into it because, uh, things like red wine and light colors on marble and, and granite on a unsealed product can be an issue, as well as some of the things that you see that could soak into it with bacteria and things like that.

[00:09:38] Eric Goranson: We wanna make sure that that is a healthy situation. Now we're gonna start out here with talking with Mario Romano. Mr. Walls, and you can find him at Mr. Walls dot mario romano.com. You can just search out Mario Romano Walls. It'll come up right there. He's [00:10:00] taking this product, Corian solid surface, and he's doing three dimensional.

[00:10:07] Eric Goranson: Luxury work with it. And if you wanna see something beautiful and stunning, this is something that you're not seeing anywhere else in the world and they are building a stunning product with it. So they're taking something that is, uh, a typical countertop in doing three dimensional art with it. So at, so to really see the context of this, head over to Mr.

[00:10:28] Eric Goranson: Walls dot mario romano.com and take a look at this beautiful stuff. There's nothing like it. In the world. Now let's start talking to Mario. Welcome to The Round the House Show. This is where we talk everything about your home, whether it's outside, inside, building that roof, or designing that interior.

[00:10:46] Eric Goranson: Thanks for coming on today. We have a great show ahead today. We are here with Corian in their booth talking about really the DuPont products that Corian. In the countertop collection, and I have one of the [00:11:00] legends here in the Corian booth. Mario, welcome to Around the House, man.

[00:11:03] Mario Romano: Uh, I love being here.

[00:11:04] Mario Romano: Thank you very much for having

[00:11:05] Eric Goranson: me, man. You have been doing so much with their products. Let's dive in, man, because I love some of the stuff you're creating.

[00:11:13] Mario Romano: Well, that means a lot, and I'll tell you because. First of all, Corine is a super material, right? Yeah. It's solid surface material, right? You can bend it, you can carve it, you can put illumination through it, but all of that, what we specialize here at Mr.

[00:11:25] Mario Romano: Walls, right, is how do you go ahead and take that into a solution or a system and make it super user friendly, so, Architects and designers can either customize or go ahead and select and have something from like a standard line and really expanding the design language outside of what we normally see.

[00:11:40] Eric Goranson: Right, and and I mean, you're not here to see this, but you are those carved walls. Yeah. I mean, this is not the stuff that you saw. When Corian was first introduced, it was somebody's just kind of neutral countertop. Yep. This has got so much design and depth to it. It's an absolute art piece that you've got there.

[00:11:59] Eric Goranson: How do you [00:12:00] create

[00:12:00] Mario Romano: those? Oh, great question. Well, How, first of all, it's created using software. Sure. Software that we actually patented. So you get into what's called, let's say, like algorithmic design or generative design. Yeah. So we really have the computer helping us, um, to come up with these elaborate, ornate, intricate designs, but then also injecting all those.

[00:12:19] Mario Romano: Functional things that we need, which is, let's say, transitions, borders, inside corners, or how do you get to like a flat surface where you have some shower trim or something like that?

[00:12:27] Eric Goranson: Sure. Yeah. Cuz this is such a three-dimensional piece and that's the beauty of this is that it, it has so much. Almost like a water has waves, right?

[00:12:36] Eric Goranson: It just has that beautiful flow to it. Well, we take a

[00:12:39] Mario Romano: lot of inspiration from nature because nature is the ultimate designer. So, you know, let's look to nature and how can we emulate it in any way. Um, this is where we get awestruck when we go out and we look at the Grand Canyon or constellation. Yeah. Or even just the way water can flow or waves can break.

[00:12:56] Mario Romano: Like how could you actually put that on your wall or on your surface or on the outside of your [00:13:00] house? Do you know what? Why not? And this is what technology enables

[00:13:03] Eric Goranson: us to. Oh, and, and. Light what you can do with light with this product as well. Right. As far as being able to backlight things and stuff.

[00:13:11] Eric Goranson: There's some transparent stuff to this.

[00:13:13] Mario Romano: Well, well noticed and observed because, um, no one likes to look at just pure light bulbs. Yeah. So diffusion is very important, right? Yeah. But then how can we use the material as diffusion and then can you carve into it and then you start Actually it's like sculpting light and, um, a lot of people come to us for backlight solutions, so we'll backlight the cor.

[00:13:33] Mario Romano: Um, we'll do branded walls, we'll do, um, outdoor water features. We've even done some backlight showers before. That's incredible. And someone wanted to do, let, let's say, um, um, a lotus flower, a giant lotus flower back lit in their shower. And you know what we said? Sure. No problem. Right?

