Wood countertop - resale value - would it be a dealbreaker for you?

[Anonymous]

I have just replaced old wood counters with Quartz. I liked the old ones, but over time, they just fell apart, especially over the dishwasher and around the sink. If you are determined to have them, I would have an apron sink.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh - don't get granite. So ugly and dated. Unless maybe you do honed black...

soapstone
marble
quartzite

But use butcher block on an island or small section.

Sorry granite is not dated, patterns are dated but it is always an option, it's a material not a syle. Skip marble and soapstone BTDT terrible wear and tear, maintenance and looks like crap after a year. Get a quartize (silestone) or granite.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least with wood counters the buyers can find a reason to replace if they don't like them. We have black granite (and black floors) in an already dark, small kitchen, and I would love to replace with white quartz, but can't justify the cost since the granite lasts forever.

Same here. Except I would never have white floors in a kitchen again. My last house had that. One speck on the floor made the entire kitchen look filthy.

Though now the polished black tiles we have look gross because they smudge just by walking on them. Can't win!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Deal breaker.

That is absurd! The cost to replace countertops is not so crazy that I would pass up a house I otherwise like.

OP - unless you are looking to sell immediately, pick something that you like and would enjoy living with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wood countertop wouldn't be a dealbreaker for me, in fact I kind of like it. But an Ikea kitchen actually would be a dealbreaker for me (and was during a recent housing search). I've lived in two rentals with Ikea kitchens and they just don't hold up.

Could you elaborate? I love the look of Ikea, but generally agree on durability. However, when it came to their kitchen cabinets, i thought that i'd read quite a bit that their durability was pretty decent. Did they have structural problems? Finish problems? Hardware problems? or are you talking about something other than the cabinets?

My thinking is to do Ikea gloss white cabinets, with a white quartz counter top from elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least with wood counters the buyers can find a reason to replace if they don't like them. We have black granite (and black floors) in an already dark, small kitchen, and I would love to replace with white quartz, but can't justify the cost since the granite lasts forever.

Same here. Except I would never have white floors in a kitchen again. My last house had that. One speck on the floor made the entire kitchen look filthy.

Though now the polished black tiles we have look gross because they smudge just by walking on them. Can't win!

At least you have tile. For us it's "handscraped" wood. Poorly installed and the black stain is coming off. We could justify replacing those, and probably someday will, but I'm not sure what color to choose as long as the countertops are black. Right now it all kind of goes together, black granite - cherry cabinets - black floor, but I don't want to put in another black floor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wood countertop wouldn't be a dealbreaker for me, in fact I kind of like it. But an Ikea kitchen actually would be a dealbreaker for me (and was during a recent housing search). I've lived in two rentals with Ikea kitchens and they just don't hold up.

Could you elaborate? I love the look of Ikea, but generally agree on durability. However, when it came to their kitchen cabinets, i thought that i'd read quite a bit that their durability was pretty decent. Did they have structural problems? Finish problems? Hardware problems? or are you talking about something other than the cabinets?

My thinking is to do Ikea gloss white cabinets, with a white quartz counter top from elsewhere.

That sounds beautiful. Can't advise on durability of Ikea kitchens.

[Anonymous]

Ikea cabinets are fake wood. They may be passable for white cabinets on a quick flip.

[Anonymous]

OP here, again thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. I've looked into all the options suggested (only on a style perspective for the moment not practicality), the black soapstone looks interesting it seems like it could work as a rustic look. Also saw some White Quartz that looked good. Both stones didn't give me the same 90s/early 00s impersonal condo feel as granite does (no clue why but the granite countertops I have seen for the moment convey a dated depressing era to me).

If anybody has an image of a granite or other stone countertop that doesn't have that classic granite grain/look I am very interested...

[Anonymous]

Wood counters are not a deal breaker, especially if the cabinets and kitchen are well designed.

We bid on a house that had a recently remodeled kitchen with cheap ikea cabinets, upper cabinets on the lower wall that didn't add any valuable storage, and a sink that was far removed from both the frig and stove. In this case, the cheap particle board counters were just icing on the cake to say that we'd be paying for a poorly renovated kitchen that we'd want to redo ourselves. We walked away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, again thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. I've looked into all the options suggested (only on a style perspective for the moment not practicality), the black soapstone looks interesting it seems like it could work as a rustic look. Also saw some White Quartz that looked good. Both stones didn't give me the same 90s/early 00s impersonal condo feel as granite does (no clue why but the granite countertops I have seen for the moment convey a dated depressing era to me).

If anybody has an image of a granite or other stone countertop that doesn't have that classic granite grain/look I am very interested...

I love caesarstone.

http://www.caesarstoneus.com/en/The-Catalog/Pages/4330%20Ginger.aspx

[Anonymous]

Deal breaker unless I'm going to rip out the cabinets as well. Replacing a counter can lead to cabinet damage. Wood just feels so unsanitary to me and I hate the cuts it gets when people use it as a cutting board. We choose white quartz for our kitchen remodel.

[Anonymous]

I don't consider it a deal breaker because that would be a teardown home.

[Anonymous]

OP again, I found some stones that I think (but not convinced yet) look less dated. White and black quartz (the most pure versions) and black soapstone (version with the least amount of dots/grey, mostly black with one streak of white here and there.

Soapstone:

http://www.houzz.com/photos/879768/Saratoga-Soapstone-shabby-chic-traditional-kitchen-countertops-indianapolis

http://www.charlottecounters.com/products/soapstone/

http://eurostonecraft.com/portfolio/soapstone-kitchen-designs


White Quartz:


http://interiordesign.country/natural-white-quartz-kitchen-countertop-materials-396/white-quartz-kitchen-countertop-978/

http://blog.cliqstudios.com/quartz-new-kitchen-countertop-trend/ (the cut is a bit bathroomy though?)

http://www.newenglandgranite.net/?attachment_id=980 (more grey/closer to granit look in a way)


Or black quartz

http://fittedkitchendesign.com/black-quartz-kitchen-countertops/

http://goumin.co/black-quartz-countertops/black-quartz-countertops-with-white-kitchen-cabinets-with-black-quartz-countertops-striped-roman-on-other/

[Anonymous]

I love wood countertops.