Let's talk about counter tops and sinks.

[Disney Doll]

We just did a double stainless steel sink undermounted under a granite counter top and I love it.

We did see that Silestone which I thought was nice, but DH was fixated on granite, and we found a nice granite, so it was fine with me.

 

[Mickeyfaniam]

Silestone here! Love them! They Don't stain. Don't need sealing. Don't react to heat! Perfect!

ditto this
I have been researching and visiting home remodeling shows and trying to decide for 2 years now I have leaned toward each option at various times. But I keep coming back to the silestone. I know they all have pros & cons but the silestone has the least amount on the cons side

And thats what its going to be

 

[kors]

We are moving in a few months, and our new house will have Granite....I am glad to be getting rid of the Corian. Hope you got some good input.

 

[jrmasm]

Granite may not be what you want but while doing your reseach, don't fall for the granite myths. Granite is not a germ factory. Many (maybe most) granites do not require sealing. Many (maybe most) granites will not stain easily.

Can't help you with sinks. I have yet to find the perfect one.

 

[DisneyPhD]

ditto this
I have been researching and visiting home remodeling shows and trying to decide for 2 years now I have leaned toward each option at various times. But I keep coming back to the silestone. I know they all have pros & cons but the silestone has the least amount on the cons side

And thats what its going to be

This is what I am starting to think too and this thread is helping me lean that way (DH has already leaned that way.) Yes I am getting some very good insight and info. Thanks so much everyone.

The Silgranit sinks look good too (and a good alternative to the 650 corian one.) How much are they? I can't imagine they are much more then the corian one, but more then a normal sink (around $200.)

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Granite may not be what you want but while doing your reseach, don't fall for the granite myths. Granite is not a germ factory. Many (maybe most) granites do not require sealing. Many (maybe most) granites will not stain easily.

Can't help you with sinks. I have yet to find the perfect one.

I'm glad you said it and not me! I've fought this battle in more DIS threads than I care to remember!

 

[Miss Jasmine]

This is what I am starting to think too and this thread is helping me lean that way (DH has already leaned that way.) Yes I am getting some very good insight and info. Thanks so much everyone.

The Silgranit sinks look good too (and a good alternative to the 650 corian one.) How much are they? I can't imagine they are much more then the corian one, but more then a normal sink (around $200.)

I don't have my price sheet with me, but yeah it was more than $200 since it is made with granite.

 

[jrmasm]

I'm glad you said it and not me! I've fought this battle in more DIS threads than I care to remember!

It usually start with 'My DH sells Corian and he says...."

 

[Parkhopper]

Silestone here! Love them! They Don't stain. Don't need sealing. Don't react to heat! Perfect!

I was going to say these exact same words!

Suzi

 

[kinntj]

You are so lucky getting your kitchen done. Jealous person right here!
We're having our basement finished, but having the kitchen counters and sink replaced is #2 on our list. Our house is a new built and the builder put in formica counters and this hard to clean white sink. It ALWAYS has some kind of stain or rust mark in it.

It's great to get some comments on the popular choices. We plan on granite, since our friend used this granite guy and he got a deal on it. Not dirt cheap, but he was better pricing than others that were installing it.

The countertops we have now, doesn't go with the upgraded cabinets and appliances that are in here. I can't wait to have a kitchen that matches.

Happy shopping!

 

[DisneyPhD]

You are so lucky getting your kitchen done. Jealous person right here!
We're having our basement finished, but having the kitchen counters and sink replaced is #2 on our list. Our house is a new built and the builder put in formica counters and this hard to clean white sink. It ALWAYS has some kind of stain or rust mark in it.

It's great to get some comments on the popular choices. We plan on granite, since our friend used this granite guy and he got a deal on it. Not dirt cheap, but he was better pricing than others that were installing it.

The countertops we have now, doesn't go with the upgraded cabinets and appliances that are in here. I can't wait to have a kitchen that matches.

Happy shopping!

Let's see where this is on our list. We bought the house about 8 years ago. It needed a lot of work.

