Kitchen remodel. Quartz or Granite counters?

anon94785555
Fri, 29 Mar 2013 03:03:49 +0000

Just basically finished a whole house renovation- pink laminate counters and cabinets, mauve carpet, wallpaper et al are gone- 25 year old new to us house. Asked our real estate agents last summer for advice even though we intend to stay here 20-30 years- or until we die, whichever comes first… They said to put in whatever we wanted, that it did not matter for resale. We like light, bright, contemporary.

Had a stainless steel sink with Formica in old house- top mount, now undermount here. Definitely would go with the stainless steel. Have seen Corian damaged by heat- cracks, yuck.

Chose light cabinets- I dislike white (did do white interior doors here to replace plain dark stained but worn brown ones- painted trim as well unlike stained up north). Went with Kraftmaid Honey Spice maple in a Shaker? (simple) style, kept same layout with changes in sizes. House came with fairly new appliances- stainless top of the line stove and microwave, black dishwasher and cream side by side refrigerator (white laundry ones). They work- the light refrigerator doesn’t dominate because of its color.

Counters. Debated between granite and quartz. Did Home Depot so 15 year sealant took that issue out of the running for us. Dislike the uniformity of quartz, chose Colonial Gold with its more wave and interesting pattern. Love the variations. Spills and dirt don’t show as do with inlaws’ black granite. Long bar area between two walls- expected corbels but happy with installer decision to use L shaped steel bars under the counter, had to do with drywall under it etc. Used Corian for desk area counters and bathrooms (integrated sinks- no seams for dirt). Old house had cultured marble in baths- shinier and a few nicks in 20 years. Back then Corian choices were so limited. Was able to catch sales for both granite and Corian (nicely speckled instead of rough looking dots/chips)- a couple of free sinks. btw- with stainless steel sinks choose the overhang with the least sink edge showing for dirt, 18 gauge is fine and 8" deep becomes deeper with counter thickness.

The bottom line- go with what you like. Fashion doesn’t matter. If you sell in 5, 10 or more years the next owner can make changes. I expect the next owner will be saying “What were they thinking?” and I won’t care.

New light carpet in bedrooms, family and living rooms- like to sit on the floor. Tile elsewhere- removed carpet from dining room and much of master bath (yuck- what was the builder thinking???). Know someone who swears by wood.

Looked at many houses before seeing this one- loved the layout, location and views. Knew would change things. Spent a lot of time researching and getting the best prices. Made decisions based on costs and durability- nice, upscale but not as upscale as we could have chosen. Thousands of dollars saved. Guess that shows our maturity.

btw- even if you love your choices when you order things you will go through a bit of regret and even dislike things a bit the first day or so after the installation. You have to remember why you decided to go with x instead of y and your mental image meets reality… Still have a few pending items and always more can do but feel like have a new house.

Much more than anyone wanted- but after 4 months of living with a construction zone feeling so happy to share- just cleaned to keep clean without getting dirty from open doors…