[00:13:48] Eric Goranson: And that's, that's what's incredible about this, is you've taken a product that is wonderful as a countertop, shower, whatever solution, and then have created beautiful art with it that now you [00:14:00] can just transcend.

[00:14:02] Eric Goranson: Art life in a place like a shower, for instance, where you'd never think of art being part of that. You know what, I look

[00:14:09] Mario Romano: at it as this. So functionality and architectural products, you gotta have to be completely functional, high robust, but why should that limit the design or the aesthetic? Yeah, so that's one of the solutions that, um, when I first created this is like, it's like not only do we need to expand the design language, because it's the design and the beauty that we are attracted to.

[00:14:27] Mario Romano: Okay, these are our homes, whether we're looking at them from the inside or from the outside, or we're just driving through a city, right? We want the city to be as beautiful as possible. Um, we can't always just. The functionality of something or the practicality dictate back to the design. We want it. You know, it's that form and function.

[00:14:45] Mario Romano: Yes. That's just an ongoing, ongoing battle, but we gotta push

[00:14:47] Eric Goranson: through it. Well, and then you've got a product like that that's so easy to take care of too. You think of art and you go, oh my gosh, it's gonna be gentle. Right. I gotta be careful with it. This is something that you can use every day and not worry about it with just simple care tips [00:15:00] too.

[00:15:00] Eric Goranson: This isn't something crazy that you're like, Ooh, but I can't use it. No,

[00:15:03] Mario Romano: you can't be precious. In the architectural world, one of the key things of architecture is robustness and endurance. So that's why the materiality is so incredible because do you know what, not only is the core in like super repairable, it's so in, um, let's say, um, robust, right?

[00:15:19] Mario Romano: Yeah. It's not precious. So when we take something like that and then we can inject. Artistic artistry and, uh, customization. Yeah. That's a perfect blend of, um, an

[00:15:30] Eric Goranson: architectural product. Yeah. It's beautiful and stunning. What do you see going now with that? I mean, you guys have done so much from when I first saw it a few years ago with you at the show here and now.

[00:15:40] Eric Goranson: Every, every time they got new colors that come out and all of a sudden it's like, oh, now something looks like wood. Right. And now I mean that when you walk away, it looks like a hand 10 feet away. It looks like hand carved wood. Yeah. Corine, right?

[00:15:55] Mario Romano: Well, hand carved wood, I'll take it. Do you know what? And then, but also wood, [00:16:00] what's limiting about wood is wood needs to be finished.

[00:16:02] Mario Romano: Wood doesn't really do all that well outside, even though trees are outside. Yeah. But you want to continually finish it. So you have this endurance of the corine material, it looks like wood grain. And then we, we inserted the carving and the texture onto it to evoke in a more, um, a more of a, an emotional connection and something that would resemble, that you would see in nature.

[00:16:22] Mario Romano: Yeah. And, uh, that's with the large scale and non-repetitive design intent. That's what's, uh, striking and refreshing. And we're seeing

[00:16:29] Eric Goranson: that right here. I can imagine going in there and having aromatherapy. It feels like you're in a wooden shower. No way. Right. Think about that. Aromatherapy. You've got the carved walls, you've got some really calm light.

[00:16:42] Eric Goranson: You could just create this whole wooden feel in a shower that you could not do with any other product.

[00:16:47] Mario Romano: Absolutely. And that's what we wanna do. We wanna. Feelings and expressions and emotions for our spaces that you wouldn't be able to do any other way. So that's where you're, where you're really solving, uh, a design challenge.

[00:16:58] Mario Romano: Yeah. Right. Because you got these big [00:17:00] ideas. Okay, I have a big idea. But then how do you get it functional? How do you get it to endure? How do you get, and people worry about maintenance. Yeah. You know what, all these things, you know, we've solved that. Great. Now what's the next chapter? Back to that design, back to those experiences.

[00:17:15] Mario Romano: Yeah. And creating amazing

[00:17:16] Eric Goranson: experiences. Yeah. It is stunning, man. I appreciate what you're doing. How do people find you out there? What's the, you know, People are home driving in the car right now, whatever they're, how would they track you down out there to see what we're talking about? It's very

[00:17:28] Mario Romano: simple. If you type in Mr.

[00:17:29] Mario Romano: Walls into the internet, you'll find us. Yeah. Okay. You can say, um, Mario Romano Instagram is a great way. Mario Romano ca. Um, all the social media platforms we're really good at marketing. Um, and you'll see these gorgeous backlight walls using Corian. And, uh, anybody that's welcome, you can reach out to me directly or we have any one of our designers here.

