TCF and Heritage Homes: Why Stone Selection in an Essential Part of the Homebuilding Process
Stone is an essential part of the process when it comes to selecting a home or building one. After all, we all want quality countertops, and stylish ones at that! Earlier this month, we had the chance to sit down with a familiar face, Stephanie McPherson, to discuss this very thing…and a little bit of everything! Stephanie is a design expert at Heritage Homes, a homebuilding company that our team enjoys partnering with throughout the year.
Can you describe your role at Heritage Homes and what that looks like day-to-day?
I’m the designer on staff. I handle all things construction on the interior and exterior of the home. I work with all the trades and all the clients. I’m essentially the liaison between the builder and the client to facilitate the selections and the construction process from architecture to finished product. I visit all the showrooms, and I put together a new board presentation for all my homes, which is when the countertops come into play. They really drive the design.
How long has Heritage Homes worked with Texas Counter Fitters (TCF)?
We had worked with Texas Counter Fitters for about five years now, and it’s been an absolute dream.
Tell us about your process when it comes to working with TCF.
At Heritage, we normally do custom-built homes, and these can range from a client coming to us with a custom lot of their own or a neighborhood where we already own lots suited for building. We usually begin with some type of allowance or budget process upon contract signing. And with that, we design the home, the countertops falling within that budget. When it comes to countertops and creating other stone-built items for the home, my interaction with clients looks like taking them to the TCF facility and having them look around to see what catches their eye. From there, I note their selections, get pricing from TCF, and try to make it all work with the design plan.
As the liaison between clients and builders, what would you say is the current, most popular stone of choice?
The front runners right now are quartz and quartzite, which are different in that quartzite is a natural stone. I have quite a few clients who choose quartzite simply because of its denseness and the beauty of its variations. Quartzite is unique—and my personal favorite. Quartz, on the other hand, is also popular, especially on Pinterest and other platforms where these design and homebuilding influencers blog, but it is synthetic and more standard across the board.
Outside the kitchen, where do you find stone in these homes?
Oh, everywhere: prep kitchen bathrooms, powder bathrooms, even on the patio grill area. I’ve used it on fireplaces, utility rooms—you name it! That said, stone is one of the most important parts of the home building process.
Do you see your clients and homeowners sticking to one stone or using different stones outside versus inside the homes?
There are a few stones that get picked quite a bit, and I think that has to do with price point. I mean, we can’t blow the budget in every area! But your absolute black granite tends to be a stone that can be used quite a bit throughout the home. Your standard quartz option is another excellent choice.
What is the best part of working with TCF?
I’ve worked with a number of companies in the last few years, and I just deeply appreciate TCF’s process and their professionalism. They’re very educated in what they do. Even when I come up with some pretty interesting designs—which I must admit, I do often—they always make it happen. Just recently, I worked with another countertop provider, and the entire process was super transactional and was full of issues. With TCF, I never have to worry about any of that because they care about the finished product as much as I do.
Beyond the seamless process, why use TCF instead of another company?
Their customer service! It’s another part of why I choose TCF every time. With TCF, there is a pricing program on the builder’s side that includes a nice array of options. Most other countertop facilities charge you per slab, whereas TCF almost always charges by square footage. This is a big perk because it prevents, in my case, Heritage Homes from spending too much on unnecessary material. In other words, TCF offers the rare opportunity of changing up your selections for each room instead of trying to make one stone fit for everything. It’s a huge perk.
For more information about the stones mentioned in this article or our process at Texas Counter Fitters, call (469) 779-9999, or stop by the Texas Counter Fitters showroom Monday – Saturday!
