Countertops

The black stuff used for laboratory benches is supposed to be good.

soapstone....check out links through google. great material if you like the look.. does require some annual maintenance.

i'm going to do soapstone upstate, with a small marble area for pastry (the kitchen will have two areas).

i find it very difficult to match granite and backsplashes. very few combos work for me.

I put down Caesarstone countertops in my kitchen and I like them very much. The dark color I used gives it a bit of an industrial look.

Soapstone is extremely soft (will chip easily) and very porous so cranberry juice or balsamic unnoticed and left on the counter may permanently stain it. Same with marble. That patina of use is acceptable or even desireable for many. But be aware of it.

Personally I like stainless for a real working kitchen. It will get scratched over every inch, heavier the gauge the less it will dent (and more it'll cost), it will always have fingerprints somewhere--but it is very practical for a kitchen used for a lot of cooking.

Caesarstone makes some terrific quartz based counters. See in particular Pebble and the white marble inspired one I think is called Misty Carrera. Many other terrific choices. Advantages: polished (and pretty much the honed) absolutely will not stain, less prone to chips than any other stones, better heat resistance than other stones. About same price as better granite. Very worth exploring.

Concrete is almost already dated. It is very prone to cracks, is difficult to do perfectly. I think its moment is already passed.

Personally I'd focus on the more timeless looking choices and use them in an up-to-date modern way.

I hate granite- it's too flecky for me.

Stainless seems pretty trendy to me. I like the look of concrete. Also butcherblock.

I know there are new sealers out there that help with staining but not sure how it changes the look of soapstone. Cracking is a concern. I'll look at the carrera marble Caeserstone. Thanks.

Granite is a little out of fashion, but it's not porous in the way that marble or other natural stones are and does not need treatment. For that reason it is a terrific material.

I have good old-fashioned Formica. It's the most inexpensive, has an absolute universe of colors and styles, and requires virtually no maintenance. Properly taken care of, it can last upwards of 50 years (my aunt's formica countertops, installed in 1961, still gleam like the day they were first installed). The trick, of course, is to use common sense: wipe up spills immediately ... use cutting boards ... and use trivets for hot pots and cookie sheets.

One hazard for stone-surface countertops, which I understand could fall into the "freak accident" category, but bears mentioning. A friend of mine was reaching for a glass behind some crystal stemware in her cabinet above the counter. She accidentally knocked a crystal wine glass onto the granite countertop. The glass shattered, and a tiny sliver bounced back up into her eye, lacerating her cornea. She's fine now, but the pain, as she described it, was like "1,000 childbirths coming out of my eye socket".

Food for thought.

I have good old-fashioned Formica. It's the most inexpensive, has an absolute universe of colors and styles, and requires virtually no maintenance. Properly taken care of, it can last upwards of 50 years (my aunt's formica countertops, installed in 1961, still gleam like the day they were first installed). The trick, of course, is to use common sense: wipe up spills immediately ... use cutting boards ... and use trivets for hot pots and cookie sheets.

One hazard for stone-surface countertops, which I understand could fall into the "freak accident" category, but bears mentioning. A friend of mine was reaching for a glass behind some crystal stemware in her cabinet above the counter. She accidentally knocked a crystal wine glass onto the granite countertop. The glass shattered, and a tiny sliver bounced back up into her eye, lacerating her cornea. She's fine now, but the pain, as she described it, was like "1,000 childbirths coming out of my eye socket".

Food for thought.

Kyle- regarding the soapstone, you are mistaken there is no staining on the soapstone, soapstone was used in schools (science labs), its one of the reasons why schools used soapstone (that nothing can stain it), what people do is they put an oil on the soapstone speed the time of coloration, as it will change colors over time, so the oil does this virtually over a couple of days.

a lot of misinformation out there about soapstone--would recommend http://www.vermontsoapstone.com/

Ceaserstone/Silestone is very durable, any color you want, can take high temps. I love mine.

