KBIS 2013 Spotlight: Cosentino launches new colors

The Cosentino Group is one of the giants in the world of surfaces. It has six factories and fifteen kitchen and bathroom surface production centers with 700 staff in the US alone. Worldwide , it has more than 70 distribution points and a staff of over 2,200. They will, of course, be at KBIS and we thought you might be interested in a couple of the new products they are going to be showing.

Cosentino asked its Facebook fans from 14 countries around the world to weigh in on a selection of potential new hues, as the company looked to expand its popular ECO line, which was first introduced in 2009, and this is what they chose.

Cosentino are clearly very pleased with the outcome of heir international consultation and tell us that the four shades  evoke the depth and elegance that ECO is known for. They have also  has reduced the price range of  ECO, which is good news for  homeowners looking for  beautiful and  sustainable.

For those who are not already familiar with ECO, which is available in jumbo slabs of 63”x 128”,  standard tile sizes of 12”x 12”, 18”x 18” and 24”x 24” in three thicknesses: 1.2 cm, 2cm, 3 cm., is  made from up to 75% post-consumer and post-industrial recycled raw materials, including: mirrors salvaged from houses, building and factories; glass from windows and bottles; granulated glass from consumer recycling; porcelain from china, tiles, sinks, toilets and decorative elements and industrial furnace residuals from factories in the form of crystallized ashes. The recycled content is then mixed with 25% natural stone including: scrap from mountains, quarries, manufacturing, and fabrication; and is bonded together with a proprietary, eco-friendly resin made in part by corn oil that also eliminates the need for sealants. Now there is a lot talked of “green washing”, the practice of giving a product an enviromentaly friendly sounding name and gloss. ECO from Cosentino, however, has trully earned its nama and stands as an example of what can be achieved.

So what are these new colors? Creamstone is a mixture of cream colors that resemble the look and feel of luxurious limestone; Forest Snow, a blend of recycled glass and ceramic pieces mixed with peach, cream, brown and terracotta speckles which was the most-voted-for shade; Grey Moss is a mixture of grey and slate that resembles a contemporary concrete look; and Red Pine is  a combination of recycled material against a white background with chocolate and coffee accents. It will  will be available in Cosentino’s new matte finish, Suede-leather.

And here’s a thought, the production of ECO is expected to re-use the equivalent of 60,000,000 glass bottles every year.  Now try to imagine that many bottles in a landfill near you.

Silestone, part of the Cosentino group, is the world leader in quartz surfacing. And at KBIS it will be showing   Suede, recently introduced matte finish for its natural quartz surfaces. Kitchen and Bathroom designers we know will be excited about he possibilities this offers. Silestone tell us that Suede was introduced in response  to an increasing demand for a refined, honed look and, indeed, Suede-leather, for example, offers an exceptional, velvety surface with a distinctive design . The elegant surface is smooth to the touch giving the surface a softer appearance with little reflection. Suede is available in Silestone’s most popular black, white, and gray hues including Black Tao, White Zeus Extreme, Cemento and Vortium, along with the entire Nebula series. And interestingly for someone who has cleaned a kitchen or two, it reduces the appearance of fingerprints. So, Cosentino, reduces my anguish in the kitchen and saves the world one recycled bottle at a time. We’re looking forward to seeing them at KBIS.