What do you like for kitchen countertops?

[Randi]

What is a good modern inexpensive countertop material? I am starting to redo things in my house leading to a sale in about 5 yrs. and have an opportunity to put in a new sink, faucet & countertops now. If I was staying I would go with Corian, but it seems kinda expensive. Right now I have a stainless steel sink and Formica counters. I would like your ideas so I choose something that would update the kitchen and help to sell the house. Not just what I would like to live with. Appliances are almond and cabinets are walnut stained. Kitchen is quite bright because it gets the afternoon sun through 2 windows.

 

[Disney Doll]

You kow, there's not a thing wrong with Formica. People have gotten away form Formica because building places etc have convinced us that "something" (granite, Corian etc) is better. Well, I have a kitchen counter that is Formica and it si probably at least 15-20 years old, and it si perfectly fine. No nicks, burns, scratches etc.

In our new bathroom we put Swanstone, which is a solid surface material simialr to Corian, but cheaper. I pretty much picked it because it had the speckled look I wanted, which none of the Formicas that the plumbing suplliy place we worked with did.

 

[nativetxn]

My countertops are Formica and are fine after 18 years. I suppose if I built a new house I might go with something fancier, but for now the Formica is fine for us.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

Corian scratches easily. You can buff it but it doesn't always take the scratches out. The seamless sinks that you can get with Corian are great.

I had black granite in my last house. It looked nice but with two small children I had to wipe it down 20 times a day to remove fingerprints. I liked the granite but would not get black again. Plus, it's expensive.

In our current house, we will be updating our kitchen soon. We have formica countertops and they are just fine EXCEPT they are white and get stains on them. I'm fine with formica but would prefer one that looks like natural stone.

I'm interested in Silestone, an engineered granite that is heat resistant and NEVER has to be sealed like real granite does. Unfortunately, it's also very pricey and not in the budget right now.

 

[aprilgail2]

I just redid my whole kitchen and put in all granite, I LOVE it! Also put in a porcelin floor and backsplash and all stainless steel appliances...looks SO much better than my old one!

 

[jimmytammy]

I do this kind of work. Formica for the money is very good. They have colors now that look very much like granite. There are about 10-15 colors. They even have the little indentions like granite. We have done a couple of these colors recently. Our customers had us use a maple front edge and maple on top of the backsplash. It makes a very nice finish this way. I dont have the samples at my house but I believe the finish on those particular samples will say etchings.