I stand corrected (partially) re soapstone's durability and stain-resistance. I'd not have considered it though because I felt strongly that I didn't want a dark (near black) countertop. I find preparing food on a black surface very unpleasant aesthetically. This is obviously completely personal taste. I wanted a neutral color or stainless, something that I'd clearly be able to see crumbs and drips on, stain-resistance, heat-resistance, low risk of chipping & scratching. I also required large slabs since seams were unacceptable to me.

In the end, I went with Caesarstone--a quartz/resin composite. I think the slabs are 4'x10' and I was able to do runs and an "L"-shaped bar section with no seams. I dislike the flecked colors, but the two I described above, along with many of their other choices, are more uniform. The medium gray I got fit the bill perfectly and I've been very happy with it. Had a lot of people not made faces at me when I said I wanted stainless, I'd likely have gone that way with a heavy gauge, but I'll save that for another day I guess.

actually, kw, you can see mess on soapstone. it's not that dark and it's more of a solid color, although with striations. and what you're able to get depends. for years people pulled out a trivet. i agree it's a positive consideration, but hardly one that would influence my decision. the nice thing about soapstone is that it only needs to be treated for a certain amount of time. i adore it, it's like a cross between solid surface and concrete, but a bit more classic in its look.

i hate my granite countertops in our rental (and upstate, but less). they don't look bad, and they did a good job with the backsplash/countertop issue, but the countertops always seem dirty, no matter how much i wash.

Guess I'll add the soapstone to future possibilities. Maybe in the weekend house where runs are very short and finding large slabs wouldn't be an issue. I like that "traditional" feel to it you descirbe.

I too strongly disliked the granite in the place I rented last year. It was a new reno kitchen in nice building. Black flecked granite. HATED it. Flecks made it impossible to see dirt or puddles. It was not warm in any way and looked extremely Home Depot-y to me. There are so many variations of granite, but that flecked black one that was just everywhere for years recently just looks very sort of pedestrian to me now.

I have a fondness for carrera/calacutta marble, soapstone & stainless steel. I have a small area that has Uba Tuba granite (not in the kitchen and looks black).

I love carrera but cannot get myself to be fond of balsamic, red wine, and beat stains, foggy remnants of impacts of pots that slip and bang into it, etc. I tried to convince myself I'd like all that but got serious with myself and accepted it just wasn't for me. Maybe if it was 50 years old and in a place I was buying and already "patina'd" with use. I can see using it for backsplash or bathroom. I know many people don't care about the stuff that I know would bug me. I also am quite fond of calcatta gold, but prefer it in bathrooms.

For the next few years, quartz composite countertops are projected to be all the rage. It's pretty, durable, impermeable, maintenance-free, and green.

How about copper countertops? They're something like 30 times as anti-microbial as stainless steel.

when you could have formica?

I can't imagine copper because: (1) cost!!! for a decent gauge; (2) appearance!--any idea what copper looks like as it oxidizes, reacts with acids, sitting water, finger prints. It would look a disaster in most homes I'd think. Maybe in the kitchen of a 700 year old castle...

copper
lol
in an old british novel -- or james hadley chase, this would be a law enforcement agent
appropriate for a counter Top in some parts of town
good idea though -- an excellent conductor for heat and electricity

let's make sure we use only the highest quality toaster with it

but you did give me an idea
zinc or even better brass or bronze hand beaten counter tops
these could be quite the rage and add to an ecletic motif
I wonder why the designers have not thought of these yet

I have calacutta in the bathrooms. Fine for master bath, but some food dye got on kids' countertop (okay, okay - it was stupid to do that in their bath). I have a few stains on my kitchen countertop - not too bad. I don't have a whole slab, so if I really needed to resurface for resale purposes, I could.

Agree that quartz is pretty.

