<p>Teriwtt, silver sea green, hmmmmm - that wasn’t Costa Esmerelda, was it?</p>
<p>That’s the granite we just had installed. The various slabs were REALLY different and we were very happy with the one we laid claim to. The others were lovely, too, but we were very taken with the movement and patterns of this one.</p>
<p>We too hauled around a vanity drawer and wall tile for each bathroom when we picked out granite slabs three weeks ago. I’m now hauling around the samples of those slabs that the supplier had broken off for me in order to match up soap dishes and toothbrush holders. I’m finding that now that the countertops are the focal point, I want to simplify the accessories.</p>
<p>harrietmwelsch - everywhere I went they referred to it as Silver Sea Green. </p>
<p>I just did a quick google search, Costa Esmerelda is different. It has lots of veins, etc. that make it different than the pattern in Silver Sea Green. But it sounds like you had the same experience I did regarding the continuum of colors within the same granite.</p>
<p>Seiclan, your kitchen looks awesome. We also have oak floors that have yellowed, so those are getting sanded and refinished. Tired white cabinets are coming out, and maple harvest going in. The decision making and the choices are exhausting, and we haven’t even started on the granite!!!</p>
<p>Seiclan, your kitchen does look beautiful! What did you use for your backsplash?</p>
<p>The granite is the backsplash, it goes from the counters all the way up to the cabinets. The electrical sockets are black too are cut into the granite and have black covers. It is a very easy backsplash (no grout to maintain or get stained/discolored).</p>
<p>…Bumping this thread as I’m looking to replace my very old formica countertops. We still have 3 semesters of tuition to pay until this can be put in the budget. Being a huge procrastinator, it’ll probably take me a couple of years to decide what material to use!!</p>
<p>I keep thinking if stone is the way to go, why not make the change while I"m in the house and can enjoy the investment rather than make the investment for (eventual) resale value alone?? I’ve never bought a house that we didn’t have to do work on—so this is a new concept for me…</p>
<p>Girlfriend’s granite was in place only about 6 months when a bottle of red wine was tipped over and, you guessed it, the counters were stained. If the stain occurs so soon after being professionally installed and sealed, what happens when we as mere peons do the job?? Is it worth 10 grand?</p>
<p>I finally had my bathroom gut-renovated and now have Zodiaq (granite with Corian) with a Corian sink - this is the third project using this product combination, and I am very pleased with the results. There isn’t any sealing involved, and there hasn’t been any problem with either the Zodiaq or the Corian. I previously had formica countertops, so this is definitely a nice upgrade.</p>
<p>I am thinking about doing solid pieces of Corian on my shower walls - tired of cleaning the grout and the soap scum off the natural slate tiles. Only problem is that the slate runs on the outside of the shower at the base and I hope I can do it without damaging the floor.</p>
<p>If you want a stone that won’t stain, ask for samples and then try to stain them.</p>
<p>I poured many a kitchen substance on my granite counters over the years without incident.</p>
<p>Our kitchen granite was installed 12 yrs ago. I am not careful and we have no stains.</p>
<p>Why not consider some of the greener alternatives to granite? There are many affordable and attractive choices on the market today. I am particularly fond of Paperstone and Ceaesarstone.</p>
<p>After 4 1/2 years of my silestone I still LOVE it–no need to seal and reseal, no stains, looks great and I am always using my counters!</p>
<p>We had granite countertops installed in our kitchen about 8 years ago. Nobody in our home is “careful” and there have been many spills throughout the years. We do not have any stains either. I love my countertops and I would put them in again. We did not pay anything close to 10,000 though! We did work with a contractor (redid our over 50 year old kitchen). Also, our granite is thick. I did not want any thin stuff that might be more likely to chip.</p>
<p>Just installed granite in my kitchen and visited almost every supplier in my vicinity in the process of looking for something in particular and got quite an education in the process. All stone yards are not equal -for that matter all slabs and all fabricators are not equal. There are places that are going to go with the first quality stuff and others that will seem discounted but the stone quality is inferior. Lots of models for how granite is sold - some places are direct from the quarry and they fabricate, too. Other places sell to fabricators who act as middlemen. </p>
<p>This is a great place to start for info, including how to select your own slabs and test them ahead of time(which you should always do) :</p>
<p>[Stone</a> Information and Advice (& Checklists) - Kitchens Forum - GardenWeb](<a href=“Stone Information and Advice (& Checklists)”>Stone Information and Advice (& Checklists))</p>
<p>Richlite is one of the green alternatives, and I recently had richlite counters installed in my kitchen. I especially like the built-in drain channels to the sink</p>
<p>We redid our kitchen a couple of summers ago. We did most of the counters in a stone-look laminate. We have a breakfast bar and one section of counter that is lower to accomodate rolling out pie crust (I do like to bake and I am short) are a darker Silestone. I am very happy with all of our choices. The laminate has a rounded front edge and has a continuous run up onto the backsplash so there are no seams. One of the things I hated with our old laminate counters was the gapping and the dark lines of the joins. Since we have a galley kitchen those have been eliminated. The silestone is beautiful and absolutely 0 maintenence. My only complaints is that it is hard to tell when the counters are dirty, they hide the dirt so well!</p>