[00:17:48] Mario Romano: I'm looking forward to working with

[00:17:49] Eric Goranson: you, Mario Romano. Thanks for coming on around the house today, man. It's been a pleasure and an honor, and keep doing what you do man, cuz you're just absolutely changing spaces with a product that's been around for a while. Right on. [00:18:00] Thank you for having. You know, as far as design goes, that was definitely one of my highlights of the show, just seeing what they had done on the wall.

[00:18:08] Eric Goranson: Well, this was at Design and Construction week 2023, where we always have a fun time down there. And then next up here, we've got Maggie Ellis, who is, you know, a good friend that I've worked with for a number of years over at DuPont. She's the, uh, marketing leader for DuPont Corian Design. As we switch out shares right here, let's talk to Maggie.

[00:18:29] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to Around the House. It's like our annual vet, right? That's

[00:18:33] Maggie Ellis: right. Thanks for having me, Eric.

[00:18:35] Eric Goranson: Thanks. We, you know, you guys did such a great job with the materials going into my house and such great partners on that project using that absolutely beautiful Corian Endura product. And it's in my kitchen, my bathroom, my out bar, outside at the kitchen.

[00:18:51] Eric Goranson: It has been wonderful the last couple years. If there's not an easy button, that's an easy button to take

[00:18:56] Maggie Ellis: care of. Oh, great. Well, thanks. Yeah, it's, it's, it's [00:19:00] almost indestructible material. It it. It stands up to heat and scratch and stains and it's great out outdoors as well. You know, it's not, it's UV resistant.

[00:19:09] Maggie Ellis: Um, kids stand up to the extreme cold and extreme, uh, heat. So we love it. Yeah,

[00:19:14] Eric Goranson: I mean, if I look at what, what that piece takes outside and it's a dark color. It gets anywhere, it's been down to zero degrees. It's been up to about 116 degrees. Wow. It gets tree sap, it gets pine cones falling. It gets rain, it gets all of it, and it looks just like the day we install it.

[00:19:32] Eric Goranson: Oh, that's great. I'm so

[00:19:33] Maggie Ellis: glad to

[00:19:33] Eric Goranson: hear and it's great. And the colors too. I mean, we'll talk about the new products here in a little bit, but you know, this, this high performance porcelain is just such a great product. And, you know, some, there's been a, a kind of a thing out there with installers that, oh, I'm sometimes scared to work with it, which homeowners and contractors have run into.

[00:19:53] Eric Goranson: But I tell you, From experience working with the, and the installers that worked on my product, they loved it. [00:20:00] It is easy to work with. Yeah, and that was the easiest product they worked with. And I tell you what, you guys have all the countertop solutions. Mm-hmm. , but man, if you want something that you're gonna, you're gonna use it and cook with it or use it outside, there's not a better product.

[00:20:14] Eric Goranson: Yeah,

[00:20:14] Maggie Ellis: no, I appreciate that. Yeah. It's ELA I think has had a, a bit of a reputation for being tough to cut. And that was one of the things when we launched Corine Endura, we really wanted to make sure we were offering a material. Easy to cut and the fabricators would like. And so I have to say that, that, you know, the feedback has been really good.

[00:20:33] Maggie Ellis: And, uh, they say it, it cuts like quartz, uh, which is, you know, we're really excited to hear. Yeah. That,

[00:20:39] Eric Goranson: that's a huge compliment. Mm-hmm. , you know, because, you know, of course Quartz has been such a huge part of the industry out there for countertops. Right, right. And for, for a, for a fabricator to go, Hey, this cuts just like, That's perfect.

[00:20:51] Eric Goranson: Absolutely. Well, let's talk a little bit about the, uh, the cor and solid surface to start with. I mean, you guys have come up with some amazing colors and we're just talking to Mario. I'm [00:21:00] like, now I can imagine with a new wood grain in there going, oh my gosh, I could do a wood look shower. Yes. And it would feel like, like natural stone in the floor.

[00:21:09] Eric Goranson: It could feel like I'm outside. Yes. Now in my shower.

[00:21:12] Maggie Ellis: Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. We heard a lot of interest in the wood. Um, but you know, designers said we want the performance of solid surface. We want a material that's non porous. We want something that can be thermoformed that's seamless. And so we, we are launching this year bleached new wood and Provence new wood, which is a bit of a mahogany look.

[00:21:32] Maggie Ellis: Ugh. And, uh, they're just beautiful colors. But again, they have the performance of solid surface. You don't have to worry about the, you know, the, the moisture getting in and, uh, you can thermoform it. And then if you have a chance to take a look at the Mr. Wall here, , you'll see, um, he's carved into both of those colors.

