<p>I need to install a counter in our bathroom. Problem- I am careless- I am liable to tip hair dye/nail polish / * insert abrasive substance here* on the counter- and not notice right away.</p>
<p>Even if I wipe it up immediately- it still stains.
Had Corian a long time ago, I trashed it pretty quick.
I like matte finishes &- I like the look of concrete- but I don’t want it to look like my garage floor!</p>
<p>Is there anything I can use ( that I can make/install myself) that is in my budget and will allow itself to be cleaned up enough for MIL inspection?</p>
<p>EK, check if Silestone is the right kind of product for your countertop. Go to HD or any other hardware store that sells countertops, get some of the little square samples of the materials you like, and then test them by smudging your nail and hair products on them. If everything comes off easily, that would be a good material to consider for your bathroom.</p>
<p>They have concrete stain now, Emeraldkity4. You don’t have to have grey. Also, there’s a new product called ‘translucent concrete’ but I haven’t seen it used for countertops…expensive! </p>
<p>For me, I’d either go with smooth porcelain tiles, using the new epoxy grout, or granite. Two things about granite – 1. It’s tough. 2. If you get the right pattern, nobody can tell where you’ve spilled and where it’s the pattern. My kitchen has St. Cecilia granite which has these chocolate colored spots. Brilliant camouflage!</p>
<p>I’d go with granite. Since it’s a bathroom counter, unless you have a huge bathroom, you can pick up the end of someone else’s slab for a song at most stone warehouses.</p>
<p>I second the granite. I have it in my kitchen (was there when we bought the house 10 years ago) and it’s very forgiving to klutzes. I should know. And hmom5’s right you can usually fit a bathroom w/ a leftover piece at a good price.</p>
<p>How would you feel about a thick slab of glass? The tempered kind? It’s impervious to those kinds of spills and you could have it be frosted so that the underpinnings couldn’t be seen. I think it would look really cool in a modern-style bathroom.</p>
<p>It’s mainly used for decorative walls at this point, and it’s not that translucent, per se… You can see shadows through it, which is fairly cool, but it’s VERY expensive. It involves producing concrete blocks with aligned optical fibers that transmit the light, and they make 'em in Germany. They’re something like $400/SF, if I remember correctly, and that’s <em>before</em> shipping… Prohibitively expensive for something like a countertop.</p>
<p>Home Depot and Lowes have instock granite vanity tops with undermount basins, in standard sizes for reasonable prices. We just redid the vanity top in our guest bath with granite for $200.</p>
<p>I’d love to do that my-3-sons but the previous owners put in a custom counter that is 96 inches long. It would be about 1700 bucks to replace it and I’m just miserable. Like the OP, I’m kind of klutzy and spilled a big ol’ glob of hair dye right in the middle. The previous owners also had a thing for white surfaces…well, it used to be white. </p>
<p>I love the recycled glass look, mathmom. I’ve seen it used a lot as backsplashes in kitchens. They are designing some very cool shower doors and such nowadays as well, with a lot more organic shapes than the plain ol’ squares and rectangles. Though my house is faux-Colonial, I’m moving more and more toward modernism. Next house…</p>
<p>You might look at honed slate. It’s wears incredibly well. The only problem is that it comes in a limited range of colors–greens (light/dark), green/purple, black, and red. I used Vermont slate in my kitchen and also used it outside for a patio-cooking area and fireplace. It’s great stuff. </p>
<p>I’d stay away from limestone at all costs–even though the light colors are very nice. I used limestone (which was treated) in a master bath and it has not worn well–even water stains it. D2’s bedroom has a glass vessel/pedestal sink combo (think very modern) and it’s been wonderful. It cleans easily and looks great.</p>
<p>Granite tiles can work really well… they provide the same look and durability of solid slabs for a tiny fraction of the cost. Slightly more difficult to install than a ceramic tile installation (since you can’t just cut it with a razor), but then again it’s stone so once it’s in there it will essentially last forever</p>
<p>Greetings after some months’ absence. I’m re-doing a small bathroom, and thinking marble for the countertop. My contractor says the polished kind is fairly impervious to stains. I like the look. Am I crazy to consider marble?</p>
<p>SuNa, polished or not, it is still marble. Any acidic product will damage it. I’d go with a nice granite countertop instead. I bet the contractor just wants to get rid of the marble product no one wants to buy. :)</p>
<p>Staining is not the issue. It’s a bit of a myth that marble stains easy. Raw or honed marble will stain, but polished marble is a different story.</p>
<p>Polishing marble (or any stone) changes the surface tension and makes it much less absorbent. Polished marble can stain if you leave something on it for a few hours, but generally it is not a problem.</p>
<p>Etching is the main problem. Polished marble will corrode upon contact with acids (many foods and some bath products) and alkaline cleaning chemicals.</p>
<p>Etching causes dull light spots on the countertop. They are not very noticeable with White Carrara, but you may get them.</p>