Just looked up quartz, seems a good choice

* Durable and Strong (Cambria has done testing that prove it is twice as strong as granite).
* Maintenance Free - just wash with a non-abrasive soap and water.
* Safe for food - as safe as stainless steel countertops, and resistant to bacteria because of their non-porous surface.
* Scratch resistant (can be used to cut on, however, it is not scratch-proof).
* Resistant to heat.
* Resistant to chemicals.
* Are mostly natural. Companies that manufacture natural quartz kitchen countertops, depending on the company, are 93% to 97% quartz. The rest of the material in the countertop is resin that holds it all together, and pigment.
* Have a more uniform pattern than granite.
* Usually come with a 10 year limited warranty.
* Are beautiful, stylish, and come in a wide array of colors.
* Have several edge styles available.
* Quartz can be used for kitchen countertops, bath countertops, fireplace surrounds, tub surrounds, even flooring.

more lies.

"I can't imagine copper because: (1) cost!!! for a decent gauge; (2) appearance!--any idea what copper looks like as it oxidizes, reacts with acids, sitting water, finger prints. It would look a disaster in most homes I'd think. Maybe in the kitchen of a 700 year old castle..."

http://www.handcraftedmetal.com/Counters-Intro-Copper.html

Copper: Sounds Bucolic. Not sure I'd want this in a Manhattan high rise.

more lies from riversider.

I did carerra marble in my kitchen in my last place and LOVED it. The reports of staining are greatly exaggerated, no problems for me, it cleans up easy with soap and water. If you're gonna do it make sure you get it honed, it won't scratch much that way and looks great. It's so classic and natural. It's hard to not love.

A friend of mine has unpolished (matte surface) granite. It looks great, has all the advantages of granite and not a hint of the "House Hunters" middle American de riguer granite look (which my kitchen unfortunately has).

Ferretti makes countertops of marble dust + resin. Not sure if it's a proprietary material only offered by them. Solid colored if you're so inclined - no specks, stripes, etc. Has been durable, simple, clean for us. Small raised lip on the edges so stuff doesn't fall or spill off as easily.

My counter-top is granite, but it's not an under-counter sink. Can the counter-top be recut? This is the one advancement I've seen in newer buildings that I kinda like.

exciting to finally have a conversation? too bad you can't stop lying.

tio? Undermount rocks. And BIG AND DEEP is better! What a new life to have a 10: deep big wide sink. Don't skimp on that.

tio?

I'm just not sure what that was supposed to say! Wireless keyboards. Hmph.

KW re: black flecked rental granite. We had the same thing and commented at the time that you could lose a turkey on the counter. It was the same stuff on the backsplash and the floor... ugh. One of my other wishes is for something thick and chunky. Soapstone seems to be available in some hefty thicknesses (2.5"). I've seen some crazy thick Caeserstone profiles but I suspect that it's just an edge treatment, which is fine if its seamless. I've seen attempts at making marble appear thick by gluing a second layer at the edge but there is no way to avoid an ugly seam.

I'll second Silestone. It looks great (mine has mirror flecks in it- not sure if they still make that type), is pretty durable, low (no) maintenance, and even has that microban stuff in it. I would definitely buy it again.

http://www.silestoneusa.com/

I'll add my vote to Caesarstone - it's so reliable that I often take it for granted, which is just one less distraction while you're cooking (invaluable to those of us who need to be fully concentrated to prepare an edible dish). I like kylewest's choice of colors, though I have raven, which is a bit darker, but goes very well with the rest of the kitchen, and isn't nearly as austere as black. Cleaning is a breeze.

What's so "distracting" about other countertops?

NYCMatt: I think bjw2103 means that worrying about cleaning up messes that could stain/harm other materials would distract him from cooking.

xellam, exactly, thanks for the clarification. Once you get used to quartz, that stuff doesn't even enter your mind while cooking. Same goes with particularly hot or cold materials - the quartz is quite temperature resistant and absorbs much less water than marble or granite.

"NYCMatt: I think bjw2103 means that worrying about cleaning up messes that could stain/harm other materials would distract him from cooking."

Wow. So generations of cooks have been "distracted" all this time?

We're talking counters. No need to get snippy. I know what bjw and xellam mean. If I had marble, I'd be much more concerned about shaking the balsamic vinaigrette, leaving drips of wine on the counter or grease spatters from cooking. Stuff like that I'd be wiping up. Patina is one thing, but a red ring of wine would bug me. With composites like Silestone and Caesarstone, one of the attractions is near impervious surface.