[00:21:48] Maggie Ellis: And the Provence new wood in particular is beautiful.

[00:21:50] Eric Goranson: Oh my gosh. Yeah. Oh, , I, it's stunning. I walked around, I'm. Is this what I think it is? Yeah. Right, right, right. first impression was amazing. And it's like when you, when you take a product like that [00:22:00] and use it for what traditionally you wouldn't think of it being used at, but with that wood grain, I mean, you guys just blew it outta the park this

[00:22:07] Maggie Ellis: year.

[00:22:08] Maggie Ellis: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's funny, Mario has created a shower, kind of a mockup shower with that wood grain look. And he posted on social media a while back and he got all, he got a number of people writing back. I'm not gonna shower in a wood shower like that doesn't make any sense. , you know, so again, he had, he had to write back and say, no, no,

[00:22:26] Maggie Ellis: So,

[00:22:26] Eric Goranson: I mean, it looks like you're in a mahogany shower, but Right, right. Oh, talk about just a calm, a person that likes wood. It's just one of those things that would be so calming to build. Mm-hmm. . I mean, it's really cool. And the maintenance, right? There's like zero maintenance, you see? Right. If you can keep glass clean, you can keep this clean.

[00:22:41] Eric Goranson: Right. I mean, it's literally that simple. Exactly. And then you guys got some great quartz colors

[00:22:46] Maggie Ellis: as well. We do. Um, and actually before I jump there, I was just gonna tell you we have a few more solid surface colors. Oh, that's actually solid surface colors that are new. And, um, the, the exciting thing about those is that they have recycled content.

[00:22:58] Maggie Ellis: Um, oh yeah. So you knows. [00:23:00] Sustainability, it continues to be a really important, um, topic for all of us, and we're just, we're thrilled about that. Our, our Corine solid surface is made in Buffalo, New York. Mm-hmm. . So, um, you know, we're, we're happy to incorporate recycled material and we're, um, Kind of bringing back to life a couple of colors that we discontinued a few years ago and customers said, what are you doing?

[00:23:20] Maggie Ellis: We , we we want those back. And so we brought 'em back. Except this time they're better because now they've recycled content and we have some new ones

[00:23:27] Eric Goranson: too. Yeah, no, those new colors are great too. You've got really. You know, as a designer it can be tough cuz you'll look at a color and go, this is perfect.

[00:23:35] Eric Goranson: Except I wish it was just maybe a little wider or a little more Right. You have taken some of the same designs and made 'em friendly to work in different projects because mm-hmm. , you take something that's maybe a natural marble that's got a little cream, but you put it up against the white cabinet and you're going, wow, that just made that yellow.

[00:23:50] Eric Goranson: Right. And you weren't looking for that. Right. But you guys have really thought that out. Yeah. And said, okay, well here's something that plays well with this. Right. And vice versa if I have something. I can [00:24:00] make that countertop look too white. Right. And you guys have covered those bases, which as a designer, that makes it really easy to work with.

[00:24:06] Eric Goranson: Right, right. Thank you. And that's cool. But uh, and then on the court side, court side, geez, , I mean, you guys just keep again, coming out with stuff because. You got stuff over there that when you walk up you're like, oh my gosh, that is a beautiful stone right

[00:24:20] Maggie Ellis: there. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, our, we have a plant in Canada.

[00:24:24] Maggie Ellis: Mm-hmm. in teed mines and, uh, really, you know, proud to be able to, to make materials here in North America. And yeah, our latest new color is London Royal. It's one of my favorites. And, uh, it's, it's just a beautiful, uh, kind of a white background with some touches of gray and some swirls of gray and black mm-hmm.

[00:24:43] Maggie Ellis: Um, and so it, it's really elegant, but it can also be understated depending upon how it's designed. Um, and it, it compliments a couple of other London aesthetics that we currently have. So, um, you have a couple of different choices if you want something that's a little bit more. Uh, London Royals. Perfect.

[00:24:59] Maggie Ellis: We [00:25:00] also have London Abbey, which is a little bit cleaner background, but, um, within the same family. And then London Sky, which is kind of in between the two. So excited about those. And then we also have some, um, ironstone and soapstone looks. Oh, which again, this is with the performance of Quartz, but with the look of soapstone, and so it's not, you don't have to worry about it being

[00:25:20] Eric Goranson: so soft.

[00:25:21] Eric Goranson: Yeah. You know, soapstone acts so much like wood. It was fun to work with, but on the maintenance side you're oiling it. Mm-hmm. , you're, you're really having to care for it cuz it's kind of got that living finish whether you'll like that or not. Right. Right. This feels just, it has that soft texture to it.

