What's new in countertops?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Granite is over. I would go with Silestone, soapstone, or the recycled countertops.

To most of you who think this, you are very out of touch with reality. Granite is considered the standard "upgrade" for middle-class to upper-middle class housing. It is consider the base surface for the low end rich. Yes, all of the surfaces discussed from the man-made materials to marble, to stainless steel, concrete, etc are considered additional upgrades, but in reality, only about 10-20% of the housing market really looks to those surfaces. 75% of the population is quite happy with granite and it will be a long time before granite goes completely out of style. Designers may be past it, but they are in the business of changing styles and so granite is not in their lexicons. But, believe me, granite is still the standard and it will take much longer before granite is really out of style except for the ultra-trendy. This from my mother who has been a multi-million-dollar real estate saleswoman for 30 years.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm not sure what Home Depot is carrying these days but if you're interested at all in soapstone we found the best selection at a place in Herndon called EuroStoneCraft. I'm guessing they would also offer honed granite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for all of the suggestions. We are doing a quick kitchen update to sell within the year and our realtor advised us to use the most trendy finishes and surfaces if we did the update. I don't want to sink our budget and overdo it because then I'll never want to move (among the more obvious reasons). I was thinking granite from Home Depot/Lowes, but then I saw all of the other options. I actually don't think those big box retailers will customize (like honed granite) or that would seem like a good option. We are replacing floors too, which makes it that much more fun.

Sure they will. They subcontract to other companies, usually. There may be an upcharge, since honed surfaces are polished up and then the gloss is knocked down - it's an extra step.

[Anonymous]

If you're updating your kitchen just to sell the house, and you don't use granite, that's pretty dumb.

[Anonymous]

Honed black granite looks like slate or soapstone but is tougher and sometimes cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're not doing it just for looks/sale... as a serious cook, I agree with the mixed surfaces. I have stainless around the sink, marble, butcher block and laminate. I'm not trying to impress anyone but myself with my countertops, and the laminate doesn't really stain, so it works beautifully wherever I don't need the others.

I'm the first "mixed surface" poster; I'm a serious-ish cook, too, and a regular baker. I can't imagine giving up the marble or the stainless or the butcher block. But pretty, it's not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Granite is over. I would go with Silestone, soapstone, or the recycled countertops.

To most of you who think this, you are very out of touch with reality. Granite is considered the standard "upgrade" for middle-class to upper-middle class housing. It is consider the base surface for the low end rich. Yes, all of the surfaces discussed from the man-made materials to marble, to stainless steel, concrete, etc are considered additional upgrades, but in reality, only about 10-20% of the housing market really looks to those surfaces. 75% of the population is quite happy with granite and it will be a long time before granite goes completely out of style. Designers may be past it, but they are in the business of changing styles and so granite is not in their lexicons. But, believe me, granite is still the standard and it will take much longer before granite is really out of style except for the ultra-trendy. This from my mother who has been a multi-million-dollar real estate saleswoman for 30 years.

+1 Granite, outside of its trendiness, is still very attractive and easy to maintain.

[Anonymous]

I think the color choices of the countertop matter almost as much if not more than the material to me. I would rather have a Martha Stewart aesthetic coloring in my kitchen with Corian countertops, than some high-end granite that is forest green or really marbled like that "honed" brown one shown earlier.

For example, I'm sure if the kitchen were like this: (the Martha Stewart Corian countertops midway down the page), I would prefer it:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/ContentView?pn=SPC_BRD_MSL_Kitchen&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053

as opposed to the granite here:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RnKAiurURG0/TA0yI8aAXjI/AAAAAAAAEIY/8sBUH2GWnbI/s800/IMG_4842.JPG

Also edging matters as well, none of this waterfall or crazy rounded edges that people seem to love.

[Anonymous]

the truth is all high end stone like, manmade etc... are trying to at a minimum replicate the look and feel of granite while touting the eco friendliness of it.

[Anonymous]

Some types of granite look dated, but others look great. We're re-doing our small galley kitchen and I have no idea what to do!

[Anonymous]

Generally speaking, won't a granite counter-top last forever?

I am a granite fan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the color choices of the countertop matter almost as much if not more than the material to me. I would rather have a Martha Stewart aesthetic coloring in my kitchen with Corian countertops, than some high-end granite that is forest green or really marbled like that "honed" brown one shown earlier.

For example, I'm sure if the kitchen were like this: (the Martha Stewart Corian countertops midway down the page), I would prefer it:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/ContentView?pn=SPC_BRD_MSL_Kitchen&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053

as opposed to the granite here:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RnKAiurURG0/TA0yI8aAXjI/AAAAAAAAEIY/8sBUH2GWnbI/s800/IMG_4842.JPG

Also edging matters as well, none of this waterfall or crazy rounded edges that people seem to love.

Completely agree that the granite in that second photo looks dated as hell (although I don't necessarily think it's because of the marbling). And the edging does matter a lot. Those waterfall edges are awful.

[Anonymous]

Meh..I don't think granite if its in basic colors goes out of style. Any stone or hard surface that does not show age or wear will keep the resale value up. Personally, I would like to try Silestone because I've heard it is antibacterial which is a good quality.

For the people who thinks its passé and always want the newest trend you would have to keep redoing your kitchen every five years. There is a good chance that this type of buyer wouldn't like what you chose anyway.

[Anonymous]

The color of the granite matters. It's a great material, but in the ubiquitous tan and black, it's dated, along with the dreaded travertine tiles.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for EuroStoneCraft. We got a remnant piece of Soapstone for a bathroom vanity there. They did a great job, for a reasonable price.
We love the look of our soapstone, but it is a little more maintenance in our bathroom than we had anticipated.

While we were there, we noticed a fantastic selection of granites we hadn't seen other places. If we'd seen those when we did our kitchen, we might have chosen one. Instead, we went with a honed Caesarstone. It has held up really well overall after nearly ten years of hard use. We do have one chip in it where we dropped a large cast iron pot, but otherwise haven't had an issue with stains. We're still happy with it.

Good luck with your choice!