To test the Caesarstone sample I used, I put things on the sample overnight, including balsamic, red wine vinegar, red wine, coke, lemon juice and blueberries. In the morning every one of them just rinsed off. I liked that.

And spinnaker, I do remember a chat about this some months ago. My black flecked counter, backsplash riser and floor tiles drove me insane. I was always finding something I missed when cleaning up.

But in the end, picking the counter was one of the more fun choices in renovating. Few choices make as big an impact.

NYC10023 - re: stained stone. I have tried a method on my stone counters which has worked fairly well. Mix water with either Arm and Hammer baking soda, or, OXIClean powder for a fairly liquid paste. spread on stain, cover with plastic wrap, leave overnight. When dry, sponge off. Obviously it's better to do this as soon as you notice a stain, but it might work on older ones as well. Got this from an architect who did the white Carrera marble kitchen counters.

Thanks, I've done rubbing alcohol. But I will try the baking soda method.

"Wow. So generations of cooks have been "distracted" all this time?"

You must be a joy at parties. Seriously though, for someone like me, it makes a difference.

welcome to matt.

matt, you old codger you, many people lived without improvements. doesn't mean one needs the improvements today, but if one can afford them reasonably, might as well enjoy them.

i truly miss the outhouse.

"i truly miss the outhouse."

I know! And the square wheel!

There's something nice about natural materials in the house. The man made materials may be more economical but they don't seem to hold up to time.

how would you know? did you see it on youtube?

AR: you have septic out in the country, no? Ever think (I'm being very serious) about giving composting toilets a whirl? My dream "country" place would have composting toilets, grey water systems, and be as much off-grid as possible.

i can understand geothermal and perhaps solar (although the cost right now is over the top); but why not make use of an existing and functioning septic?

You still have to get people to deal with pumping it out, no? I would think that composting toilets are "greener".

actually, 10023, you have to pump it out at some point. but there are amazing biological methods (which we use, but i can't describe, sorry, but i believe they involve natural bacteria), that reduce and regenerate your waste. we pumped out when we moved in, and discussed our needs with some expert, but that was five years ago. all i can say is this is not your grandmother's septic system.

hey...not to be gross but you actually don't have to pump it out if it's functioning correctly.

cc, i know, but the people we bought from?

and that's not entirely true, it depends on your use patterns. but you're right it should be a self-regulating system.

Sign of the times: 63 entries in this thread (admittedly, many off-topic) and not a single mention of Corian, as far as I can see.

actually, west81st, i kind of felt a strange sort of anonymous guilt for considering it. there area a few new corian options that are very lovely. but they are the same cost as the quartz/granite/many stone options.

whew....just poking my head out here. hope all is clear.

corian---ah...let's see. (based on white) stains if you look at it....can't put anything down on it. costs a fortune. fell in love with integrated seamless sink---biggest kitchen mistake ever. looked good the day it was installed and then stain, stain, stain.

matt---you'll be happy to know we faked the rear counter with white formica which was a pleasure to deal with and from more than 4 inches away looked just like the corian except that it didn't have any stains.

I'd recommend trying hydrogen peroxide on some of those stains, just the stuff you buy in the brown bottle at the pharmacy store. It won't work immediately but if you pored some on there & perhaps left it on overnight, I think it might work. I've even used it on spots on clothing & left it on a while before putting them in the washing machine.

thanks....we use soft scrub and a lot of elbow grease. the issue is how easily it stains.

What do you all think of glass counter tops? Like in the Devonshire House development kitchens--looks like white glass counters with marble tile backsplash.

"There's something nice about natural materials in the house. The man made materials may be more economical but they don't seem to hold up to time."

Really?

Half a century for Formica isn't long enough for you?

"There's something nice about natural materials in the house. The man made materials may be more economical but they don't seem to hold up to time."

??? Quartz composites are pretty indestructible. Not sure what this poster is referring to as manmade counter tops that don't last.

I think he's referring to Matt's Naugahyde furniture.

nope---its the plastic protection for the naugahyde.