[00:25:37] Eric Goranson: Mm-hmm. without it being so, you know, delicate product. Right, exactly. And that's what's great and oh my gosh. And the other thing too is I like about it is as a designer working with it, now that it's. A manufactured product. It's consistent in color. Exactly. I have fought soapstone designs where I'm like, that's great.

[00:25:56] Eric Goranson: Oh, we gotta put a seam in the island. We're in trouble . [00:26:00] Exactly. Because this is what came outta the ground and I can't get those to not look like they're not supposed to play together. Exactly. Exactly. And this, you can get that really, you know, very inconspicuous seam from a good fabricator. Right. And then it looks like it was meant to be there.

[00:26:15] Eric Goranson: Right, right. Yeah. And that's great. And the durability too, I mean, Quartz is one of those things and it's by far the most popular countertop out there. Yeah,

[00:26:25] Maggie Ellis: absolutely. It's, you know, it's interesting too, uh, one thing I'll mention, A trend that we're seeing is, , uh, we're, we're hearing a lot of designers are putting quartz in their islands.

[00:26:33] Maggie Ellis: Mm-hmm. , and then they're using quartz or porcelain in their islands, and then they're using solid surface around the perimeter and what that allows them to do, but a coordinating color. Right. Yeah. And what that allows them to do is they have kind of that cove backsplash, so it's seamless. Mm-hmm. , there's no rims to capture dirt.

[00:26:49] Maggie Ellis: And then it integrates right into the sink and it coordinates with the island. So it's a nice way to kind of maximize. You know, functionality and

[00:26:58] Eric Goranson: beauty mm-hmm. and the, and [00:27:00] the Corion product in the solid surface is just a softer feel, right? Mm-hmm. , it's not, it doesn't have the feel of stone, which is, I like it to work with it because if I drop something or knock something over, I don't break as many glasses.

[00:27:14] Eric Goranson: Right. I don't, do you know what I mean? Yeah. Just the natural life stuff. , it's not that it's like some padded thing, but it's just is a little more forgiving in that. Right. When you knock something over or damage something, you know, when you do that, it just seems to be just a little more forgiving.

[00:27:27] Maggie Ellis: I wonder if that's ever been studied.

[00:27:28] Maggie Ellis: We'll have to

[00:27:29] Eric Goranson: see . I know, right. I'm just talking for personal experience. Right. But it's just seems to me from having that and uh Right. It's been great. Color trends. Where do you see color trends going? I mean, that London series, of course, in the courts is stunning. Yeah.

[00:27:43] Maggie Ellis: Thank you. I appreciate it. Yeah, we're, you know, as always, there's, there's still a lot of interest in the whites, um, you know, the grays and the creams, but we are seeing a continued trend toward warm, uh, warm tones.

[00:27:55] Maggie Ellis: And you'll see we have a color of Corine quartz here called beige royale, which is just [00:28:00] beautiful and really, um, really kind of takes advantage of that trend that we're seeing. Uh, Of, of warm kind of tones. We're also seeing a lot of kind of metallic looks. Mm-hmm. . Um, so that's, that's really interesting.

[00:28:12] Maggie Ellis: And, uh, I've seen some quartz, but that looks a lot like quartzite with pops of color. Yeah. Which are, is really kind of cool. So, um, looks a little bit more natural, but with a little bit of bling in it. Yeah.

[00:28:26] Eric Goranson: That's cool. And then when I was over on your wall over there, you guys had some really. Feeling porcelain over there.

[00:28:33] Eric Goranson: Oh yeah. Yeah. Where you had that honeycomb material behind it. I think this is, we're talking about that stuff was really

[00:28:38] Maggie Ellis: cool. Yes, yes. So Corine Endura is as our high, high performance porcelain. We talked about that a little bit earlier, and one of the great uses for it is, uh, for vertical applications.

[00:28:48] Maggie Ellis: Yeah. And, uh, you know, people that want the look of. Stone, but they don't want the weight. Porcelain is a great option. Mm-hmm. and, uh, corn Endura comes in six millimeter and if you lift it up, we have a sample here you can lift up. It just, [00:29:00] it feels so nice and lightweight and we have a, a piece of granite just as a comparison point.

[00:29:04] Maggie Ellis: It's just so much heavier. And so if you think about what you would want on your wall, I think it's pretty clear. Um, and we're working with, uh, a partner right now, um, Moderno, who makes the honeycomb backing. Mm-hmm. and. They say it's Space S technology and essentially it gives it, um, a lot of extra strength in, in the backing of the material.

