I think you can't go wrong with either. I had a laminate counter in our bathrooms for 20+ years (it was here when we bought the house). They held up well. We now have quartz in two bathrooms and concrete in one. We have polished quartz in one, honed in the other, and I like the honed better. It's warmer to the touch and shows water drops and rings a lot less. It is a lighter color than the polished though so I'm sure that is a factor. The concrete is fantastic (though I know you're not going that route). Both finishes of the quartz are holding up well, are easy to clean and look great.

We have Ceasarstone in both bathrooms. I haven't noticed it being cold, because I don't rest my arms on it.

We have quartz in all bathrooms (quartzite in the kitchen; previously we had Cambria quartz). I know they are "cold" stones but I never rest my arms on the counters. Love the quartz in my bathrooms. Never even considered Corian so can't speak to that.

Either is fine from a utility/durability/maintenance standpoint in that application. Choose the appearance that you like best.

I have had no issues with my counters, which are white Quartz - no problems with makeup, soap or hard water.

Lots of differing opinions. Would love to hear more. So far it seems that Quartz is favored. The quartz colors I am looking at are Cambria Torquay, Silestone Snowy Ibiza (only HD but they use a good sub contractor) or Blanco Orion, or Zodiaq Stratus White or Marble Mist. Caesarstone has a new color -Cosmopolitan White that looks like an option too. I want a softer, more marble look so ruled out granite. It isn't right next to the tile around the tub but I want a similar look to that. So something white with a bit of beige and gray. I haven't ordered larger samples of these yet. Home Depot gave me a quote on the Corian Witch Hazel and Silestone Snowy Ibiza and price-wise they are very close. I like the integrated sink look but also like that a separate one can be replaced if anything happened and matches the tub and toilet a bit better. It is only 2 adults in the house.

"Corian is outdated and the quality is not as good as Quartz products."

Southeast Kitchen and Bath:

Please show me the Corian that did this like the pictured quartz. I've been in this business over 20 years and haven't seen it yet.

"Why not granite?" Here's a reason:

Can you only get an integrated sink with Corian? My neighbor has one in her kitchen and I don't like its plastic look. I would want porcelain in the bathroom.

Staining is a non-issue with quartz. Even with the pure white, a little Soft Scrub Gel with bleach should take care of it. It's the only stain remover approved by most quartz manufacturers.

I'm not sure if they can undermount a sink with Corian. My only concern with quartz is the coldness. It is very hard but I don't drop things too often. I like the colors of the Corian Witch Hazel but haven't looked at bigger samples of the quartz options or ordered any. I've had a cold that turned into bronchitis so haven't done much for the past month. I did see a bigger one of the Snowy Ibiza at Home Depot and that seems similar. Since they use a good subcontractor I would be ok with that option but I would want a bigger sample to see at home.

"Can you only get an integrated sink with Corian?"

Acrylic sinks can be seamed undermounted into plastic laminate, granite and quartz. Although the manufacturer doesn't recommend it, I'm sure you could seam undermount a stainless steel Edge series Karran sink in stone or estone too.

As for coldness, if you mean for leaning over the counter to see into the mirror after coming out of the shower, you could add a heat lamp to warm up the room. Otherwise I don't see how coldness is an issue, unless you're adding a make-up counter.

Yes just the coldness when leaning over to put on makeup. I'm a delicate flower! :)

Corian may be "dated" as some have said, but I like it. The Witch Hazel is especially pretty, IMO. The only reason we didn't go with Corian was that we wanted a darker counter top and were told when Corian scratches, the scratches will appear white, which would be noticeable in the darker colors. Of course a big advantage of Corian is that you can buff the scratches out. I am in the minority of GW'ers that like Corian and laminate because I don't want to fuss over water spots, etching, chips, etc. The older I get, the less I want to "baby" my things, I must be getting lazy in my old age.

Lam702 - thanks. It is great to get differing opinions. I read a lot on GW and there are other Corian lovers. The witch hazel looked like a great color option but I haven't seen enough quartz in this color range. Maybe one of those would work just as well and make this decision easier. I am getting up there so don't want things either that need to be babied or fussy to care for.

I'm "dated" too but still get used on new projects!

