We just had Black granite installed. I really don't like the vein-y granite esp for our house (mid century Modern). However the absolute black granite is really hard to keep smears and water marks from showing. I am diligent about drying it otherwise it looks dirty. I am still looking for a cleaning product that won't ruin it and doesn't streak. I have always had Corian before this. It was indestructible. I loved it but now it was more expensive than the granite. You can't do anything to Corian but it isn't as glamorous/popular as quartz or granite.
Quartz was my first choice but again it was out of the budget.
Post by patbutcher on Aug 30, 2015 11:23:59 GMT -5
We have builder laminate but I have been getting quotes for Quartz.
There is a laminate that I found that looks like marble which I did look into but our kitchen is small enough that the savings over Quartz were negligible
We have Quartz and I love it. The only counter surface I've had that I wouldn't recommend is marble. It stained approximately 30 seconds after something was spilled on it.
Post by Velar Fricative on Aug 30, 2015 11:37:40 GMT -5
Whatever was here when the house was built in 1992 lol. I think it's a laminate? It's fine until we figure out what we want but I wouldn't recommend it because, well, it's not attractive.
I have granite and don't like it. I keep having problems with water rings. In a dream world, I would have a custom poured concrete countertop. Barring that, I vote quartz.
We have antique brown granite. It's so dark that it basically looks black unless there's a lot of light on it. If we had all the money msniq would want labradorite.
Our cost was about $60/sqft including fabrication, plus some extra since you have to buy by the slab. Seattle, I suspect region makes a difference on price.
Formica. I think it looks nice but it's certainly not the best kind of there; far from it in fact. It seems stain resistant but I don't know for sure. *shrug*
If you hate yourself and are feeling self destructive, consider tile
I really hate tile - so hard to keep clean!
We have granite and it is indestructible so far (10 years). The grain look makes it harder to see smudges, we put hot pans on it all the time, we are really bad about cleaning spills (have found red wine on it the next morning) and no stains.
We have the original 1985 laminate. It's cream colored, so at least it isn't visually obnoxious. I look forward to solid surface in the future, but not sure which. We had light colored Corian in our last house (a rental) and it stained badly every time we had something tomato-based.
ETA: agree with pp's about tile being a nightmare.
Post by hbomdiggity on Aug 30, 2015 13:38:30 GMT -5
I would prefer laminate over tile. The grout lines - blech.
We have granite. The actual pattern looks a bit dated now but utility wise it's great. We are planning a reno in a year or 2 and want to install soapstone.
We have basic laminate. I can't wait to upgrade to something nicer. I am really intrigued by the recycled glass countertops, but they are more expensive than granite.
We have granite. It's a brown/tan/cream/black speckled pattern, which I probably wouldn't have picked (we moved into new construction) but actually looks really nice with the rest of the finishes in our kitchen (darker wood cabinets, tan/cream travertine backsplash, hardwood floors). One thing I didn't anticipate is that with the color pattern, it hides spills REALLY RELALY well. Like so well you have to look really closely to see that anything was even spilled. It's kind of amazing.
I have had black/gold specked granite countertops before in a house we rented (it was granite tile with a super-thin grout line to make it look like solid granite), and while the color looked nice in that kitchen, the water spots were ridiculous. I swore I would never pick black granite for myself EVER.
If I could afford quartz, I would.
Oh yeah, my parents have soapstone, which looks REALLY REALLY AWESOME but they have to oil it. Not sure how often -- once or twice a year maybe? It's not a difficult process, but there is some upkeep.
Cream colored Laminate with a wood edge. They are from 1987. I wouldn't recommend them.
We rented a house with white laminate cabinets and white laminate countertops -- OH MY GOD, NEVER AGAIN. Literally a teensy drop of coffee flies out of the coffee machine and bam, brown spot on the counter that took bleach to remove. I have never cleaned with bleach so much in my life.
Unfortunately our countertops are failing now, but the cabinets can wait several years, and it doesn't make any sense to do it at different times. can we win the lottery?
We just had Black granite installed. I really don't like the vein-y granite esp for our house (mid century Modern). However the absolute black granite is really hard to keep smears and water marks from showing. I am diligent about drying it otherwise it looks dirty. I am still looking for a cleaning product that won't ruin it and doesn't streak. I have always had Corian before this. It was indestructible. I loved it but now it was more expensive than the granite. You can't do anything to Corian but it isn't as glamorous/popular as quartz or granite.
Quartz was my first choice but again it was out of the budget.
Post by crashgizmo on Aug 30, 2015 18:09:39 GMT -5
We have quartz, in a dark gray. I love it, but to be honest, I have had a multi-colored granite in the past and that felt easier to keep clean. My quartz counters show streaks whenever I wipe them down with anything but Windex Multi-Surface. I miss my clorox wipes, dammit!
Post by imojoebunny on Aug 30, 2015 18:31:18 GMT -5
I have a light colored granite, it has a bit of color to it, so it hides spots well. I have had granite for 12+ years in various houses and never had a problem with it staining or heat. I have quartz in our master bath and I hate it. It shows every water spot, which drives me crazy. My friend just put in white quartz with flecks and it seems better, but still, shows spots more than would suit me. I would also consider honed, with either choice. It doesn't really impact the functionality, but I kind of wish I had gone with that over the shiny finish in my kitchen.