Kitchen Countertop

[binny]

I kno we;ve talked about this before but I need some more input.

I asked about granite resurfacing last week and no one answered so maybe its a new thing? I dont know.
Well I have a bid and it was about double what Corian would be
There are also some nice laminates out there that would be cheaper than that even.

Im really on the fence here. What would you do in your kitchen if you had it to do over? A friend had Hi-Macs installed in her house and it looks nice but vey modern. I have a "french country" thing going on in here and while I dont want hearts and flowers I do want something a little more rustic looking.

So any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Alice28]

I am so going with Corian when we (hopefully) do our kitchen remodel next summer. I love the colors (I am getting cobalt), I love how it looks, how it feels, how durable it is. My parents got granite tiles in their kitchen, and it's very sharp and classy looking, but it's NMS.

Neighbors had their laminate redone and it looks pretty darn sharp and wasn't that expensive. I still want the Corian though! Good luck making a decision.

 

[momrek06]

Built our house one year ago and I selected the CORIAN and LOVE IT. My kitchen is quite large, but by that I mean allot of counter top, so what we opted to do was design my desk/computer area in the corner of the kitchen. I selected formica for my desk. To Corian the entire kitchen would have been a tad bit pricey. I believe my Corian color is "sandstone"...which has specks of soft gray in it so I selected a soft gray formica to go with the Corian. I use the computer allot for recipes etc etc so I have loved having my desk/computer right here in the kitchen (basically out of the way but still very convenient).

Corian

 

[MareQ]

In my old house we had tiles - it was great because we could put hot pots on it, didn't scratch etc but the grout was a royal pain in the rump. When we redid that kitchen I put in a soft green Corian with a white built in Corian sink - I LOVED IT - however I missed not being able to just plop hot pots on it.

When we moved here the builder had installed an white laminite counter top which we promptly replaced with Ubatuba Granite - my favorite counter top so far It's easy to clean, heat resistant and fantastic to look at - lol

 

[CEDmom]

Before we bought our new house we were looking into remodeling our old kitchen. We would have gone with Silestone. Our builder in our new house didn't offer that so we went with Corian. So far we're really happy with it. I think granite looks nice is certain settings but wouldn't have like it in our new home. To me it's very dramatic and with an open floor plan I think it would have been a little overwhelming. BTW, I think the Corian we have is called Mojave it's various shades of brown with some blue and grey specs.

 

[nursetink]

Another Ubatuba owner here. We love the granite, and will put it in our next house also. I have attached 2 pics. The 1st is my kitchen, and the 2nd is a benefit house. Mine has granite, and the benefit has corian. Both of these were built by my husband with the same cabinets and backsplashes, but the countertops do give each kitchen a different look and feel.

It is all a matter of preference and taste.

 

[azgal81]

You can get shiny laminate that kinda looks like granite. If I had to redo my counters I would probably get the corian I don't really like the look of granite and I love the colors the corian comes in!

 

[LuvN~Travel]

Our new Silestone counters were just installed this week. And, I love them!
They are so easy to clean too. Especially since my son got cheese grits on them the other day. Scraped off nicely, nothing left behind.
Kim

 

[ChrisnSteph]

We have Caeserstone in, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It doesn't stain or get watermarks like granite, it's a breeze to clean, and it's so durable. It's just an engineered quartz, but it looks like granite, and everyone that comes over thinks it is! It's also less expensive than granite. I can post pics if you want to see them. Here's a website:
http://www.caesarstoneus.com/catalog/product.cfm?ProductID=45

The color I have is Carmel.

 

[Disneyrsh]

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[Quinn222]

I have corian and love it. Don't get a corian sink though, I hate that.

 

[Disneyrsh]

I have corian and love it. Don't get a corian sink though, I hate that.

Amen! Get an undermounted stainless.

 

[lowie]

i'm on my 3rd house with tiled countertops and LOVE them, yes, the grout can be a pain in the backside but otherwise i love the look, feel, durability and PRICE! i did my own kitchen in the house we're in now with my brother and the whole thing, including backsplash, cost me $250!

 

[ducklite]

I had a choice between Corian and Granite and I chose Corian because I think in the long run it will hold up better with less expensive maintenance. Granite is beautiful, but expensive to refinish and almost impossible to repair.

My sink is a drop in Kohler enamel and I love it. Very easy to care for.

If you got for tile, get the grout sealed and it will be much easier to care for.

If you've got an EXPO Design center by you, take a look around there for ideas.

Anne

 

[lclark0621]

I hate laminate. Just my preference, but I hate it.

DH & I are building a new house & are having granite counters installed. I love them. DH put in granite tiles in our old house & they were so easy to take care of. We just cleaned the counters & they would shine & sparkle. No tough work at all.

I like being able to just put hot pans down on the counters.

We are also having an undermount sink put in & I cant wait! Just wipe everything off the counter into the sink. No lip, no mess.

 

[desiab]

We are in the planning stages on our addtion and we are going with stained concrete. We had them in our old house and I absolutely loved them. You can't get any more durable than that. With them sealed I didn't have to worry about spills or messes.

Anyone else have concrete?

 

[Disneyrsh]

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[kldmom2000]

I'm partial to Corian since DH owns a Corian/solid surface fabrication company (they do Corian, Zodiaq, Cesarstone, Silestone, HiMac)

We have corian in our kitchen (Malachite) with an undermount stainless steel sink

We also have corian in our bathroom-Vanero champagne with a corian sink

They've both been in since shortly after we bought our house in 2000 and both still look fabulous

DH would like to eventually put Zodiaq in the kitchen-but I won't let him yet as there's nothing wrong with our current countertop!

 

[desiab]

They've had issues with cracking.

You might want to check on the warranty the installer offers you, or if it's going to be a DIY project, look into using fiber reinforced cement with some acrylic or resin additives...

THey are also not resistant at all to acids such as lemon or red wine. Get a reeeeeeeeaaaaalllllly good sealer.

Thanks for the advice. I will make sure to check into this kind of cement. The sealer we used at our last house still looks beautiful. My brother & SIL bought the house and they too love the countertops.

 

[Melrosgirl]

We have had corian for 2 years and love it. We have "sahara". We have the seamless sink and absolutely love it. Best part IMO. I love the seamless sink.