oh my. i'm just about to replace my countertops and was thinking quartz. maybe i should reconsider....

I love formica.

I miss my formica. I never worried about setting glass things on the counter. Now with granite, I put something on the counter first before setting anything down. (like a dish towel, potholder, paper towel). DH has dropped Fiesta dinnerware on the granite, and broke the Fiesta into 1000 pieces. That would never have happened on formica.

I also don't like that it feels "cold."

Next kitchen, I want butcher block, but would seriously consider returning to formica.

I lived a long time with a horrible kitchen that had formica counters. The counters were one of the only things I didn't hate about that kitchen. They were perfectly fine, there just wasn't enough counter space!

I'm resurrecting this thread to see if anyone has used Formica recently. We are planning to replace our countertops and I am drawn to the matte look of charcoal grey antiqued granite and unoiled soapstone. I saw some formica samples and wonder why spend all the money for granite and soapstone when the matte-ness of the formica may ultimately give me the same look. I am looking at formica in Basalt Slate in possibly the Scovato finish or the smooth finish.

I already know about the pros and cons among the three surfaces, and the physical characteristics of each. I just wanted to see if there are any other formica non-haters out there, which color and texture you went with. Any advice?

Anonymous wrote:
I'd rather have formica than granite. But actually I love wood better!

Ditto! While I'd prefer wood or marble, I'd take formica any day over granite. In fact, I just put formica in the new kitchen in our country home. The budget would have allowed for granite, but I prefer the look of formica.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't it drive you crazy that you can't put a hot pot down on the countertop?

I seem to recall that you aren't supposed to do this, but I wasn't particularly careful when we had formica, and never did any damage to it.

No, because I grew up in a house with Formica and am so well-trained that even if I had granite I wouldn't put a hot pan on it, lol. I certainly never did when I lived in a house with a corian counter, although now that I think of it, maybe you aren't supposed to do it with corian either.

I've never found it yo be a big deal. I either keep the pots n the stove or throw down a potholder and put the pan on that.

Me too! I hear my mom's voice every time I have something hot in my hands

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't it drive you crazy that you can't put a hot pot down on the countertop?

I seem to recall that you aren't supposed to do this, but I wasn't particularly careful when we had formica, and never did any damage to it.

No, because I grew up in a house with Formica and am so well-trained that even if I had granite I wouldn't put a hot pan on it, lol. I certainly never did when I lived in a house with a corian counter, although now that I think of it, maybe you aren't supposed to do it with corian either.

I've never found it yo be a big deal. I either keep the pots n the stove or throw down a potholder and put the pan on that.

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't it drive you crazy that you can't put a hot pot down on the countertop?

I seem to recall that you aren't supposed to do this, but I wasn't particularly careful when we had formica, and never did any damage to it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really really dislike granite -- so navy formica sounds like a win to me. But really, anything better than mottled granite, where you can't see the dirt and crumbs. It's gross. I have it in my kitchen and my husband never cleans up after himself and he claims he can't see the dirt. Because he can't.

Isn't that why the rest of us love it?

My husband literally put coffee grounds on our quartz samples and voted for the one that they showed the least on.

Seriously? You all are doing this on purpose?

But don't you put clean plates/dishes down on the counter and then pick them up all full of crumbs on the bottom? If you put a pan on your counter and it gets all crumby and you put it in the oven, it burns up all the crumbs and makes smoke. Or if you put a plate on the counter, you transfer the crumbs to the table or whatever. Plus it attracts bugs.

Also I really don't like grey tones in the kitchen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the look of granite, so no objection here!

I hate granite too. There are a lot of really nice quartz composites out there now. Check out Room & Board.

There are many types granite, you can't hate them all if you like any other stone or quartz

Doesn't it drive you crazy that you can't put a hot pot down on the countertop?

We have a really comfortable diner style table from Williams Sonoma (about 10 years ago).