<p>Jym, one of my good friends redid her laminate kitchen counters with those veneers (they are synthetic material of epoxy and granite). They look very nice and no one can tell that is not a solid countertop. The only error she made is to ask them to install a black composite sink. Yuck. When it is dry, every little crumb in it sticks out as a sore thumb. </p>
<p>We have black granite (though the sink is white) in our bathroom on the main floor- the bathroom that guests use. It does show soap drops on occasion. But the kitchen island is a black with a speckle in it and its fine. And it looks good as a contrast to the granite on the other surfaces, which has a lot of movement to it.</p>
<p>jym, it is the solid black sink I was talking about. I’ve seen it dry - not a good idea. The countertops are dark with some speckles, and they are gorgeous. </p>
<p>BB: The countertop is what shows occasional soap- but thats probably due to my DH not being super neat with the dispenser!
I fell in love with a dramatic black granite but it had a lot of mica in it and could possibly not cut well, with uneven edges. And it was $$$$ So, Nope.</p>
<p>I think granite not as dominant as it was a couple decades ago, but preferable to Corian which seems as dated as Formica.
it used to be laminate if you were doing it cheaply, tile or composite like Corian for mid range & granite for high end.
But now there are so many choices at every price point, it comes down to what you like & how much maintenance you want to do.
I like wood, in furniture. But in kitchens I like painted cabinets if not the doors. It also goes with the period of our house. I had a great aunt whose husband was a shipbuilder, and her kitchen had teak counters & cabinets. ( our house was built in 1900, before indoor plumbing, hers was built in the 1920’s I think, it was a four-square style)
It was gorgeous, but you wouldn’t dare paint over them if you wanted to change the look of the kitchen.
She had a built in ironing center though and a breakfast nook with a tiger eye maple table top.
( & built in teak benches)
She had high ceilings and a lot of light, but the teak was obviously the dominant feature.</p>
<p>I do like these wood cabinets though & I love the slate backsplash, although I don’t like whatever they have on the floor.</p>
<p><a href=“Cliffhanger Cabin - Traditional - Kitchen - Calgary - by Quiniscoe Homes 20/20 Ltd. | Houzz”>Cliffhanger Cabin - Traditional - Kitchen - Calgary - by Quiniscoe Homes 20/20 Ltd. | Houzz;
<p>Those are beautiful wood cabinets! It looks a bit strange to cover a range hood with wood though. </p>
<p>I’m not crazy about the floor either. </p>
<p>Don’t like it at all. Too much wood for my taste and I hate the backsplash</p>
<p>It does look strange to cover the hood, but perhaps they have built in other appliances.
I like the cabinets, but I think so much wood can be too much in a kitchen, unless you really like the arts and crafts look( which I do, but not enough to live with every day, our house is also suited to <gasp> painted waimscotting)</gasp></p>
<p>Now H used to work a great deal with sheet metal, so he loves stainless steel, and likes steel appliances ( but I don’t, we’ve had them, but now we have white enamel, I like enamel)
He would even go for stainless counters if I suggested it.</p>
<p>I have a steel range hood, but a copper one would be pretty.
( ok just looked at prices. They aren’t that pretty!)
<a href=“http://www.themetalpeddler.com/products/range-hoods/barrel-copper-range-hood.html”>http://www.themetalpeddler.com/products/range-hoods/barrel-copper-range-hood.html</a></p>
<p>I don’t like that floor, either. I have seen that same slate at Lowes, but not done that way. </p>
<p>I’ve seen hoods covered with wood, but I thought that had gone out of style. Seems now people like exposed metals. </p>
<p>I need to correct my earlier post about the costs that I had. I forgot that the cabs total included that bath cabs. </p>
<p>Whoa, that’s a lot of wood. I would have done the floor in slate for sure. I am not a fan of that backsplash either. The wood hood is weird. </p>
<p>Update - went to both Lowes and HD, the cabinet plus counter top will be in the $10K range with several discounts. So the whole job could be A lot more than $14K.</p>
<p>Lowes has stop selling Corian but does carry other synthetic tops. We are moving forward with the project + will have the floor sanded and sealed. </p>
<p>Many thanks for all the discussion.</p>
<p>BTW, they said that reface only save time but a little $$. Since we have to move the stove and dish washer around, plus building a new section, we will have to go with new cabinets. </p>
<p>Moving plumbing is probably increasing your cost significantly.
:(</p>
<p>So how much is this coating you? Are you going with the first $14,000 estimate…and the dated Corian?</p>
<p>T1, the final cost is still under $14K. That includes standard cabinets and grade A granite counter top, sink, faucet and all the installation labor. To stay under the $14K budget, we down grade the cabinet from “premier” to “standard”. But they are still with the “furniture” finish. We will have to hire someone else to do the flooring (extra). </p>
<p>Does this quote sound good? Comparable hardware are quoted above $10K at both HD and Lowe’s. </p>
<p>What furniture finish/wood/stain did you select? </p>
<p>What kind of flooring are you going with in the kitchen?</p>
<p>Thats very cheap for a kitchen remodel. Dont use the lowest price stuff. You get what you pay for.</p>
<p>What is a “standard” cabinet? If we are talking about cabinets that come in 3 inch increments, so you need to use fillers, but are still made of good quality materials with heavy duty door slides fine, but if you are talking about cheesy thermafoil I wouldn’t try to save money. How big is your kitchen? I don’t know anyone around here who has done a major remodel for less than $30,000.</p>
<p>This is a kitchen remodel for selling purposes. Don’t use junk, but you don’t have to use custom cabinets either. </p>
<p>Check references for whomever is doing the work. Ask to speak to previous customers. Where did you find the $14,000 vendor?</p>
<p>The price sounds very reasonable for a small kitchen, very basic redo without appliances and a new floor.</p>
<p>My sister did her small kitchen for resale with about the same amount of $ (in toney suburb of Westchester County.)
New floor, granite counters, tile backsplash, new dishwasher, range, and under the counter sink (all SS.) </p>
<p>She didn’t redo cabinets (which weren’t great and had formica/laminate fronts), just put on new hardware. I believe she used either Lowes or HD. It enabled her to get her price - even though buyers immediately gutted the whole thing. It had been on the market for several months and not moving - so she took it off the market, did the redo, and it sold in a week or so. </p>