Countertop Advice?
We are about to renovate our kitchen, and can’t seem to decide on a countertop material. We are leaning towards a lighter color, so soapstone is out. We’re considering the following: Marble Granite Silestone Caesarstone (especially their “Misty Carrera” – a great porn star name, if nothing else) Ice Stone Any advice much appreciated!
We are about to renovate our kitchen, and can’t seem to decide on a countertop material. We are leaning towards a lighter color, so soapstone is out. We’re considering the following:
Marble
Granite
Silestone
Caesarstone (especially their “Misty Carrera” – a great porn star name, if nothing else)
Ice Stone
Any advice much appreciated!
I put granite in my kitchen and cambria quartz in my bathroom, it’s like silestone but I liked the selection better (http://www.cambriausa.com/). I love the granite, found it absolutely maintenance free and impervious to everything, after 7 years it looks as good as new. The only reason I didn’t use it in the bathroom is my contractor told me engineered quartz stands up to water better, Don’t know if it makes that much difference, but I do like it–it just lacks the beauty and depth of natural stone. I stayed away from marble, slate and soapstone because of maintenance issues, but I’m compulsive, am constantly cleaning counters and would go crazy if I had the slightest scratch or stain. You may be normal, in which case go for the one whose appearance you like best. But whatever you do, get an undermount sink–they are so much easier to clean around, well worth the extra cost.
it’s a matter of personal taste. what do you LIKE?
if you have a car and get to NJ, try this place:
http://www.marble.com
they have hundreds of different slabs, so even though you might think you are bored of granite, you might find one that is so original and interesting you will change your mind. that’s what happened to me.
I have honed granite in my place and while I like the look, I wouldn’t do it again. It is high maintenance. I saw the most gorgeous countertop recently, which was a variegated, goldish marble. It was sealed and absolutely beautiful and the owner is a real chef and cooking constantly. Very nice. Corian scratches. Gardenweb.com has a lot of commentary on countertops.
That whole marble is stainable thing is weird. We have white marble (which we, of course, sealed–thet stuff we used has a five year rating) and haven’t had a single stain.
Check out:
http://petchhouse.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_petchhouse_archive.html
We got Silestone countertops installed a year ago and have been very happy with them.
Corian is out. It’s not as tough as the stone surfaces. I just installed new countertops in my house. I considered everything on your list.
Marble – love the look however it’s soft and stains easily.
Granite- is fine but I didn’y want a strong bold look.
Caesarstone – is fine, I like the crushed stone, but it’s expensive.
Silestone- was my choice, looks & holds up like Caesarstone and less expensive, Looks great, I went with Ivory Cloud, it’s off white polished cement with crushed glass. It has the look of stone and is made here in Brooklyn and is a pure green product. So that was nice too.
I have granite and its virtually carefree.
Frankly, Ive yet to meet someone who doesn’t like their high end counters. Everyone seems to take great care in the decision and ends up happy in the end. I suspect its because most of hte products out there are more than suitable for residential kitchens.
Get what you like and don’t worry.
I have a light toffee colored marble countertop. I cook a lot and probably should have sealed it more often than I did but it is still beautiful and to me the wear and tear looks more like the way leather looks after its been broken in. I hate granite and was told that soapstone is too delicate for a lot of wear and tear.
What about corian?
I don’t see it in your list.