The main way to save money is to get remnants at the stone yard -- the piece or pieces left over when somebody with a big kitchen finishes with their slab. However, if you have a lot of counter yourself, you might or might not be able to get enough this way, or at least enough that matches decently.

There are some very nice-looking laminates now, which imitate the look of stone, have smooth corners, and all the benefits of durability of your mother's Formica. Not as cheap as in mom's day, but usually still cheaper than stone.

One way can be use what is called "SmartStone", which is one of CRS' specialties. It is a thin slab of natural granite, reinforced with fibre glass backing. It allows the ability to be placed over an existing countertop. It is lower cost than a thicker traditional granite and can be installed in less than a day.

Thank you! That is what I needed to hear. I have one stretch that is interrupted by the sink so I was wondering, do I have to have one FULL piece or could I use TWO pieces, I'm using a farmhouse sink anyway. Ok, I will start haunting stone yards, I assume big box stores like Lowes and Home Depot don't apply to this? Thanks!

Well, if you don't have any corners or other tricky bits, it's possible that you could save a bunch by buying the precut rectangular slabs from Ikea or other places. You'd have to look into how prepared they are to cut around a farmhouse sink. But those slabs can be a big savings, if you find something you like.

Thanks, I will look into that too!

is this a new kitchen or you just replacing the counter tops?

in any respect, the amount of counter space that you need to cover will dictate if you can find a remnant to cover the area. if you have an island, you might find cover it with one material and use another for the surrounding counters. I would avoid seams. I've seen more people disastiied with having seams than not. of course, installation is key when it comes to seams.

the counter's back splash is another area to consider if you need to cut costs. if you are a DIYer, then you will save on labor cost if you use a tiled backsplash. if you are not a DIYer and you purchase a slab for the counter, you may be able to use part of the slab for the backsplash. from my experience, this type of backsplash saves time and money since you have already purchased the material.

my experience with remnants has been that small remnants are available at more discounted price than larger remnants. Also, vendors who also do fabrication are likely to have remnants. large suppliers tend to sell slabs and remnants are left with whomever purchased the slab, which might be the fabricator if the purchaser (homeowner) has no use for the leftover slab.

you are more like to find larger remnants of granite since granite slabs are much larger than marble slabs.

of course, it all boils down to how you value your time. searching for remnants can be time consuming.