In order....

1) new porch
2) new back deck
3) new windows
4) new siding
5) finish basement
6) new siding on garage (and roof) Oh and Garage door.
7) addition upstairs, (adding 800 ff with new bathroom with whirlpool tub, and 2 new bedrooms and walk in closet) Took one year from start to finish
8)New roof (during the addition.)
9) remodel kitchen.
STOP THERE!!!!!!!!!!

It really is the last on the list and that is only the big stuff. We have done almost all of it ourselves too. There has been a number of small things (like new glass block windows in the basement and repainting, new doors ect...)

It has been a crazy past 8 years. This house has needed so much work. I am so excited about the new kitchen. It is really needed, but living with construction for at least the next 2 months is going to be hard.

I can not wait until it is done though. We are taking out a wall and putting in an Island with seating between the bonus room and the kitchen too (and all new hard wood.)

Leaning towards the Siltstone, not sure what to do about the sink though. Double or no just one. 50/ 50 or bigger side and smaller. hmmmmmmm. Things to think about.

The floors in here so are bad I have all but given up cleaning them. The same goes for the white laminate counter tops. The dishwasher isn't installed (but rolls over and hooks up.) There isn't enough counter or cabinet space. This remodel is so needed. I can't believe we have lived with it so long. Oh the joys of owning a fixer upper!

 

[ducklite]

I have the faucet that pulls out to be a sprayer with two different types of sprays. I really like it.

That's what I've got, and I also really like it.

I've got Corian and haven't had a problem with scratching, staining, or burning, but I always use a cutting board and cork trivets, so tha's probably why. I think it's jsut so drilled in from when I was a kid that I could never get used to cooking any other way.

Anne

 

[DisneyPhD]

That's what I've got, and I also really like it.

I've got Corian and haven't had a problem with scratching, staining, or burning, but I always use a cutting board and cork trivets, so tha's probably why. I think it's jsut so drilled in from when I was a kid that I could never get used to cooking any other way.

Anne

See I am bad. I could care less about my current counter tops so I always cut on them. I know I am bad.

 

[kinntj]

Let's see where this is on our list. We bought the house about 8 years ago. It needed a lot of work.

In order....

1) new porch
2) new back deck
3) new windows
4) new siding
5) finish basement
6) new siding on garage (and roof) Oh and Garage door.
7) addition upstairs, (adding 800 ff with new bathroom with whirlpool tub, and 2 new bedrooms and walk in closet) Took one year from start to finish
8)New roof (during the addition.)
9) remodel kitchen.
STOP THERE!!!!!!!!!!

!

That's quite a list. My list is more like finish basement, kitchen counters/sink, curtains, tile in bathrooms, new living room furniture.

I'll have to look into siltstone when the time comes. Our first house was a fixer upper and we replaced the roof and the furnace. Two owners before us put in sprinklers, cabinets and countertops. The owner before us put in brand new windows. It seemed that everyone was putting updates into that house one owner at a time when problems arised.

Now with this house, there's not much to do, but there's a few upgrades and finishing that needs to be done. At least they are mosly cosmetic and nothing that we can't wait on.

 

[DisneyPhD]

That's quite a list. My list is more like finish basement, kitchen counters/sink, curtains, tile in bathrooms, new living room furniture.

I'll have to look into siltstone when the time comes. Our first house was a fixer upper and we replaced the roof and the furnace. Two owners before us put in sprinklers, cabinets and countertops. The owner before us put in brand new windows. It seemed that everyone was putting updates into that house one owner at a time when problems arised.

Now with this house, there's not much to do, but there's a few upgrades and finishing that needs to be done. At least they are mosly cosmetic and nothing that we can't wait on.

Yep, I get tried just thinking about how much we have done so far. I forget to add take out the old chimney, and add a direct vent gas fire place. (we had to remove the old chimney for the addition.)

 

[PlutoLuvr]

We just finished our kitchen remodel. Our home is in NE Florida, built in '51, and we bought it from the original owner in '98. It REALLY looked like it should still be in the '50s, but things were "dingy."

