Distinctive Marble & Granite

(614) 760-0003

7635 Commerce Place

Plain City, Ohio 43064

We represent & distribute some of the finest natural stone & quartz products from leading manufacturers in the USA and around the world.  And we can work in any budget large or small.   Our team of design consultants will work with you to find the perfect natural stone or quartz for your project.  And, if the latest trends are important to you, check us out.

You can choose the latest TRENDS, colors, and material at Distinctive Marble & Granite.  We stock hundreds of colors in our in-house slab yard.  And for smaller projects, check out our remnant yard for affordability and where you can find some of the most exotic colors and rare material available.    

As CBUS #1 Countertop Company year after year, we go beyond simple customer service to provide all our clients with an exceptional countertop experience, from selection to installation. Our team is experienced, knowledgeable and dependable so you can worry less about project issues and focus more on your beautiful, completed space that you will be able to enjoy for years to come.

Everyone is welcome at DMG.  For convenience we are open 6 days a week and offer you a one-stop-shopping experience.  It is easy fast and fun.  Our pricing structure can work in any budget.  Stop into our showroom and look for yourself. We look forward to working with soon.  We are stronger together!

Distinctive Marble & Granite has your “step into spring promotion” for a great looking kitchen or bath. Stop at the booth and check it out. We are offering a choice of 2 selected items out of 4 with the purchase of new kitchen or bath countertops. There is a min. sq. ft. requirement and deposit in order to hold your promo, see store for details. Stop by or call today! (614) 760-0003

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Loretta DiCenso-Tiber, who has been selling Tupperware for 26 years, said the company is changing with the times. 

“When all this started, we thought, ‘What are we going to do?’ But the parent company switched gears and moved us into social media,” she said.  

That means Facebook and Zoom parties instead of in-home gatherings. 

“Virtually 99 percent of what we do is virtual now,” DiCenso-Tiber said. “It was trending that way before the pandemic but became more important when the pandemic hit.” 

Innovative Tupperware products include a pressure cooker and grill designed to be used in the microwave, a vegetable spiralizer and a grater, both part of Tupperware’s collection of tools and storage systems for the refrigerator, freezer and pantry.  

DiCenso-Tiber said she will offer items “at a great discount” at the Home & Garden Show. 

Owner Corey Schoo left a job in private aviation six years ago to found Cedar and Stone, a business that builds custom-frame pergolas and pavilions of the art of hand-chiseled stone and handcrafted wood.  

Many projects use Shou-Sugi-Ban, an ancient Japanese process that involves burning the surface of the wood, cleaning it and applying tung oil or some other natural oil. 

“Every project we did last year, every surface that was horizontal to the ground got burned,” Schoo said. 

The process makes the wood “waterproof, rot-proof and insect-proof,” he said. 

Cedar and Stone uses “a lot of ax work and hand tools,” he said. “We use some machinery, but it’s on the smaller side, like chainsaws and a circle saw.”  

Wood-to-wood connections are made via mortise-and-tenon joining and glue never is used. 

The most common project for Cedar and Stone is a 16-foot by 16-foot pergola installed in a concrete base, but Schoo said the time involved and the price depend on the size of the project. 

“I enjoy the Home and Garden Show because I get to spend a lot of time talking to people and learning about what they like and want,” Schoo said. “This year, I hope people can see what we do and get an idea of what they’re looking at and get a better idea of pricing.” 

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Don’t let the company name fool you. These hard-wearing floors also are used in commercial and residential spaces that have nothing to do with garages. 

The company was founded in 2009, but before it opened its doors, general manager Rick St. Onge said he, his wife, Rhonda, and son, Barrett, completed training in Arizona. 

“My wife actually owns the business,” he said. “She is an Ohio State MBA graduate.”   

He said the pandemic has had an effect on his business.  

“People who have been waiting to do improvement projects now have the time to deal with them. Hopefully this will be a big year for the whole home-improvement industry.” 

The most popular finishes are metallic coatings, which also can be marbleized, he said. 

