What's new in countertops?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Soapstone reminds me of commercial places like tabletops and counters at restaurants and bars, for some reason and diners. I prefer the patterns of natural stone, like marble and granite. I would never ever go with corian or other artificial plastic feeling surfaces. I do like butcher block, but they are not practical for us.

Granite has a lot of variety, lots of colors and patterns and the key is to match it tastefully with your cabinets and the rest of your kitchen. It's not about the material but the overall look you are trying to achieve. Plus, granite is cheaper than the newer trendier surfaces, a lot of which actually try to replicate the look of natural stone. Why not just go for the real thing. This is why we went with granite, but not a traditional choice, we chose white granite and it looks amazing with our dark espresso cabinets. We achieved modern and trendy look with the material we trust.

Soapstone is a natural stone. It's quarried in VA (among other places). It is impervious, which is why it's used in labs and in restaurants. There are lots of colors--some solid and some heavily veined. This quarry is outside CHarlottesville: http://www.alberenesoapstone.com/

Oops, I was meaning to say silestone, instead of soapstone, this is what reminds me of restaurant and diner table tops. I do like the look of some soapstone as it has natural pattern, but the colors tend to be limited and I like light gray and white. Some of it looks like fake marble, some is very beautiful. It is more expensive than granite though, so you really have to love it and think it's much better option to have to spend more.

[Anonymous]

Granite, when sealed is very low maintenance and even if it chips, like it did around the sink in our old apartment, you often don't notice this because of the busy pattern. Solid color surfaces are unforgiving to scratches, chipping and stains, that is why I prefer granite. If I don't wipe my countertop thoroughly, I can't even see it. I used to have solid color countertop in another rental place and you could see every spill of water on it. I really don't have time to keep it perfectly clean and wipe it every time with kids around, so granite all the way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,
I have corian and sold my house in 5 days. Buyer said she loved the kitchen, especially the white cabinets. Don't assume that everyone has to have granite or this or that when you renovate. Do what suits your house and your budget and your home's location and general state (overall upkeep) will sell your house.. plus a good price and a coat of paint!

Another issue. If you have a "cook's kitchen" e.g. one that is well designed for frequent use, then you may want to avoid Corian generically and light color Corian specifically. Corian is a very soft material and is easily damaged. My best friend's mother got this about 6-7 years before they moved and by they time they moved, she hated it. Good knives scratched the surface easily, even sometimes just accidentally dragging a knife blade across the surface when moving the knife. She said the lighter surfaces stained easily. Tomatoes, red wine, vinegar and other substances stained if not cleaned up right away. She had a hot pot that came off the stove and due to a slip of a hotpad, had to put the pot down briefly to adjust the hot pad...and it burned the counter. We have Corian in our bathrooms and we have a gouge on on counter where an object with metal on the bottom had been sitting on the counter and dragged instead of lifted off the counter. I would hate to have to be so careful on kitchen counters to avoid damaging the surface. Corian is nice for non-cooks or casual cooks. Since I know a lot of people who cook frequently, I know more people who hate Corian than love Corian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really love the look of wood countertops. For a cottage or bungalow style house. Is this going to stay with the times?

It's pretty classic, but it still would be a minus if I was looking to buy your house and that was the only countertop surface you had. I would view it as easily damaged, porous (and therefore easy to stain and hard to keep sanitary)

Agree. Bacteria magnet.

Didn't they do studies that show that wood does not harbor germs (although I don't think they know why)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,
I have corian and sold my house in 5 days. Buyer said she loved the kitchen, especially the white cabinets. Don't assume that everyone has to have granite or this or that when you renovate. Do what suits your house and your budget and your home's location and general state (overall upkeep) will sell your house.. plus a good price and a coat of paint!

Another issue. If you have a "cook's kitchen" e.g. one that is well designed for frequent use, then you may want to avoid Corian generically and light color Corian specifically. Corian is a very soft material and is easily damaged. My best friend's mother got this about 6-7 years before they moved and by they time they moved, she hated it. Good knives scratched the surface easily, even sometimes just accidentally dragging a knife blade across the surface when moving the knife. She said the lighter surfaces stained easily. Tomatoes, red wine, vinegar and other substances stained if not cleaned up right away. She had a hot pot that came off the stove and due to a slip of a hotpad, had to put the pot down briefly to adjust the hot pad...and it burned the counter. We have Corian in our bathrooms and we have a gouge on on counter where an object with metal on the bottom had been sitting on the counter and dragged instead of lifted off the counter. I would hate to have to be so careful on kitchen counters to avoid damaging the surface. Corian is nice for non-cooks or casual cooks. Since I know a lot of people who cook frequently, I know more people who hate Corian than love Corian.

I agree about not using Corian (especially light color) in a well-used kitchen. In our last house we had white Corian and it stained so badly I hated it. If anything dripped on it, I had to wipe it up immediately. We're an Indian family and we regularly use spices such as turmeric, cumin, chili powder, etc. and they all stain the counter. Of course red wine and different sauces also stained badly.

We have a busy pattern of granite in our current house (we didn't choose it - it was there), and while I don't love the pattern, I love the durability. Nothing hurts it - I regularly spill things, put hot pots on it, etc. And you can't see any chips or scratches at all.

[Anonymous]

corian was a bad idea from the 80s and 90s