What would be your first choice for countertops?

[Anonymous]

Corian. It just works. Fight me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here! For the quartzite posters, how do you know if a particular slab is soft or harder? We went to Gramaco in Maryland. The quartzite was all tagged as quartzite but there was no distinction that we saw between the slabs. The marble was all in a different section and differently tagged. Gosh the marble is beautiful, but I had to walk away from it for the kitchen!

The quartzite we selected is Blanco Superiore. It is from Brazil.

I've been reading Houzz and quartzite can be a nightmare. It's all mislabeled and a lot of it is marble I think? Anyway, I would read the forums there because they suggest testing a piece of the quartzite.

I’ve been doing the same thing and it’s like a horror show! Lots of “just spent 10k and had these gorgeous quartz/quartzite counters installed last week and now they’re ruined because my teen rested her hand in the counter/a bit of guacamole got on them.” Wtf? I was looking at these as an alternative to marble but they still sound pretty bad.

[Anonymous]

I am going with heavy duty, commercial kitchen grade, stainless steel for all of my side counters and working spaces. My sister did it and it is incredible. It looks great and is so functional. It is super easy to keep clean and you cannot damage it. She kept her island in the granite that she loves, and I will do the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Dark gray, almost black granite, matte not shiny. Looks like soapstone but none of the issues of soapstone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dark gray, almost black granite, matte not shiny. Looks like soapstone but none of the issues of soapstone.

We’re getting this now, for the same reason

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Corian. It just works. Fight me.

💯 agree. My parents have it and after 25 years it looks great.

[Anonymous]

I love love love my granite. Beautiful, durable, put hot pans right on it. I love to keep it clean so I can look at it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're going with quartzite! Natural stone but more durable than marble.

What would you choose and why?

Is anyone looking at porcelain?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am going with heavy duty, commercial kitchen grade, stainless steel for all of my side counters and working spaces. My sister did it and it is incredible. It looks great and is so functional. It is super easy to keep clean and you cannot damage it. She kept her island in the granite that she loves, and I will do the same thing.

Love stainless! No maintenance and indestructible. Can put anything hot on it with abandon. Also environmentally friendly as it is recycled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here! For the quartzite posters, how do you know if a particular slab is soft or harder? We went to Gramaco in Maryland. The quartzite was all tagged as quartzite but there was no distinction that we saw between the slabs. The marble was all in a different section and differently tagged. Gosh the marble is beautiful, but I had to walk away from it for the kitchen!

The quartzite we selected is Blanco Superiore. It is from Brazil.

We went to a big yard in VA somewhere and they were not labeled clearly we figured out. Some said soft quartzite (code: marble) and some did not but it wasn’t even fully accurate. We got a guy from the store who was knowledgeable to walk around with us and say which ones were softer vs hard. I didn’t like any of the hard ones. The whole thing just made me nervous. We went with granite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I didn't care about resale, laminate--ours has held up so well and it's quite affordable. I also like stainless steel or recycled aluminum for that reason.

We'll probably do eco by consentino because it looks a little more modern and it's made from recycled materials. Or maybe Paperstone.

+2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Corian. It just works. Fight me.

💯 agree. My parents have it and after 25 years it looks great.

Really???

Our house has it and I hate it. Not for style reasons, but because it seems hard to keep really clean. Lots of smudges and scuffs that won’t really come out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're going with quartzite! Natural stone but more durable than marble.

What would you choose and why?

Is anyone looking at porcelain?

We did look at the Dekton product. IMO, it felt too much like ceramic tile to the touch and honestly I didn't see the alleged better resemblance of marble than quartz. Plus way more expensive.

Seems like an unpopular opinion, but we are doing quartz for the kitchen and laundry in our custom build, mainly because of the durability and ease of maintenance. We have it in our house now and it is indestructible. I am a working mom with a 7 year old pigpen (love him, but he's a mess) and a 9 year old - I would LOVE marble but we don't live that life. We found a subtle, low-key pattern that doesn't scream fake to me. Then granite and quartzite in the bathrooms and outdoor kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Corian. It just works. Fight me.

💯 agree. My parents have it and after 25 years it looks great.

Really???

Our house has it and I hate it. Not for style reasons, but because it seems hard to keep really clean. Lots of smudges and scuffs that won’t really come out.

How long have you ha it? Ours is 20+ years old and looking fine - survived both kids and their best efforts in the kitchen. Nothing a little soft scrub doesn't take care of. No seams on the included sinks to get gunky.

My cousin's granite counter still has the "repaired" crack from when the cast iron dutch oven slipped a few months after the counter was installed.

[Anonymous]

+1 for Corian. Still looks great. Am getting new Corian soon. Don't care if DCUM thinks I'm cheap