[00:29:23] Maggie Ellis: So, you know, you can create a coffee table, which we have over there, um, without any underlying support. You can stand on it and, uh, you know, it's super

[00:29:31] Eric Goranson: strong and it's light. You think about, you know, I've handled the material before. You think of that being solid, like it was a, like a two cm product, for instance.

[00:29:40] Eric Goranson: Right, right. That would be 110 pound coffee table probably. Right, right, right. Can you pick this up and. Oh, weird. Yeah, yeah, yeah. , I mean, it's cool. It's crazy that way. And then, you know, that's, I think the, the cool part with this is you guys have really been partnering with people to reimagine mm-hmm. , how you use these products.

[00:29:58] Eric Goranson: Mm-hmm. , because those [00:30:00] partnerships I think, are really key. I love my Endura shower. Mm-hmm. , I am not gonna go any other way with the shower down the road. One, it's beautiful, but two ease of use and care is stunning. You know, I've got the shower drying system in there and the steam shower, and it is, it has worked very well.

[00:30:19] Eric Goranson: Flawlessly. Yeah. Yeah. In there. And it still looks great.

[00:30:23] Maggie Ellis: Yeah, that's great. That drying system sounds amazing. .

[00:30:25] Eric Goranson: Oh my gosh. Well, you know, I'm, I, I like healthy home stuff, right? And that kind of stuff, and I was like, okay, I'm in the Pacific Northwest where we have high humidity in the wintertime. I didn't want to have this.

[00:30:36] Eric Goranson: Steam shower where? Right. When I get outta the, it's gotta feel, smell musty tomorrow in the next day. Right. Exactly. And so in 20 minutes I've got a dry shower. Right. Which makes it easy to clean.

[00:30:44] Maggie Ellis: Yeah, and I think the other benefit of it is you don't have a lot of grout like you would with traditional tile.

[00:30:49] Maggie Ellis: Oh. Because, you know, I mean, it's with traditional tile, there's just a lot of small tiles, a lot of grout around the tiles. . Yeah. But here you're just talking about a small amount, right. In the corners.

[00:30:57] Eric Goranson: Yeah. I mean, I have, I have a five foot shower, [00:31:00] and I've got the back wall in walls and the ceiling on it too.

[00:31:03] Eric Goranson: Yes. I put it on the ceiling and it worked great.

[00:31:06] Maggie Ellis: Make sure you use mechanical attachments, .

[00:31:08] Eric Goranson: Yes. Yes. Well, and the other thing we did too, just in full disclosure, is we put the back wall in first top came in, and then the side panels came under it. Oh, okay. Okay. So it's. To the ceiling mechanically attached that way, and then it's captured in there with the side panels as well.

[00:31:26] Eric Goranson: Okay, got it. Got it. So, so it's laying on top of the three walls. Yeah. It's not going

[00:31:31] Maggie Ellis: anywhere. Right, right, right. Yeah, that's really interesting. We haven't really studied the use of, um, Corona, Andron a ceiling, but I, I. Absolutely believe that it can be used there with the right fabricator and the right mechanical

[00:31:41] Eric Goranson: attachments.

[00:31:42] Eric Goranson: And yes, I probably didn't follow manufacturer's instructions on how to do that , but you know something, that was me.

[00:31:47] That's

[00:31:47] Maggie Ellis: right. That's right. But it's

[00:31:48] Eric Goranson: beautiful. It's beautiful, yeah. And it's looked out great. And I, you know, it's just one of those things that I think. Just to be able to care for that. And I would be struggling with grout in that situation.

[00:31:59] Eric Goranson: Yeah, [00:32:00] absolutely. You know, and there's nothing like trying to have go clean shower wall grout. Yeah. Yeah. That's not what I wanna do on a Saturday. That's right, . That's right. That is great. Well, what else do you see out there? What else have we haven't talked about today? Because, I mean, the colors here are stunning.

[00:32:14] Eric Goranson: Mm-hmm. , but, uh, where do you see going forward, I mean, You know, the Endura product, the high performance porcelains, been out for a few years now. Mm-hmm. . But it seems like every year you guys are just coming out with new colors and new stuff.

[00:32:26] Maggie Ellis: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So sustainability continues to be a big trend.

[00:32:30] Maggie Ellis: Mm-hmm. , um, or a big focus for us. And so I think in the future we're gonna continue to see more, um, products come out that are made with recycled content. Yeah. Um, that continues to be really important for us. Um, we're also continuing to innovate how. Process and manufacture our products at our plants. And, uh, you know, we recycle all of our water currently and, um, uh, you know, we're zero landfill.

