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 miter 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 miter labor. On a typical kitchen the difference between eased and ogee might be a few hundred dollars; a waterfall island adds meaningfully more.