Question about granite kitchen countertops?

[mickeyboat]

jleslie48 - our granite sounds a lot like yours, it's called Atlantic Blue and it is speckled. It never looks dirty, even when it is. I wipe it with a microfiber cloth and spray it with a cleaner once a week. It looks amazing. We have cherry cabinets and a light hardwood floor, and it looks great!

Our stainless appliances do show fingerprints like you wouldn't believe. I think there are some new finishes that do a better job of hiding prints. If I keep up with polishing them once a week, they stay looking great.

Denae

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

granite is the only way to go. unbelievable. your entire workspace is a hotplate and cutting board. never have to worry about them. We got very smart after being very stupid with formica, this time we picked a granite top with a speckle pattern in it, and it was dark green/black granite. You can't tell if its dirty or clean, it all looks like a speckle pattern. We never worry about any spills/stains/ burns/cuts, anything now. I even think at the time is was the same price as corriander (?sp?) because that was the hot item. how stupid, corriander is plastic!, it melts!!! one iron skillet set down on the counter and your done.

Do you mean Corian?


Here's Home Depot's Buying guide: http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDU...ID=ccceaddfmdfdifmcgelceffdfgidgkk.0&MID=9876

I've been wanting to add granite to our kitchen, but we're planning to sell next spring. DH is worried that we won't get our value out of the upgrade from formica. I wondered about offering it as a bonus to a buyer who pays our asking price...that way, he/she can pick out the countertops on their own, and I won't worry about my color choice!

 

[jleslie48]

jleslie48 - our granite sounds a lot like yours, it's called Atlantic Blue and it is speckled. It never looks dirty, even when it is. I wipe it with a microfiber cloth and spray it with a cleaner once a week. It looks amazing. We have cherry cabinets and a light hardwood floor, and it looks great!

Our stainless appliances do show fingerprints like you wouldn't believe. I think there are some new finishes that do a better job of hiding prints. If I keep up with polishing them once a week, they stay looking great.

Denae

wow, I just checked, my "new kitchen" is now 5 years old. still looks great,

here are the pics when it was first redone:

http://www.geocities.com/jleslie50/newkit/

I hope I'm allowed to post links now,...

 

[pattyT]

Gorgeous kitchen!
Anyone know any GOOD sites for kitchen ideas and layouts??
I know what I want but can't find it in any mags, etc...
I would like to go to the custom cabinet guy with a picture -

 

[chrissyk]

I've been wanting to add granite to our kitchen, but we're planning to sell next spring. DH is worried that we won't get our value out of the upgrade from formica. I wondered about offering it as a bonus to a buyer who pays our asking price...that way, he/she can pick out the countertops on their own, and I won't worry about my color choice!

I've heard that offering this option to the buyer is nowhere near as effective as actually doing the upgrade yourself before you sell. Do you live in an area where granite is an expected upgrade? Would it help your house to sell faster and/or for more? Does your formica look dated? I wouldn't even be considering a countertop upgrade at this point, except that we're going to be adding counter space to this kitchen shortly and there is no real way for us to match the existing funky-tiled countertops.

 

[jleslie48]

Do you mean Corian?


Here's Home Depot's Buying guide: http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDU...ID=ccceaddfmdfdifmcgelceffdfgidgkk.0&MID=9876

I've been wanting to add granite to our kitchen, but we're planning to sell next spring. DH is worried that we won't get our value out of the upgrade from formica. I wondered about offering it as a bonus to a buyer who pays our asking price...that way, he/she can pick out the countertops on their own, and I won't worry about my color choice!

I think so, its a fancy name for plastic. Its well finished, and custom, makes real pretty molded sinks into the countertops, but don't drop a lighted match onto it... or spill cherry compote (we bake a lot, and have lots of birthday candles around...) Me, all I have to be carefull with is dropping my hammer on the counter; from 30 feet.

 

[graygables]

When we did our kitchen addition, I wanted concrete countertops (DH is a masonry contractor, after all), but he said no way. He also vetoed my solid granite countertops b/c of cost. We have cherry cabinets and a stone-look floor, so I opted for granite TILES in a dark gray/speckled finish. Can't believe how much I LOVE them! We made our dining table with them, too. The trick to keep from staining is to seal them with a good stone sealer (Home Depot carries one) It took an afternoon and in 4 years I haven't had a single stain. I clean them with Mrs. Meyers countertop spray (from drugstore.com) and never have any problems at all.

So, if cost is a factor, consider granite tiles. BTW, I also looked into silestone and corian and was not that wowed by it. I do a lot of baking/cooking and needed durability. The kitchen designer I worked with definitely agreed with my choice.

 

[Mercy]

Gorgeous kitchen!
Anyone know any GOOD sites for kitchen ideas and layouts??
I know what I want but can't find it in any mags, etc...
I would like to go to the custom cabinet guy with a picture -

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/

This is a great forum for kitchen remodeling questions. If you scroll down a bit you will see a link there that says Gallery, if you go there you will see pictures of finished kitchens.

 

[JudicialTyranny]

We went with Venetian Gold - it hides dirt pretty well.

Sorry the picture is so big.

 

[jleslie48]

Gorgeous kitchen!
Anyone know any GOOD sites for kitchen ideas and layouts??
I know what I want but can't find it in any mags, etc...
I would like to go to the custom cabinet guy with a picture -

If your talking to me, thanks. It was not easy. We kept a pad of paper in the kitchen for 6 months listing things we liked and did not like in our old kitchen.

