<p>I think cement counters are today’s equivalent of orange formica.</p>
<p>The Zodiac stuff looks interesting, it looks like fake granite almost. I’ve never seen it, I wonder how glittery the glass is on a full-sized countertop.</p>
<p>Novelisto, those are not the glass countertops I was talking about. Those countertops are made of polymeric material with embedded glass pieces, much like composite marble and granite countertops. The ones I was talking about are solid slabs of glass. Sometimes they have color glass patterns fused into them. They look stunning, but are not very practical. The ones that are shown in your link should be pretty durable.</p>
<p>I agree that marble is not very chemical-resistant (any acid will eat into it), however, granite is much more durable. I’m not afraid to spill vinegar on my ganite-top kitchen table, bu as soon as I spill something on my marble tile vanity in the powder room, I make sure I wipe it off, or I will be sorry.</p>
<p>So, Novelisto…did you get your beach?</p>
<p>Beaches are pretty nice. :)</p>
<p>One thing about watching the homes for sale around Atlanta…a couple were not staged and they still looked good to me…</p>
<p>CBBBlinker…good luck…</p>
<p>I love that Zodiac quartz…nice colors. I’m just concerned that quartz is heat resistent and due to the resin content it can get more easily damaged than granite. </p>
<p>Of course, right now, MY husband thinks our counters from 1995 (with the wood trim…yep the SCREAM 1995) are just perfect. They are not.</p>
<p>Bought a slab of Gold Antique granite yesterday for Master Bath remodel!!! Love it! Goes very well with the Travertine floors. They had the Blue Bahia there…wow!!!</p>
<p>DH and I decided to go a little further than just getting a mirror for the bathroom. DH loved the electric mirror so much, it is that mirror or bust! Since we will be putting a rather fancy piece on the wall, we took a look and decided to get a few more things updated. Our vanity needs some repair, and if we are going to rip it apart, we might as well replace the chipped tile countertop (fallout of the mirror fallout). Then the brass fixtures that DH insisted on when we bought the house… He hates them now because they look ugly from wear. I told him that I will pick the faucets this time because I’m the one who cleans them. We are not touching the bathtub or shower/wall/floor tile because they still look beautiful.</p>
<p>Thumper - if I were a potential buyer of your house, your kitchen color scheme would be a plus for me. Grey countertops, “honey oak” stained maple cabinets and white appliances are what we picked for our kitchen 12 years ago. I still love the colors, so no kitchen remodel for me in the nearest future. :)</p>
<p>dstark – The beach is at the end of the street. We can’t see it – our house faces south, but we can hear it and walk to it in about 3 mins (we are slow walkers!). If we could see the ocean from the house, we would have paid another $250K so this is just fine! </p>
<p>Thumper1 – Ok, <em>now</em> I understand why you want to change your counters! </p>
<p>NorthMinn – That Gold Antique is very pretty. Gives kind of a Zen feeling to the room. Of course granite can vary a lot slab to slab but I liked that when I was looking. I wound up with Santa Cecilia because I was keeping an eye on the budget and it worked with our colors. In this house we have black – not my favorite – so I’m envying you right now. </p>
<p>BB – There were some ‘icy’ slabs of glass in that montage. It was more to show that there is a wide variety of looks than anything else. I like the thick blue-ish glass with the patterns incised underneath. I think I’d put lights under it if I had a very modern house. Jeff Corwin – the animal planet guy? – has glass countertops that you can see through to his collection of critters underneath. His wife is very brave. </p>
<p>And the Zodiaq quartz is heat-resistant but they don’t recommend putting a hot pot down on it. But heck, my dh won’t let me do that with the granite either!</p>
<p>Thanks Novelisto! The Zen feeling is just what I want…relaxing spa feel. Took my wood and travertine samples with me and it really gives a soft yet contemporary feel. Now I just need to find drawer pulls! They are giving me fits and that is the last thing to find.</p>
<p>Went with soapstone for basement bar counter. Not my favorite but that is H’s area. He is going for a little more “manly” cigar bar/men’s club feel down there. The texture and low sheen of the soapstone goes well with the slate backsplash he picked. I did find great stainless drawer pulls that have leather on them for him. They will really set off the wet bar area.</p>
<p>Novelisto, I was looking at your link on my iPhone and only had the patience to open a few pictures. I probably missed the glass slab ones. I am a big fan of modern, clean look, but I will never put anything like that in my kitchen, because I actually use it to cook. :)</p>
<p>BB…does the soapstone remind you of chemistry labs??? ;)</p>
<p>“The beach is at the end of the street. We can’t see it – our house faces south, but we can hear it and walk to it in about 3 mins (we are slow walkers!).”</p>
<p>Novelisto…sounds good to me…I love the sound of the water.</p>
<p>OK, so what kind of counter can tolerate hot pots? DH does most of the cooking and pots all too often go directly on the counter. He is not inclined to re-education in this regard…you should have seen the horror when I suggested switching to stainless steel pots and pans instead of our beat-up, scratched non-stick.</p>
<p>I think glass counters would be nice in a bathroom, but in a kitchen… seems strange to me. Too trendy.</p>
<p>
Well, granite, which was formed by volcanoes and has a melting point of 3000+ degrees F, seems like a logical choice.</p>
<p>There’s a reason commercial kitchens have stainless steel counters. :)</p>
<p>^ That’s the reason I love granite. You can put hot pots on it without fear. You can even cut on it and with the right color, it doesn’t show every drip of food/drink on it. For a kitchen, it can’t be beat. And though I think Carrara marble is beautiful in kitchens, I would never relax if I had marble in my kitchen. We spend way too much time in the kitchen to have to worry about every little splatter on the counters. In a bathroom, it’s fine if you’re careful but you don’t spend hours in your bathroom.</p>
<p>I would worry about seeing too many smears and drippings on a glass counter top. Maybe it isn’t an issue…I haven’t seen one in person (but the photos are stunning). We had glass tops made for several end tables and night stands to protect the wood. It does a great job of that but it drives me crazy because it gets smeary and you see often see glass rings on it.</p>
<p>In my previous kitchen I had a beautiful dark sagey green granite (not uba tuba) and on that you could see glass rings and smears a lot more than my current granite which is a brownish, gray, cream color (it came with the house). While this granite isn’t my first choice in color, it is a little more low maintenance. Color does seem to make a difference.</p>
<p>First countertops I ever chose were a darker brown…my dh tended to leave his coffee cups around and on that you couldn’t see the rings!</p>
<p>This weekend I’ll be looking at the comps from the three realtors and figuring our what we should do. And – oh yeah – I’ll be decluttering the attic, putting back the insulation up there that some sort of varmint moved around, and starting to work on the basement.</p>
<p>Anyone want to come and help? :)</p>
<p>Ah, no thanks, Very Happy – but have fun!</p>
<p>Our bathroom has formica in a granite-like (well, as granite-like as formica gets) pattern. It can be filthy and still look just fine. I know it is going to go when we redo the bathroom at some point (after we’re done paying for college, lol) but I think I’m going to look for something that is close to as kind to the crummy housekeeper. (Me.)</p>
<p>
Sorry – I’ll be stuck in my own basement … 
I have a ton of stuff I want to Freecycle, but I don’t feel I can list it until our driveway is more passable. It had all started melting the last couple of days, but now it’s COLD again. Gr-r-r!</p>