Corian and other solid-surface materials are still quite common. But granite is pretty much the surface-du-jour these days.

I'm definitely in the minority, but I actually despise granite. No kidding. Polished granite to me just reeks of...well...I just don't care for it.

I love most other natural stones, but to me polished granite is a total turn off.

My main consideration in a working kitchen is the functionality of the countertop material. Can it take heat if needed? Cold if the location requires it? If your intended location for the corian won't require you to slide hot pots onto it for example, then go for the material that you want.

I would put Corian at the bottom of your list, consider some of the manufactured quartz stones first.

Stone (and *some* of the manufactured quartz) can take the heat of a pot, can be cut on, etc. -- none of which you can do with Corian.

There was Corian all over a yacht I worked on for a time: countertops, backsplashes, sliding doors in the galley, the bar, the shower floors, you name it. It was a dark gray. By the end of 6 months of fairly heavy use it was a scratched up mess. I hated it.

I love quartz countertops, but really this is one of those things that comes down to personal preference.

If the OP is talking about bathrooms, why worry about heated pots or knives?

There's a reason cultured marble/cultured granite are approved for bathrooms but not kitchens - there is much less wear and tear on them. The only issue might be curling irons.

As for dark gray Corian, certainly it would get scratched up. It's well documented that darker colors of Corian show scratches; the undersurface is white.

We have granite-pattern Swanstone in the kitchen and one bath, and love it. It's great stuff and no issues (heat resistance is a little higher than Corian at 375 degrees). I needed a matte finish counter; it's actually too sunny in my kitchen and even a chrome faucet was so blinding, I replaced it with stainless.

In our master bath we have cultured granite, because Swan Corp. didn't offer a large enough neo-angle showerpan, and the shower and counters/sinks had to match, being fairly close together. It's a little shinier than Swanstone or Corian, but nobody but me seems to be able to tell them apart. Being non-porous, cleaning up is a snap. The master bath was installed in 2003 and everything still looks brand new. I love having seamless bathroom sinks, there's nothing better. And although we don't have children, we tend to be quite hard on our house, LOL.

However, don't be surprised if Corian is more expensive than granite. The price of stone has dropped dramatically due to competition, but DuPont has always charged a premium for Corian, and they always will.

Don't let someone else guide you away from what YOU want. If using Corian gives you the look you want and makes you happy, nobody should make you feel bad about it.

good lord, jkom, you're exactly right. I've been thinking kitchens today and incorrectly replied with a kitchen answer.

The only heat in a bathroom should be an errant curling iron. My kitchen-oriented reply was totally off the mark.

I'll start by saying I like Corian. Last year i opted for it over granite in my kitchen (same price) for a variety of reasons. For me resale wasn't a factor as I'm in a rural area & I'm not moving. Corian is durable, softer & not cold. That said, I don't think I'd put Corian in my bath room. The Quartz, marble or granite will be a smoother surface that cleans easily and has a sparkle, giving the feeling of freshness. I have a lighter color Corian in my kitchen (Tumbleweed) that does show small scratches in the sunlight. I will say the seamless sink is nice and looks fantastic compared to my old stainless or Swanstone. I love the Corian; however I realize that most people think it's lower quality or class - a lingering thought that's always in the back of my mind when someone visits.
We'll soon be replacing our master bath counter and I'll probably go with the cultured granite.

I know you won't use Swanstone in your bath, but thought I'd mention this: jkom51 said she loved the Swanstone. I have that it my utility room and absolutely hate it. It is so discolored and regardless of what I use to clean it or sand it, it's stained and looks horrible. But it's been used and abused.

I happen to like the look of Corian with seamless sinks, especially some of the newer types which aren't quite monotone. We used a white-on-white Corian as the top for a powder room vanity cabinet with a vessel sink above it a few years ago. We had a Corian top/sink in our old master bathroom for 20+ years until we recently remodeled (with granite) and expanded our master bath. It showed no signs of wear and tear after all that time. No chips; no scratches, no stains, no problems whatsoever.

If you like the look of Corian, who cares what the current trend is? Only you need to love your bathroom, not the neighbors, not the editors of style magazines.

Mongo, if you hate polished granite, what about honed (lether) granite? That's what we just put in our master bath, and it has a totally different look and feel from polished granite. It seems like some other natural stone rather than granite; we just love it.

-- Eric

When we recently did our bathroom remodel I got prices on Corian and was shocked at the price for our little countertop. With integrated sinks it would have been the most expensive option. We ended up going with counter-depth granite tiles because I knew my tile guy would do a great job. Also, I felt the integrated sink look would have the same feel as the cultured marble I was getting rid of, and I wanted something completely different.

I do, however get what you mean about not liking granite because I feel the same way about most granites.

We stayed at a gorgeous hotel in London this summer that had corian bathroom coutertops. They were very dark gray with white tile walls and a dark gray tile floor and it was really lovely.

I actually have black corian kitchen counter tops and I don't find scratching to be a problem. I don't keep a high shine on them and I treat them exactly as I would a laminate counter. They suit my retro kitchen in a way that granite would not.

Eric, yup, I prefer a honed over polished. There's not anything wrong with polished granite, it's just a "me" thing.

Not only do I love Swanstone, our main floor bathroom has a 1989 Swanstone integral sink countertop. It has been used and abused, everything from Clairol Jet Black hairdye and tons of bleach (my mother was a bleach fanatic) to burning cigarettes left on the counter.

When we were updating both bathrooms in 2003, two different contractors complimented us on the "Corian sink counter", thinking it was new.

However, ours are all granite-patterned, not solid color. I know a lot of people prefer the latter, but it does show more wear and staining.

It was good to hear all the responses. In the end it looks like it's coming down to budget. My mother has a black Corian counter in her kitchen. I have seen no scratches. She loves it. Says she buffs out stains and scratches. But deals are offered with granite, so the Corian would be twice as much not including the sink! In the end for me it is only a bathroom counter. I am not appalled by the solid black we will be getting. Is that really granite in solid black? Silestone has some great looking stuff too, but my taste in it makes the price really jump.