[00:32:53] Maggie Ellis: And so all of those things are really important and they're gonna continue to be. So, um, those are, those are some of the key [00:33:00] things that I see

[00:33:00] Eric Goranson: coming up. Yeah, absolutely. And you know, something, uh, you've got a solution now for just about any situation, you know. The, the, the porcelain, you know, outdoor living is so important these days.

[00:33:11] Eric Goranson: Mm-hmm. , you know, with, with covid over the last few years, thank gosh that's all behind us. Yes. But people went, oh, I need a little more square footage. Yeah. I'm gonna do that outdoor kitchen. Mm-hmm. . And I can tell you what, using the endura out there, the high performance porcelain is just wonderful for that.

[00:33:26] Eric Goranson: Cuz I can use it like it's intended. Right. And not worry about, Ooh. A stainless steel counter is hard. Mm-hmm. to maintain. Mm-hmm. , you see people use those out there all the time. I would talk anybody away from those? Oh yeah. Yeah. Well, here's what happens with those is you get the sun on 'em. Mm-hmm. , and you might as well have a griddle now.

[00:33:44] Eric Goranson: Mm-hmm. , because you could cook eggs on 'em. Right. In the summertime. , that's the, and you've got stainless steel, so it scratches. You take the cast iron thing and you set it on it. Oh my gosh, I ruined the finish. Right, right, right. Yeah. No, you can use this like, A chef cooking in it without dealing with something [00:34:00] that's delicate.

[00:34:00] Eric Goranson: Yeah. And that's been

[00:34:01] really

[00:34:01] Maggie Ellis: cool. Yeah, no, and I'm glad you mentioned outdoors. I mean, the other thing is we've, we've seen a lot of folks use corn endura for fire surrounds, ah, including fire pits, um, including indoors, you know, fire surrounds. But, um, then you have a material you don't have to worry about.

[00:34:14] Maggie Ellis: Um, , it can be used with, uh, up to heat I a thousand degrees. I think it can be used. So, um, no worries there, right ?

[00:34:21] Eric Goranson: Yeah, absolutely. And then, you know, we did the seam in the right spot. I did the seam undercover just because I knew that if I did get any sun on it, you know, the material is so strong and handles uv.

[00:34:32] Eric Goranson: So well always worry about like the. The other stuff that's outta control where you're doing the seaming, you know, that's, that's a very good stuff that you, it's kind of like, you know, you don't wanna use quarts outside with uv, cuz that can be any, anytime you have any kind of a composite, right? Mm-hmm.

[00:34:45] Eric Goranson: sometimes it doesn't go so well. That's why the, the Endura works so good outside. Right, exactly.

[00:34:50] Maggie Ellis: That's a

[00:34:50] Eric Goranson: good tip. Yeah, it's, and you know, something, being non porous, I can spill wine on it, , I can have the weather on it. It's just super durable. Yeah.

[00:34:59] Maggie Ellis: So has it really [00:35:00] been 116 degrees there?

[00:35:01] Eric Goranson: Yeah, we actually are high.

[00:35:03] Eric Goranson: Right after we put it in, it was actually 119 degrees. We broke our all-time record. Are you

[00:35:09] Maggie Ellis: kidding? 119 In Seattle? Yeah, in Portland.

[00:35:12] Eric Goranson: Portland. Portland. So we broke it. Oh, it was dangerous. It was crazy. But then, you know, it'll be month ago, it was three degrees. Oh my gosh. So we get those swings, but. It looks just like the day we put it in.

[00:35:24] Eric Goranson: Yeah. Yeah, that's, I walked out there and there's, we had freezing rain, so I should have got a picture of it. It had a half inch of ice on top if it was all unc crusted. No way. Next time I'm gonna do some pictures. I'll do some social media on it. Definitely. And I'll take like a little torch or something and just kind of break the ice away.

[00:35:37] Eric Goranson: Definitely, definitely . We'll have some fun. We'll have some fun. , what didn't we touch today, Maggie?

[00:35:42] Maggie Ellis: You know, I feel like we've covered almost everything. Yeah. Um, you know, what are you seeing? I'm curious here. You

[00:35:47] Eric Goranson: know, I'm seeing it's, it's fun because, Color is back. Right. You know, for so long we had. You know, whites and grays and blacks and whites and grays, and it was just very kind of monochromatic in a way.

[00:35:58] Eric Goranson: Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . And now you're [00:36:00] seeing, you know, the wood tones and everything's coming back. You know that, that that bright white kitchen is kind of not what it has been. Mm. They're still out there. They'll always be bright white kitchens, but you know, I think the chip and Joanna Gaines effect really kind of took over for a few years.

