Yikes. Your head must hurt. I think mine does now...

Hang in there.

Go with something you love, you will look at it and touch it every single day. Find what really speaks to you. Tile countertops would drive me crazy.

Good Luck!

I'd slap waterloxed plywood over top of my cabinets before I'd use tile. Not my thing, at all. Can you find a funky laminate to use for the time being?

It might well be worth your while to check into white rectified tile for your counter.

Thirty years ago, after days of looking at tile, I picked the corner pieces of some rectified octagonal Italian floor tile to be my kitchen countertop. I picked them for the look, never thinking about grout or any other functional consideration. They fit so closely that I don't even know for sure whether they have grout between them or not. But they still look great and no water appears to have got between them onto the plywood base.

It's worth checking out. Good luck.

I think the quartz or solid surface are both good choices.

westsider - Here is a pic of my corian, if it helps. I've read all about people's complaints of staining and scratching, and I don't really understand the staining issue. Yes, my corian has subtle scratching, which is not noticable, but I cannot imagine a spill staining it. I wonder if the people with those problems with staining don't have corian but rather another version of solid surface. I find it real easy to take care of.

Personally, I love the look of the quartz and would have risked the chipping, but price-wise for me it would have cost double what I got the corian for. btw, I also have corian in my bathrooms and dye my hair at home and never worry about staining.

Try engineered marble, does not stain but has texture and depth, it is very expensive though. You could look for milk glass, but I do not know alot about it.

I love Corian, unpopular though it may be. I've now had mine for five years and it looks great. All the talk about scratching is as squigs describes. Staining is a non-issue - just hasn't happened. I've already picked out Witch Hazel Corian for my bathroom remodel - about the only decision I have made on that.

Thanks all for your suggestions. Squigs, I appreciate the photo of your beautiful kitchen and LOVELY corian. I, too, like Corian. Engineered marble? Never heard of it. Need to check. I don't know nuthin' no more. Brains are mushed out.

Gotta read contractor contracts-compare Gotta find small clearance inductions...

Does anyone else feel they have no life anymore, besides kitchens?

I have started seeing crystallized glass panels. Dont know how well they work in a kitchen but the look is very modern and sleek.

That glass is gorgeous. It's not meant for countertops, is it?

It would be a gorgeous backsplash. But the one thing I won't suffer over is a backsplash. I want paint, nice washable paint.

Can't look at another contract-or the specs for a cooktop-need a kitchen vacation for a day or two.

Hmmmm, what can you do with that glass? Oh, forgot, I have a small house that's crammed to the gills. I need to edit, not add.