My hubby's a builder, so he sees all sorts of countertops and sinks. This was helpful in making our "pro" vs. "con" list.

For us, our deciding factors were budget, appearance and maintenance. Our kitchen is full on retro '50s. Think Fonzie and Mel's Diner -- even have the black and white checkerboard floor. All these stone/aggregates just didn't match! I mean, it just seemed like everywhere we looked, your choices in color were: Black, light black, gray, beige, dark beige, light beige. I wanted color!

Even with DH's discounts, the prices were obscene, too. I'm sorry, but if I'm going to pay 10K for stone, it's going on my friggin' finger!

I took a Corian sample DH brought home and was able to scratch it with my fingernail. Eek! The maintenance associated with stone, plus that cost, put a big notch in the con column there.

The one that ended up winning was a high-end Formica! We picked the microdot finish, beveled edge upgrade, grasshopper for our color. It cost less than 10 percent what granite would have cost us.

We went with the biggest sink that would fit, lol. It's 9 1/2 inches deep, porcelain and a double. It's got a big curve on the left bin, up in the corner for your pots and pans handles to go into (this way, your entire pot fits in the sink!). My only regret is we got the soap dispenser attached in the sink itself. What a joke -- and a mess, as well. The thing leaks and is nearly impossible to refill. Our faucet comes out as a sprayer, too, so if I had it to do again, I'd just get a sleek look on the sink with a faucet only and buy a nice container for soap to keep on the counter or close to the faucet handles.

It wasn't that hard of a decision on the sink. None are perfect. We'd had stainless steel before, and they get these little pinholes in them. The porcelain gets marks easily from certain pots and pains. We paid less than $300, tho, and it was a depth that I wanted and double (I need to be able to dry my dishes on one side of my sink -- can't use countertop space for that).

Good luck! It's all about priorities, IMO, unless you're a millionaire.

Here's a few of our countertops. These were taken like our first night back in our kitchen, so it's not completely "furnished."

I can't resist posting this one here

This one below to hopefully capture the itty-bitty microdots?

 

[DisneyPhD]

Thanks so much for posting the pictures PlutoLuvr! I love the hardware. To cute!

 

[Disney Doll]

According to our granite guy, the only thing we have to do is seal it once or twice per year, which basically consists of wiping some stuff on it. Really not that hard. And I did choose a granite that was a charcoal gray background with peach, light green and lilac in it, and those colors are quite evident when you walk into the kitchen. I agree that there's a lot of beige and green in granite, but we looked and looked until we found this one. It's very different from most of the granites I see in other people's homes. We have a Cape, so our home is not real formal or fancy, and the granite doesn't really make the kitchen look "formal" but it does look updated, which I like. I have a very lived in home. Formal doesn't really fly here!

Our kitchen sink is stainless steel double sink, undermounted. The left side is larger than the right side, but they are both the same depth. I usually put the dirty dishes in the left side and the draining dishes in the right. Looking back on it, I probaly should have had the smaller sink on the left and the larger sink on the right, but oh well. The smaller sink is stilll 17"x14", so it's pretty big. The faucet pulls out as a sprayer, which I love. I love a sprayer but hate the separate ones because they always end up leaking. We did not get a built in soap dispenser...I just keep one next to the sink. The garbage disposal is on the left side, where I would scrape and rinse the dishes.

 

[DisneyPhD]

We did get a soap thing. I thought it was silly, but DH liked it and he said he hates the soap sitting out. Besides it came with the one I wanted so I didn't think much of it.

I am pretty sure we are going to change our order after this thread. Cancel the Corian, and get the Silstone instead. Not sure about the color yet. Not sure about the sink yet either. Even if I can decided what kind, then the whole bowl thing is throwing me.

 

[CEDmom]

We have Corian countertops and the Corian 1/3-2/3 sink integrated sink. Our house is about a year old and we haven't had problems with scratching at all. I didn't want granite and the Silstone color choices our builder offered weren't to our liking.