Post by simpsongal on Aug 26, 2015 11:50:34 GMT -5
I tend to think of it as a bit modern. I also tend to like it in lighter colors, which may not bring enough contrast to your cabinets. I'm not a big fan of marble on white cabinets either though, again, not enough contrast.
I think granite will always be king in the traditional kitchen market. I love the look of butcher block on an island too (inexpensive too).
Quartz can be whatever you want it to be: modern, contemporary, traditional, whatever. It's an engineered material, which is why it can look however you want it to look. Want Carrara marble without the etching or the price? Quartz is a great option. Want something that looks like soapstone but isn't soft? Get honed quartz. There are a ton of options.
Lurker, I'm putting a marble looking quartz in my kitchen in a few months. I like the look of natural stone but I really like the perks of quartz. I like that I won't have to worry about etching or staining as I would with marble. I've had granite before. It's lovely I'm just over the look of it. I want something brighter and whiter in my new space.
Post by lavender444 on Aug 26, 2015 15:00:26 GMT -5
We have a pretty decent quality granite now. Whenever we can afford to redo the kitchen we will replace it with Quartz. I love how it's simpler patterned than granite. Most granite has too much movement then you add in the other perks and it makes top choice in my book.
Absolutely. I also think people are exploring alternative stone and stone-like materials now that people are "over" granite, and quartz really fits the bill.
Our kitchen is very modern, and definitely not everyone's taste, but across the board the thing that everyone comments on first are the quartz counters.
Everyone gushes over them them, but the most traditional people usually say "...but it wouldn't work in my house." I usually point out that I chose very modern colors/patterns for my kitchen, but that there are variety of patterns available and that there are patterns that mimic stone. I also remind them that a different edge style would change the feel too. It is at that point that most of them admit that they don't want to spend the extra money for quartz.lol
I actually prefer the feel of stone, and would love to have a big slab for baking, but the lack of upkeep and the look of the quartz made it a better fit for us. Also, the only stone that I really like is even pricier than quartz. ;p
Our kitchen is very modern, and definitely not everyone's taste, but across the board the thing that everyone comments on first are the quartz counters.
Everyone gushes over them them, but the most traditional people usually say "...but it wouldn't work in my house." I usually point out that I chose very modern colors/patterns for my kitchen, but that there are variety of patterns available and that there are patterns that mimic stone. I also remind them that a different edge style would change the feel too. It is at that point that most of them admit that they don't want to spend the extra money for quartz.lol
The bolded is an important thing to keep in mind for those who have commented about cost. Quartz can be expensive but it shouldn't be considered a deal-breaker if you're considering a rarer granite, any marble, quartzite, or some other rare or delicate stone. Additionally, if you want something with lots of veining and want bookend matching, for example, your price just shot up.
Our kitchen is very modern, and definitely not everyone's taste, but across the board the thing that everyone comments on first are the quartz counters.
Everyone gushes over them them, but the most traditional people usually say "...but it wouldn't work in my house." I usually point out that I chose very modern colors/patterns for my kitchen, but that there are variety of patterns available and that there are patterns that mimic stone. I also remind them that a different edge style would change the feel too. It is at that point that most of them admit that they don't want to spend the extra money for quartz.lol
I actually prefer the feel of stone, and would love to have a big slab for baking, but the lack of upkeep and the look of the quartz made it a better fit for us. Also, the only stone that I really like is even pricier than quartz. ;p
What kind of stone is that?
I'm fine spending the extra money. I don't know why I have this feeling that it looks plastic-y and cheap even though I know it's quite expensive. I don't know anyone who actually has it in their house. Looks like I need to go look at it again - thanks everyone!
Quartz isn't plastic-y at all.. A solid surface like corian definitely leans that way though. Quartz feels like granite.
Our kitchen is very modern, and definitely not everyone's taste, but across the board the thing that everyone comments on first are the quartz counters.
Everyone gushes over them them, but the most traditional people usually say "...but it wouldn't work in my house." I usually point out that I chose very modern colors/patterns for my kitchen, but that there are variety of patterns available and that there are patterns that mimic stone. I also remind them that a different edge style would change the feel too. It is at that point that most of them admit that they don't want to spend the extra money for quartz.lol
I actually prefer the feel of stone, and would love to have a big slab for baking, but the lack of upkeep and the look of the quartz made it a better fit for us. Also, the only stone that I really like is even pricier than quartz. ;p
What kind of stone is that?