[00:36:14] Eric Goranson: Yeah. And so now you've gotta. You know, your guys' colors for instance, you know, we're adding so many new textures and stuff out there, so mm-hmm. , you when you're seeing metals, you're seeing the multi metals and faucets and things like that, so you know all those different things. And when you've got a countertop material that has that little bit of metal touch to it mm-hmm.

[00:36:33] Eric Goranson: love you gold. That gold, you could play off with the gold and you could really make the countertop match the fixtures. Mm-hmm. . I mean, I was over at another place. They had, uh, gold and rose gold handles on their appliances. Oh, wow. Yeah. So now you can match your appliance, handles your countertop. Your faucets, even your sink.

[00:36:50] Eric Goranson: Right. And kind of have that theme touch on each other. Yeah. I think it's a cool way to go.

[00:36:55] Maggie Ellis: Yeah. And you know, another, I guess, um, thing that we've, we've seen a lot of interest in [00:37:00] is, is using technology to help kind of visualize Oh my gosh. Um, you know, it's so hard for a lot of people to be able to visualize what their space could look like.

[00:37:07] Maggie Ellis: Yeah. Um, one of the things that we have is the Corine Design Visualizer app, which allows you to download. The app and then pick the color you want. And in your own space you can, you know, overlay what the counter might look like. You can pick all the different color options and then test them out in your own space.

[00:37:24] Maggie Ellis: See what looks right for you. Um, so that's something that I think has been really

[00:37:27] Eric Goranson: helpful. I'm so glad you guys created that, because I think for a homeowner, one of the most nervous things is they go in and pick out a slab, whether they saw a little piece mm-hmm. or the big piece. Mm-hmm. , it doesn't. That day of install when the installer comes out and tilts it up.

[00:37:43] Eric Goranson: Mm-hmm. . And they're going, is that what I hope it was? Yeah. . Now you can visualize it a lot easier. Yes. Exactly. Exactly. And it's a little easier in the installers too, cuz they're not going, what do you mean you don't like it? Right, exactly. .

[00:37:54] Maggie Ellis: Exactly. .

[00:37:55] Eric Goranson: Because the public really, you know, unless you do this every day, [00:38:00] visualization is something that's very hard.

[00:38:01] Eric Goranson: You can visualize it. I can visual. But 90% of the public out there goes, yeah, but how does that work in my house? Right, exactly. Exactly. And usually you've got something in there you don't like anyway. So maybe it's some old builder grade granite you had 20 years ago that you're like, I'm tired of this brown and gold thing.

[00:38:17] Eric Goranson: I just gotta go. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. , I gotta do something else. Right, right. So, which is cool. So where do people go to find the stuff? So if they want to go over and use that selector, if they want to go over, I think even my kitchen's up in there, in the video up there on the website still. Yeah,

[00:38:31] Maggie Ellis: yeah, exactly.

[00:38:32] Maggie Ellis: Yeah. So if they go to our website, um, corian.com, corian cords.com, or Corian Endura. Um, They can go to find a retailer. Mm-hmm. . And, um, they can select the retailer in their market. Or if you're a fabricator, um, you can find, go to the find a distributor page. And we also have some new distributors that we just announced for.

[00:38:51] Maggie Ellis: Oh. Um, the eastern markets. Nice. So I would be remiss if I didn't mention them, um, if that's okay. Of course. So we have, uh, park site, [00:39:00] uh, who's just taken over, uh, park site or who's just taken over New York City and then new. Those guys are great. I know they're fabulous. And then we've got Ohio Valley's Supply company and they are now, um, gonna be taking over the rest of Pennsylvania.

[00:39:14] Maggie Ellis: Um, Let's see, Virginia, west, Virginia, Maryland, DC and then Hallmark is gonna be taking over. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. Hopefully I've covered all the states. Right? Yeah. But yeah, so that, that's a big change in the Eastern markets and, uh, we're really, I mean, those are longstanding partners Yeah.

[00:39:30] Maggie Ellis: Who have a history of excellence and they're gonna do a great

[00:39:34] Eric Goranson: job. Yeah. If you're a. Whether you're a homeowner, fabricator, contractor out there, if you're not taking a look at this stuff, I'll give you my personal endorsement. This is the stuff you should be looking at out there. Yeah. . Thanks Maggie for coming on today.

[00:39:48] Eric Goranson: Thanks so much, Eric. All right. I'm Eric G and you've been listening to Around The House.[00:40:00]