We got real smart with this one, all the drawers were made 2" deeper, so no spatula turned sideways was going to keep you from openning the drawer. All the vertical partitions are fake so there are know bars inbetween the cabinets.

And my special enhancement, the countertop left of the sink is bevelled and slanted to pour into the sink --- viz, no drain board necessary!!! we cut in that well, and then literally take the sprayer and spray down the area, and the water drains into the sink. I should of done the other side the same way, with the speckle pattern, you can't see the lip.

electrical plugs added everywhere, including in the cabinents, so I could just poke a hole in the cabinet and run the excess wire into the cabinet instead of bunched up on the counter.

 

[Sleepy]

Granite is very durable and I use whatever I have to clean it. I have granite staircases which I use swiffer or Mr Clean or Pinesol. Never have problems with smudges, streaks, etc. For the kitchen counters, I use those cleaning wipes....Clorox or Lysol brand. Same thing as floors.....always shiney. No smudges or streaks. Oh, and the stairs are a burgundy color and the counter tops are a black speck. So is the kitchen table, but it came with the house. We just bought a foyer table with granite top that has a gark green/black look but it has bengal stripes. We are having a kitchen table and center island made of same granite. Around here everything is either granite or marble and there is no such thing as specialty cleaning products for them. Heck, even the steps to my front and back doors are made of marble.

 

[damo]

We've got granite that is in speckles of brown, beige and black. It shows no streaks and has never stained in 5 years. Easiest countertop I've ever had!

 

[720L]

judicialtyranny: we went with venetian gold granite also! It's in our new house (we haven't moved in yet) so I'm glad to hear it stays nice looking. Were you told that the lighter colors stain easier? I heard it's not good to put a greasy pizza box on it because it might leave a stain. I haven't asked my builder anything about it yet. Your kitchen looks beautiful!

 

[ChristmasElf]

we are just making this decision now, too! We are putting new beadboard doors on our wood cabinets, and painting them white. We've ordered all new white appliances, putting in a wood laminate floor. I'm planning to do the countertops in blue. I love the look of a white and blue room.

Last year we put a house on the market with blue countertops. Everyone commented on them, and not for the better. Our realtor pleaded with us to change them to a nuetral color. After finally taking her advice, we put in nuetral and the house sold in 2 weeks. The comments we got were that blue was too late 70's early 80's. But, if you will not be selling your house ever, put the blue in! (I hope not of offend you, as personally blue is a very pretty color, I just wanted to tell you what happened to us. (we had light maple cabinets-really light)

 

[Aimeedyan]

Oh, I dream of upgrading our cheap standard counters to granite one day. Learning lots on this thread!

I did want to mention re: stainless - we went with a brushed satin finish on our stainless and it shows no streaks, fingerprints, nothing! Our microwave is stainless and does show but not the fridge. We LOVE it! Same great look, no maintenance required

 

[Cindyluwho]

Here in the Seattle area we're seeing Granite in almost every kitchen! Here's something to think about; even rentals now have granite countertops. If it's that common, it may be near the end of it's popularity. I would go with what YOU want, not what's going to be popular years down the road when you go to sell your home. None of us has a crystal ball and who knows what kind of countertops will be "hot" then. We've got copper counters in our kitchen - talk about being a slave to the countertops! eeeeek!! But I love the way they look, even if I do have to polish them every week.

 

[chrissyk]

Here in the Seattle area we're seeing Granite in almost every kitchen! Here's something to think about; even rentals now have granite countertops. If it's that common, it may be near the end of it's popularity.

I am DEFINITELY with you on this. We are going to sell this house (be it tomorrow or 5 years from now I don't know, though). What you said has been running through my mind quite a bit. How do we know if granite will look totally dated in a few years or not It seems like a good chunk of change to plunk down based on the hope that it's not a trend that has run it's course.

 

[JudicialTyranny]

How do we know if granite will look totally dated in a few years or not It seems like a good chunk of change to plunk down based on the hope that it's not a trend that has run it's course.

Both our kitchen guy and a local respected real estate guy who has a radio show about real estate say that granite is timeless.

Our kitchen guy also recommended stained cabinets and not any of the trendy "washed" wood. He also recommended against having all painted cabinets - a few as accents are OK though. Although trendy now, there is too much of a chance that they will go out of style and look dated.

 

[JudicialTyranny]

judicialtyranny: we went with venetian gold granite also! It's in our new house (we haven't moved in yet) so I'm glad to hear it stays nice looking. Were you told that the lighter colors stain easier? I heard it's not good to put a greasy pizza box on it because it might leave a stain. I haven't asked my builder anything about it yet. Your kitchen looks beautiful!

I can't recall anything about grease, although if it is sealed it should not be too much of a problem.

 

[chrissyk]

Both our kitchen guy and a local respected real estate guy who has a radio show about real estate say that granite is timeless.

Our kitchen guy also recommended stained cabinets and not any of the trendy "washed" wood. He also recommended against having all painted cabinets - a few as accents are OK though. Although trendy now, there is too much of a chance that they will go out of style and look dated.

I think that granite has more of a chance of standing the test of time because it's a natural substance. However, I'm not 100% convinced that it will look timeless, and that makes me a little nervous (given the cost associated). It does seem to be the best option right now, though.

A few years ago, I remember seeing Corian in someone's kitchen and thinking that it looked SO nice. Now I see Corian and think that it looks really cheesy most of the time. I hope that the same doesn't happen with granite in a few years.

As for washed cabinets...I'm not sure what those look like Our cabinets are light maple, and they're staying. I think that they're pretty, even though I guess dark cabinets are more "in" right now.