I'm fine spending the extra money. I don't know why I have this feeling that it looks plastic-y and cheap even though I know it's quite expensive. I don't know anyone who actually has it in their house. Looks like I need to go look at it again - thanks everyone!
I saw some super unusual stone that looks like abstract art, with amazing colors. I have no idea what it was, but it was expensive. I like the agate and geode stuff too, but would want it as art.
Some quartz does look more plastic-y than others. We have both caesarstone and cambria. I actually prefer the look/feel of the cambria, and like that it is made in the USA, but both brands seemed less plastic looking than other brands we looked at, and cambria didn't have the concrete looking one that I wanted for the perimeter.
Marble-look Quartz would be my first choice in kitchen countertops, and I see it in lots of very high end homes in my area. I am sick of granite and just plain over the busier granite patterns (I don't mind a non-busy black granite like absolute black if you want contrast with white countertops). I love the look of marble, but I have three young boys who are very apt to spill things on the counters without my noticing, and while I could live with some patina, I fear we would go from "patina" to "destroyed" pretty quickly.
Post by dr.girlfriend on Aug 27, 2015 11:36:44 GMT -5
The only thing I would say is not to rule out granite until you actually look at slabs. Some slabs have a lot of movement and others have a more consistent pattern. I love my granite, and found most of the quartz patterns to look too formica-y for my taste, but I didn't look extensively, and of course YMMV. My granite is below. I love it, especially the little sparkly bits of mica in it. :-)
Post by mandiespharm on Aug 28, 2015 7:05:45 GMT -5
I'll chime in too. We re did our kitchen over the winter with Quartz. We love it. And I will say don't discount either until you look. Yu never know what your are going to find. I wanted granite bc I didn't think I could afford Quartz but then the place we bought from found us some cheaper than "b" level granite bc they had gotten a shipment in.
Eta the second shows the exposed beam better. Sorry for the same view otherwise
Post by compassrose on Aug 28, 2015 9:32:03 GMT -5
I prefer the look of granite (my field is close to geology and I love natural stone), but our new house has quartz and it is super durable and low maintenance. It's not my favorite, but it stays.
We're in the midst of a major reno. Our cabinets are a gum veneer with a lot of movement so the white quartz counter tops we chose really balance it out and look nice. Soooo glad we went with quartz!!
We have white quartz counters. We love quartz so much we also have a white quartz coffee table & a white quartz dining room table. We are also getting a custom white quartz table made for our built-in banquette. My kids destroy everything...the quartz coffee table has been used for 5yrs & looks exactly like the day we bought it. Hence why we have it on virtually every eating/food surface in the house...lol.
@chloe77, I got two shots this morning that I think are pretty true to life. I'm using the attachment function, so no idea what order they will display for you. One is of a ring from a vinegar bottle and one is a spot from a drop of lemon juice, so I'll refer to them as "ring" and "spot." You have to be standing at just the right angle with light hitting them to be able to see them. At a normal standing angle at my house, where I'm not bending over to catch them in the light, they are invisible to me. My mother did notice them when she was wiping the counters last night and asked how she could get them off LOL. So they aren't invisible if someone is paying close attention to your counters. In the spot picture, the ring is there over the center drawers, but you can't see it because it's not in the light from the window. I closed my eyes and tried to feel them, but I couldn't find them with my hands, so it doesn't make much difference texture-wise. I do have one spot elsewhere that I must have left an acid on overnight because I can feel that one. My kitchen's about a year old.
There are drops of water in the foreground on the spot picture so that you can see how it beads up. Nothing soaks in once it's sealed, but we do have to reapply about once a year.
Like I said, these are on honed marble, so polished marble would make such things more noticeable.
ETA: I've read marble can be rehoned/polished, so we might do that someday if it ever gets something really damaging, but for surface stuff like this, I'm not unhappy with it at all. Some people definitely would be unhappy with it. I'm guessing rehoning can only be done so many times, like with refinishing floors, but I'm not sure about that.
I have this exact same etching on my marble, but times about a hundred. The marble is four years old. It is polished but I might want to get it honed eventually.