New Countertops, opinions.....

[can'tgetenufofwdw]

I plan on ordering new counter tops in the next few weeks. Anyone have thoughts, opinions, ideas of what to stay away from, what good choices could possibly be? I had planned on redoing the whole kitchen with new cabinets and everything but I'm changing my mind and doing just the counter tops, new hardware and tile on the wall.

 

[holden]

I had granite in my old house and loved it. I loved that I could take stuff right out of the oven and put it on the granite.

We now have quartz. I like the look of it, but we were told we can’t put hot stuff on it. That’s mildly annoying and a little hard to get used to. It’s not too major, but if I was choosing all over agin I’d get the granite.

 

[Miffy]

Quartzite is great. Not to be confused with quartz, which is a manufactured material. Quartzite is natural stone, like granite. And you can get a quartzite that's white with gray veins, like marble, only it has a look all its own. Gorgeous, to me. I don't like the look of most granite countertops.

And just a personal opinion here, do not get dominantly brown granite counters. I mean, brown. Not a good look for a kitchen or anywhere.

I'd advise against marble. Yes, it looks beautiful . . . in the beginning . . . but it's no fun to take care of, and unless it's triple or quadrupled sealed, it's going to need a heckuva lot of taking care of.

 

[Meriweather]

Granite.....love it and mine is beautiful.

 

[nene0182]

We just got new countertops late summer/early fall (I honestly can’t remember when they were installed the days are all running together) Anyways we went to the place convinced we were getting quartz but ended up with granite. We personally didn’t like the feel of quartz but I know a lot of people prefer it to granite. It’s such a personal decision. I absolutely love my new countertops but considering we had off white laminate before, anything would have been an improvement.

 

[Christine]

I have granite in my kitchen and I love it. Just had the bathrooms remodeled and I have quartz countertop. I'm not sure exactly if it's quartzite or what (I didn't pay a lot of attention). I love it in my bathroom but I already have two mysterious "scuffs" on it and I have NO idea how they got there. If this same stuff was in my kitchen I'd be in trouble. But maybe I have an inferior product or something.

 

[limace]

We have soapstone. Harder to find but I love it so much-one of the best decisions we made in our big remodel. It’s what’s used in science classroom lab tables often and is stain proof and probably the most heat proof of stones. Scratches can be buffed out.

 

[barkley]

another fan of granite. if you are looking at replacing your kitchen sink as well i highly recommend a composite granite sink-mine takes a beating and looks great!

 

[JimMIA]

We just redid our kitchen and used quartzite. Very pretty and we are very pleased so far.

 

[sk!mom]

We put in granite 12 years ago. The cabinets put in then need to be refinished but the granite is as perfect and beautiful as the day we put it in. We also have a granite composite sink. It also still looks perfect. We loved it so much that we put one in our outdoor bar in 2019.

 

[tvguy]

We went with Corian when we remodeled almost 9 years ago and so far so good.
My neighbor went with granite and has had issues with cracking, but if the crack isn't too bad it can be repaired.
I know from previous posts that many with granite don't reseal their granite every couple of years, but it is recommended.

 

[jeff_h]

We installed granite in our former house and used it for 15 years, it held up perfectly and we never sealed it once.

Just a couple months ago we were working with the cabinet/counter guys for the house we're building and he told us we should have sealed it every couple years, we said Oops never knew that but it looked good as new when we sold the house after 15 years use.

We went with quartz this time, not because we thought it was better than granite but DW preferred the color of one of the quartz matches with the cabinets. Now we're gonna have to be cognizant of leaving the hot stuff on the quartz as a PP mentioned, as opposed to the granite where we never had to worry about it.

 

[RangerPooh]

We just installed butcher block countertops. It was easy for us to cut, install, and stain ourselves. We installed them before at our old house and they held up well.

 

[sksjasams]

I have no personal experience, but have seen on HGTV several times recently, people choosing porcelain that looks like marble. Supposed to be extremely durable and easy to maintain, plus more affordable..

 

[NotUrsula]

Recycled glass is also very durable, if you choose the type mixed with concrete. It tends to look best with white cabinetry.

 

[neverlandsky]

Listing our least to favorite countertops we've experienced over the years.
5. Tile
4. Granite
3. Laminate
2. Quartz
1. Corian

 

[tzolkin]

We are fans of quartz.

We recently put recycled glass in our current house. I absolutely love the look of it, but there are several spots where the glass has very tiny chips from someone banging a heavy glass or pot or something onto it. No one notices it except for me (and even that is mostly just from an angle in certain light), but if does make me more cautious about it.

Our last house had Corian and I absolutely hated it. You could scratch it with anything, even plastic. It was just awful. Older daughter once accidentally touched a hot pot onto the island and it left a burn mark.

 

[sheilafri]

Quartzite is great. Not to be confused with quartz, which is a manufactured material. Quartzite is natural stone, like granite. And you can get a quartzite that's white with gray veins, like marble, only it has a look all its own. Gorgeous, to me. I don't like the look of most granite countertops.

And just a personal opinion here, do not get dominantly brown granite counters. I mean, brown. Not a good look for a kitchen or anywhere.

I'd advise against marble. Yes, it looks beautiful . . . in the beginning . . . but it's no fun to take care of, and unless it's triple or quadrupled sealed, it's going to need a heckuva lot of taking care of.

I have marble in my kitchen. It was sealed and has a 15 year guarantee on it. I love it. No stains, even from the occasional curry. It will show water marks so either decide youlll live with it or wipe up water spills promptly. There’s a reason hundred year old kitchens still look great—it’s the marble. BTW, it is a honed marble, not shiny.

 

[kanerf]

I have quartzite with great copper veins running through it.

 

[jrmasm]

18 years with our granite. I can’t imagine going with anything else for counters. Nothing else in the house has held up as well.

And sealing?