The application process is fairly simple. 

“We grind the concrete with diamond grinders to get down to porous, virgin concrete because you want a fresh substrate,” he said. “Then we repair any cracks or pits and put the coatings down, starting with an epoxy base coat.” 

Columbus Garage Floor Coating will offer a $500 discount on two-car garage projects or projects of a comparable size to Home & Garden Show attendees. St. Onge said visitors can look at samples and learn about the company and its products. 

Keith Rupp knows firsthand how the pandemic has affected careers: He opened Residences Kitchen and Bath Design in 2020 because he was laid off after 25 years of working for others. 

“Being an owner is different than working for someone else, but it’s been extremely rewarding,” he said. 

Because of the pandemic, Rupp said he is seeing more attention on home improvements.  

“A lot of times, people will remodel the spaces others come into,” he said, citing the kitchen as an example. “Now we’re seeing more time spent on remodeling bathrooms or home offices. Especially with open floor plans, people are looking for small areas where they can spend quiet time.” 

When it comes to kitchen trends, Rupp said he’s seeing larger islands, more concern for storage needs, more ergonomic cabinets and storage, more rack storage and better lighting plans. 

Bathroom trends include larger showers, zero-threshold showers and smaller tubs, if there is a tub at all. 

As for colors, he said gray and white still are popular. 

“But we’re seeing a move toward warmer colors and the use of natural wood, but not like the natural wood of the ’50s. It’s more of a driftwood color,” he said. 

“We try to focus on … staying updated on state-of-the-art designs and knowing when new products are around. We like to educate our clients on the possibilities.” 

Visitors to the Hinton Apiaries booth will find what owner Jerry Hinton calls “a plethora of information” but no bees. 

“It’s too cold to take bees; we can’t really transport them when it’s too cold,” he said. “It’s usually into June before I start thinking about taking bees anywhere.” 

Talking to Home & Garden Show attendees gives Hinton a chance to do two things: encourage new beekeepers and educate the public about the importance of keeping pollinators like honeybees healthy. He said he has seen some increased interest in beekeeping during the pandemic, as well as an increase in the number of hives existing beekeepers maintain.  

It’s important, he said, for experienced beekeepers to mentor the “newbies.” 

“There are mentors galore out there,” he said. “Our goal is to keep the newbies going after year two. That’s when the majority of issues start to appear. If we can get them past year two or three, we’re fine.” 

In addition to honey made with pollen from 10 to 12 types of flowers, Hinton Apiaries, founded in 2010, also sells beeswax-based skincare products and soaps as well as polishes for wood and metal, “all dictated by Mother Nature.” 

Going “green” and saving money are the top reasons Heidi Hulse cites when asked why people are interested in solar energy. 

Beyond that, she said they should consider Mh3 Solar LLC because the family-owned business in Knox County is small enough to be able to offer better pricing because of lower overhead costs. 

Mh3 Solar LLC, founded in 1992, sells and installs solar panels on commercial, agricultural and residential properties.  

“We have found people are more interested in exploring solar now because they have been staying home more, using more electricity,” Hulse said.  

Her business designs solar arrays based on a client’s energy consumption, not the size of a building.  

“Projects can cost anywhere from $10,000 up to $50,000 depending on electricity usage and what the client hopes to accomplish,” she said. “Most projects run from $10,000 to $24,000 - about the price of a car - and that’s with a pretty high offset.” 

Solar panels convert sunlight into electricity thus reducing the amount of energy a customer pulls from the electric grid. Offsets are an important part of the equation when it comes to saving money. Hulse said a 40% offset means a system is designed to save 40% on a customer’s electric bill. The company’s goal is to design a system that provides an offset of 80% to 90%, she said.  

Hulse said new solar-panel technology and microinverters that convert direct current (DC) energy to alternating current (AC) energy at the panel provide a safer and more efficient installation. 

Mh3 Solar Energy LLC installs solar systems throughout Ohio. The company is offering $1,000 off projects booked during the Columbus Dispatch Spring Home & Garden Show.