Countertop edge profiles: a visual guide

The edge profile is one of the most visible decisions you'll make and one of the least discussed. It sets the tone — modern or traditional — and it affects the price per linear foot. Bring inspiration photos to your consult and we'll match them.

The everyday choices

• Eased / straight. A clean 90° corner with the sharpness just knocked off. The most modern and the most popular, and the least expensive because it's the least work.
• Beveled. A 45° angle cut at the top edge. Adds a little refinement without being ornate. Reads slightly transitional.
• DuPont. A squared profile with a small rounded step below the top. A more finished look than eased, still contemporary.

The softer, traditional profiles

• Half bullnose. Rounded on top, flat on the bottom. A classic that suits many styles and hides minor chips well.
• Full bullnose. Fully rounded top edge — soft and safe, good with kids. Very traditional.
• Ogee. An elegant S-curve. Detailed and formal — beautiful on the right kitchen, fussy on the wrong one. The most fabrication time of the standard profiles.

The statement

• Waterfall mitered. The edge wraps 90° down the side of an island, so the stone appears to pour to the floor. Premium and modern — it uses more material and demands a precise mitre joint, which is exactly why the fabricator matters.
• Mitred / built-up. Two pieces joined to make the edge look 2" or 3" thick without the weight or cost of a slab that thick.

How to choose

Match the edge to the kitchen, not the stone. Flat-panel cabinets and a quartz counter want eased or DuPont. Raised-panel cabinets and a granite counter can carry a bullnose or ogee. When in doubt, eased is never wrong.

Cost-wise: eased is the baseline, beveled and DuPont are a small step up, bullnose and ogee add more per linear foot, and waterfall is priced by the extra material plus the mitre labour. On a typical kitchen the difference between eased and ogee might be a few hundred dollars; a waterfall island adds meaningfully more.