do not buy a dark color in corian. it scratches easily and the scratch shows up as a light gray. you will be sanding and buffing as often as you do your dishes.

Our installer came out a year ago and buffed out all of the scratches, but I can see the groves on our island from the sander. We're more careful, but scratches happen especially when we have company.

I wish we didn't upgrade to Corian because I don't think it is an upgrade. I should have saved every penny I could and got the sile stone.

Anonymous wrote:Corian is making a comeback in contemporary design. People like the seamless surfaces and sinuous organic curves. If you are "with it" granite is just not acceptable anymore, especially because of the creative limitations. It is very "pre-recession suburban tract home" and reeks of unnecessary excess. Polished concrete is also popular these days.

http://www2.dupont.com/corian/en-us/bi/article/corian-ideas.html

Excess? Why stop there, screw living in a house be eco friendly, pitch a tent in the woods and dig a whole to crap in.

Stone surfaces cost and are valued more over plastic or concrete get over it.

By your logic Diamonds are going to be replaced by cubic zirconias.

Anonymous wrote:I'm amused by how riled up people get on this topic. Granite is fine. Silestone and its cousins are each patent protected, but the idea of a quartz/resin composite is not, and its more expensive than some granite because it's basically maintenance free. Good Silestone is nicer than crappy granite, excellent granite is better than crappy Silestone. Corian is indeed back as a popular alternative.

And the newer glass and other recycled products are excellent choices as well.

But more important than material is color and design. You can spend $100 psf on a counter and have it look stupid or be worth nothing on resale. You can also spend $40 psf and have a showplace home.

No kidding. Hilarious that the subject of countertops has become almost as controversial as circumcision and CIO.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Granite is definitely dated. As I said in the other thread, it screams 2002.

And as several of us said in the other thread, you are a moron!

+1, the other counters people want are silstone or quartz which do their best to look like granite but are less maintenance. concrete or glass are fads that will die out soon.

Granite is a fad and done.

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/10599/prediction-2010-granite-countertops-are-so-last-decade

http://hookedonhouses.net/2010/06/09/are-granite-countertops-on-their-way-out/

http://homerenovations.about.com/od/legalsafetyissues/ss/renotrends.htm

I realize DC tends to lag behind in trends and tastes, but come ON.

Um, those links don't really support the point. The first one is a "prediction" that concludes, "don't rule out laminates." Really, you're going to follow that advice?

The second one comes from someone who also thinks that walk-in tubs were a trend, based on what he sees in late-night infomercials. Really? Walk in tubs are in vogue for the olds who also need chair lifts. Personally I'm not taking design advice from this guy: .

The third one just links to the guy recommending laminates and to an article that says, "I just got granite countertops in my kitchen this year and while other more trendy countertop choices may become even more popular than granite, I sure don’t see these being ripped out anytime soon from homes all over the country. I’m thoroughly enjoying my granite and feel quite blessed to have it."

So if you're so insecure that any suggestion that you might be out of style makes you run out and follow the next trend, by all means go for it -- I hear crushed glass is the next big trend in crib materials.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All you have to do to know that granite is passe is watch House Hunters....

Ah yes, that beacon of taste and style - ha! That show is the biggest fraud on TV.

Precisely....when you see people in the Midwest demanding granite it's a safe bet that it's out of vogue on the coasts where these trends typically originate.

Right, because the east coast suburbanites looking for $250k mcmansions in the middle of nowhere are really much more stylish than people in Chicago and Minneapolis.

We renovated our kitchen two years ago and put in soapstone counters. We liked that it felt classic (we have a 100 year old house) but also timeless and neutral. And I did like that it didn't look like every other kitchen we saw at open houses. When we renovated, it was hard to find a soapstone dealer locally, but I think just in the last two years soapstone has become easier to find. That said, a simple honed black granite would produce a similar look.

If we had a more modern home, I'd go for white corian. Gotta love all of the choices out there, although they can be a bit overwhelming. They can lead to a "more is more" mindset which doesn't always help one's design or pocketbook.

I'm amused by how riled up people get on this topic. Granite is fine. Silestone and its cousins are each patent protected, but the idea of a quartz/resin composite is not, and its more expensive than some granite because it's basically maintenance free. Good Silestone is nicer than crappy granite, excellent granite is better than crappy Silestone. Corian is indeed back as a popular alternative.

And the newer glass and other recycled products are excellent choices as well.

But more important than material is color and design. You can spend $100 psf on a counter and have it look stupid or be worth nothing on resale. You can also spend $40 psf and have a showplace home.

Corian is making a comeback in contemporary design. People like the seamless surfaces and sinuous organic curves. If you are "with it" granite is just not acceptable anymore, especially because of the creative limitations. It is very "pre-recession suburban tract home" and reeks of unnecessary excess. Polished concrete is also popular these days.

http://www2.dupont.com/corian/en-us/bi/article/corian-ideas.html

I have looked at many options and have to say that the previous owner of our house picked the nicest granite I have seen. That is about the only thing she did that I would do again. I think it very much depends on the grain, color as to whether granite appears dated. I know I will never do any product that is less durable. We're hard on our counters here, and they still look beautiful after many years of abuse.

Silestone and other products are lovely too. If you worry about resale, go neutral. Otherwise, why worry about what others think?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in the process of buying a house with silestone counters... and I did not even KNOW what they were. They looked cheaper than granite to me, and my realtor kept insisting "No, no, these are a step up from granite!" and she's ESL so I had no idea what that meant. So I think most buyers are still looking for granite.

Silestone is fake granite.
The agent was trying to make the sale.

It is more expensive than granite because it is ground up stone mixed with resin and doesn't need sealing. I wanted to get Sillestone, but didn't want to pay $700 more for something that didn't look as nice as granite. I like the fact it doesn't need sealing.

Its more expensve because it is patent protected.

They'll be "back in style" 2 years from now when people realize the other options suck

Crushed recycled glass (kind of like Silestone but with glass instead of quartz) is the eco-friendly product of choice these days.

http://www.vetrazzo.com/eng

If it is out of style, that's too bad because we won't be replacing those expensive countertops anytime soon.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All you have to do to know that granite is passe is watch House Hunters....

Ah yes, that beacon of taste and style - ha! That show is the biggest fraud on TV.

Precisely....when you see people in the Midwest demanding granite it's a safe bet that it's out of vogue on the coasts where these trends typically originate.

Right cause your kind is so much better than the mid west.

No one said anything about anyone being "better" - we're simply talking about trends. Insecure much?

born and raised here, you're most likely a transplant scum bag who makes fun of other transplants.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People will gossip about you behind your back if you go with granite.

Not in real life. Only in DCUM la-la land.

Words to live by.