Our next project is to replace the kitchen countertop, currently laminate. We dont have a fancy high end kitchen, and its fairly small. What would you suggest, granite, quartz, other?
If your kitchen is small, and you like the look, I’d suggest a Boos butcher block countertop. I have it in part of my kitchen and like the look and functionality.
We don’t have a fancy high end kitchen either. We got granite…and we love it.
We’ve had Silestone (engineered quartz) installed for 14 years. Love it. No stains, no cracks, no chips and no maintenance other than cleaning with 409.
Concrete is nice, though I don’t know how expensive it is.
If I had to do my kitchen, I’d go for silestone/quarts. Sleek, timeless and worry-free.
We went from laminate to Caesarstone, another engineered quartz. I was afraid of stains and my designer recommended going the engineered quartz route. I found the pattern I liked in the Ceasarstone products - marble looking without the clean up worries. I’ve been more pleased than I thought possible! I just returned from an out of town week - coffee and red wine marks that hadn’t been sufficiently wiped up by those remaining at home came off with a slightly damp paper towel.
We used Quartz when we redid our bathrooms and I really like the finish. When we redo the kitchen, we might go with corian. The shiny surfaces of granite and Quartz would require that I buff them each time I wipe up messes, which I don’t have to do now with my Formica. We are also not the type to do the yearly sealing necessary for granite.
We redid ours 2 summers ago, and am thrilled with the granite we chose.
We got it, believe or not, at Home Depot. It comes presealed, so that’s not an issue. But had it not been pre-sealed, the sealing process (as I understand it) means wiping it down with a particular product-- that’s it.
Some granite yards and fabricators have a “boneyard” which is where decent size offcuts hang out while waiting hopefully for people like the OP to take them home and adopt them for deeply discounted prices 
Ask your fabricator if they have leftover offcuts available at a discount that would be big enough for your kitchen. You might find it to be cheaper than solid surface products like corian.
@FlyMeToTheMoon I have granite, and I do not buff my countertops each time I wipe them off. Who told you this was necessary? I use Method Daily granite Cleaner…and a paper towel, and mine sparkle…with no buffing.
Thank you @jshain for that Method suggestion.
Oh…and I did seal my granite again this summer…but really, I’m not sure it needed it, as the sealant did not soak in one bit…just sat on top of the finish. But it made me feel better. But I didn’t even buff that! I just wiped firmly with a soft cloth.
We have Corian in the kitchen (came with the house). We LOVE it–it’s very easy to care for and very forgiving of all the messes we make on it. We have a light colored off-white, so that it keeps the kitchen brighter and it appears larger. We are planning to use Corian (or similar) in our bathroom, replacing the formica. We don’t want to have to both with sealing the countertops, etc. We also have stainless steel drainboard counters near the kitchen sink, which are also very easy maintenance & we enjoy as well.
@thumper1, well you’re using a paper towel, presumably to dry it. I currently wipe my countertops with a damp cloth and allow it to air dry. It doesn’t show watermarks. Can you do that with granite? My SIL has granite and she says she has to constantly buff it/paper towel it/dry it, whatever you want to call it, and that it is a real pain.
My point is that in comparison to how I keep my countertops clean now, it will be more labor intensive. That extra step is something that would bother me.
Thanks for the suggestions, you all are giving me food for thought!
Lowes has granite with either a 15 year or 25 year guaranteed seal. Their SenSa granite has the 15 year seal, but they’re also carrying one that has a longer seal. They have several stone choices for a very reasonable cost.
With this factory sealed granite, there is no buffing or anything required. It just doesn’t absorb like regular granite does.
more info: http://usa.sensagranite.com/what-is-sensa/
I have a Boos butcherblock table in my kitchen and love it, but you have to be okay with a used look. It took hardly anytime to get stains in it - we could sand them out, but that would be troublesome. It is supposed to be oiled once a month or so, but it’s pretty forgiving. I love it. I also love my soapstone counters. Mine are a fairly dark green to black with pretty pale white streaks. I think it’s warmer and less busy than granite. You can oil them too, but they don’t need it often.
I have a white quartz in a bathroom where I like it, but I don’t like it for a whole kitchen. I don’t like Corian either, just looks to plastic-y to me. I do like that you can have integral sinks with Corian though, that’s a very nice feature. My mother loved her Corian sink and built in drain board.
I got quartzite, which costs more than granite. It’s a natural stone, harder than granite. It comes down n lighter colors, which is what I was seeking. I have Quartz in bathrooms, and wish I had used granite. At the granite yards, they sell the extras pieces, which would have been enough for bathrooms.
I am curious. Why do you wish you had granite in your bathrooms over quartz? Is it just because you could have gotten it cheaper?
@mathmom - We’ve had a few ring stains on the Boos block counter (housekeeper’s fault) over the 15+ years we’ve had it. Just had it professionally sanded/refinished and it looks brand new again. About 3-4 times a year I use the Boos oil and cream on the counter. Doesn’t take long and keeps it looking great. I do like the warmth of the wood.
Other areas of the kitchen are granite. Not sure what it is sealed with 15+ years ago but no issues since then and smudges. I squirt on some Windex and use a dry rag and they always clean up easily.
No. I did bathrooms at HD. When I did my kitchen, I visited 5 granite yards. I was awed by the great selections and varieties. Each yard offers to do measurements and fabrications. I think a pretty granite would have made the rooms pop. I would also consider marble for the bathrooms. I would need less than 1 slab, so I could have done both bathrooms with a slab, or looked for remnants.
I like the movement in the natural stones.