STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Our new house has burgundy countertops (whatever counter tops are made of? that plasticy coated wood?) and they are ug-lee. As soon as we can afford it I'd like to replace them. I'd like to do stone of some sort- it looks really nice and is fairly durable.

I have heard that tile can crack fairly easily and is a pain to fix. If you put down something too hard or something that is too hot on tiled countertop it can crack them.

We, of course, have industrial metal counters (aluminum maybe?) at work and I love it. They clean up so easily, totally durable and are never affected by heat or scratching. But they look like typical commercial kitchen ware and aren't the prettiest. Probably not something you'd want to have in your home.

I love Corian and Zodiaq, but I have kind of an irrational love for them. They are mid-range in price and extremely durable (against heat, stains, cracks, etc), and if you get a nice pattern, they have the same kind of look as a nice stone or granite. The subtlest patterns are best, I think--the ones that don't try super hard to look exactly like granite. I just love them because of the texture--they are very smooth, but not cold and hard like stone. And another nice thing is that since the material is not a composite (as opposed to a laminate), you can buff out any scratches or nicks and they will disappear. I saw a price quote for Corian at about $40-50 per s.f. installed; I think Zodiaq can run a bit more.

Stone is obviously going to be more expensive, but it can add big resale value to your house, especially granite. The downside is that depending on the stone you choose, it can be vulnerable to staining, and you may have to seal it periodically, which is a pain in the butt. I think granite is about $70 per s.f. but don't know any others offhand.

And like Metric said, stainless is amazingly practical, and depending on the look you want, it can be really ultra-sleek and contemporary. But it, too, is really expensive.

HTH!

I have tile and love it!  I got white tile with black grout.  I definately wouldn't do a light color grout, I'd be scrubing it constantly.  We've been in this house for 5 1/2 years and I haven't had any trouble with cracking/breaking/chipping and I am by no means careful and put stuff straight from the stove/oven onto the tile.  I just think the tile has a certain charm to it.  Here is a picture from Christmas time in my kitchen so you can see my counters:

Hope that helps

Elle wrote:

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We had tile countertops once - .  I hated them!  So hard to clean and just not user friendly in general.  We have the new laminate that's made to look like stone in our apartment now, and I really like it.  If I were building a kitchen though, I'd go with one of the new composites that are made to look like granite - you get the look without the cost or the maintenance.

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I agree on all costs. We had tile once in a rental and I despised it. Maybe I am not a good cleaner or something, but I felt like I could never get the grout clean enough. It doesn't really go with our style, either, but my MIL has it and it looks cute in her house.

My grandma has one of those granite composites in her house. I wish I could remember the exact name of her brand, but it looks exactly like granite but is much less maintenance. You can cut on it, put heated stuff on it -- anything, and it still looks brand-new.

My parents both have granite in their houses and it's very pretty. It's extremely versatile, depending on the color, and it just looks so rich and smooth. They don't do that much to theirs as far as upkeep, either. Right now we have white laminate counters (thanks, previous owners ), but when we redo our kitchen next year (hopefully) we will probably get granite.

I am sort of intrigued by quartz, too, like in erin's house, but I have never seen it IRL.

 

cortney - that looks a lot like the quartz color we got. (i don't remember the name)

i said this on another thread, but i love our countertops. it looks *just* like granite (only a bit thinner of a slab). had i not got the quartz bullnosed on the edges, it would look even more like it. you can even get it in a honed or glossy finish. (i got a glossier one) from what the installer told me, it's 97% granite but man-made, so obviously cheaper. i don't know the price difference, though.

i debated between getting this and getting ebony butcher-block...but decided for this.

corian is great, but i don't think it's ideal for kitchens. it scratches very easily. it's not a hard fix, but i would feel like i was walking on eggshells.

my quartz is maintenance free! no resealing needed. they recommended i not cut on it, though, which is a bummer. (dulls knives and not good for the counter)

MissMee wrote:

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 I wanted to get some of the light colored quartz, but the countertop guys talked me out of it saying that it warps over time.  Maybe it's porous?  Or maybe he just wanted us to spend more money.

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I don't know how it would warp over time, seems like you had a greedy sales guy.  I thought granite was porous (that's why it needs to be sealed) and quartz was not.  I still have my Costco guide on countertops.  For the Zodiaq quartz surfaces it says:

With a radiant, natural appearance and superior performance, DuPont Zodiaq offers the benefits of granite and marble without the maintenance.

• Three to seven times stronger than natural stone


• Resists chips, scratches, cracks, heat and stains


• Never needs to be sealed, polished or reconditioned


• Backed by a 10-year limited and transferable warranty


• Over 20 colors to choose from

We have the cheap stuff that looks like marble, but isn't.  The builder warned us it required special care (like no cutting stuff on the counter), but we don't give it special care and it's held up great.  It looks pretty darn real at a fraction of the cost.

fafa wrote:

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We have concrete and I love it. Its gorgeous durable and not as overdone as granite. Now I have a friend who kept the original tiles for her kitchen counters and its really cute but such a pain to clean!

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fafa: can you tell me more about the concrete. do you have to seal it or wax it regularly? has yours had any hairline cracks at all? how long have you had it? how does it compare pricewise to other options?

i love the look of concrete — it so perfectly fits my aesthetic — but i'm not sure that i'm game for the maintenance that i've read it requires. plus i've already blown my budget on gorgeous glass tile for my backsplash, so i'm not sure if i can swing the cost.



thank you everyone for your responses — it helps tremendously. i know granite is such a popular choice right now but i also feel that it's a little too formal and traditional of a look for me. i'm also not too concerned about adding resale value to our home. we plan on living in this house for a good long time and i'm sure whatever i choose will be well outdated by the time we sell anyway.

right now i have a corian sample that i'm in love with because it has the look of the concrete i love. i also love that it's more of a matte finish. my backsplash is going to be very glossy, shiny glass tile so i think i need something flat to soak up all that shine.

does anyone else love or hate their corian?

we have corian in our kitchen and all bathrooms and love it - I had a cutting board made from the same corian when they were installing it, so I have a cutting surface that blends in. 

I have been looking at countertops for my mother, and we have been considering a solid surface for her as well.  as nice as granite looks, it's very porous, and frankly, my mother is like a bull in a china shop - so granite may be too delicate and porous of a surface for her.

I love concrete countertops and floors.  The Detroit Brewing Co. across the street from the Traffic Jam off Cass has a pigmented concrete bar... I'm trying to think of other places that have concrete surfaces - I know there's a few around... Maybe try calling around to some of the kitchen design places in B'ham and see if they have some examples you can look at as well as give you an idea of maintenance.