I'm also a member of the Less Fussing, More Living club

Actually, if you look at the current high-end kitchens, especially urban homes/condos costing in the millions, Corian and other solid surface is making a comeback. Solid colors, no patterns - the bright vivid tones are very striking, especially on islands with the waterfall-edged side panel.

I love my quartz bathroom counter top. Wish I could show a photo, but, unfortunately, I'm electronically challenged. Anyway, the company is: LG/Viatera and it's called "Cirrus". It's a lovely soft white. Looks like a gorgeous marble. See if you can see it online. We've had it a year and still looks wonderful (no stains of scratches).

We put Corian in one bathroom and Caesarstone in another. I like them both, and have had no trouble at all with makeup or other products on the quartz. My choices were made based on what I thought would look better in each application.

I have granite in all three bathrooms and the "cold" factor has not arisen, even though I'm also a delicate flower. I had granite in a former kitchen where I never did the polishing recommended for every year and after ten years the granite looked brand new. It's the easiest-care material I've found of all the ones I've encountered, although I have never used quartz.

The Corian samples arrived and I love the Witch Hazel. I like the little beige in there besides the gray. I've ordered some quartz ones too but have more to order. At work we have something that looks like Corian with an undermount sink so I can check on that too in case there isn't a quartz equivalent to Witch Hazel I like.

Silverfox - I looked at the Cirrus. Is there are beige in this? Otherwise maybe the soprano.

We just used solid surface in a new bathroom and we love it. Not only is not cold, but it's also quiet. My kitchen granite is pretty but so loud when you clank things on it. We purposely used solid surface because it's warm, quiet and repairable. Couldn't be happier. Our is Hanex, a Korean brand, but we did use Corian Witch Hazel to make tops for two dressing table and are very happy with those as well. We had the Kohler Archer sinks undermounted they look great.

Lucas_tx - thank you for the info. Great to know about the under mount sink. How do you like the bigger slab of witch hazel? I ordered a 10x10 square. Was there a reason for Hanex over Corian for the counter?

Maries - Don't see beige. I'm going to try to send pictures.

Silverfox - thanks for the info and photos. Your bathroom is beautiful!

I like the witch hazel a lot. On the counter tops we're using one of the white on whites (just specks of white within white) and the Hanex, I think it was Alaska just happened to be the shade of white that worked the best with the sinks.

We just installed a granite counter top in our powder room and I love it. It is not understated, doesn't show dirt or fingerprints, and looks shiny and beautiful all of the time. I couldn't be happier with it. It adds some bling to what is otherwise a boring, drab room.

I think I'm the second person to respond who actually has Corian. We put it in every room in our remodel. And after about 1.5 yrs, we still are thrilled with it. Our home is very contemporary and the seamless sink in the kitchen is at home. I also love the feel of running my hand across the counter and I like that it isn't cold. Witch Hazel seems to be extraordinarily popular with some people and I don't recall anyone who put it in who had buyers remorse.

Now Quartz is really nice too. It was going to be my first choice until we started looking at solid surface. I had been eyeing a quartz countertop for years waiting for the next time we moved--way back when granite was at its zenith (which our house came with) and quartz was hard to find. Now that granite has declined and quartz is all the rage, I'm glad I did Corian even more. I realize the quartz is nice, but it's not terribly special. Where I live, almost every single house that is new or re-done and put up for sale has white quartz counters. It's in every single episode of HGTV. White Quartz seems to me to be the 2010s version of the 2000s Beige Granite--everywhere. I just like being slightly different than the masses :)

The last poster correctly notes that her granite is is "not understated"--definitely never been a term used to describe loud shiny sparkly granite tops. Corian is classically understated.

Now for my next house--Lord willing that won't be for a long time--Neolith is my current fascination :)

Thanks for the responses. I am still looking at quartz but haven't found a design that I like as much as the Coriander Witch Hazel. Caesarstone has some options but waiting to order samples once the Cosmopolitan White sample is available.

I'm not opposed to granite it is just all I have seen are busier than I want. There is still the cold factor with this like quartz that I can live with but is a factor.

Oh and I wanted to say I love Silverfox16's sinks--those are too cool.