If this is your forever home, purchase what works for you. Some granite is less expensive than laminate -- usually the ones I mentally refer to as v**mit granites. If I were considering purchase of a home with such granite, it would be a serious drawback -- enough almost to walk away without a price reduction.

OTOH, I purchased a beautiful used granite for a rental property I was renovating. I'd be fine with that same granite in my home.

I did just move, and there's laminate in the new kitchen. It works. The white on the island let's me know when I need to clean it, the darker perimeter laminate hides the crumbs. Would I have selected either? No. If this were to be my forever home, I'd seriously consider soapstone or corian. Not trendy, but highly functional and with very classic look that will age well or at least until I no longer care :-)

Good Luck!

I think your choice should depend on whether you like any of the granites at that price level. There are definitely some level one granites I like.

hehe I was wondering what type of designs I may have to choose from to get the price break. I like your description, I may use that myself. (v***it granite)

Thanks for the advice :)

There are about a zillion different granites. Not only do they have a vast range of colors and patterns, but they have different maintenance requirements. Some are virtually maintenance-free and don't need sealing or special treatment (I have one of those). Others need sealing once a year, and are easy care once sealed. Others need sealing several times a year and you have to be careful with them.

I am saying this because it concerns me that your builder mentioned the relative cost of the granite without saying anything about which granite or mentioning that there are different pricing tiers of granites. That implies to me that he is just going to offer you the inexpensive unattractive granites that you see in mass housing developments.

Some granites are so utterly gorgeous, some are dramatic, some are quiet, some are swirly, some are chunky, etc.. If I were you, I'd insist to the builder on going to the stoneyard and picking one YOU like.

I installed a granite in a rental because it was cheaper than what HD quoted me for a laminate. It was a color that went very nicely with the cabinets. The tenant was thrilled.

Also, I still like Uba Tuba.

I had originally planned on using one of the new laminates that are really beautiful. It was considerably more expensive to get it and the expert that was required to install that kind than it was for me to get a very nice quality stone, I ended up with fantasy brown quartzite. Get what makes your heart sing this is your forever kitchen! Scrimp other places. I am so happy that laminate was so expensive lol. My kitchen makes me smile every time I walk in. You deserve that.

Consider your sink install preference as well. One of my must-haves was an undermount sink, so laminate wouldn't have been a good choice. I know I've seen people who have done it, but personally I wouldn't want to worry about getting water near a laminate seam. If you are ok with a top-mount sink, laminate might still be an option.

Do you like granite? Some people strongly dislike that it's cold to the touch and noisy by comparison. In a forever house I'd probably go with corian.

I think it's heavily price-point dependent. Here in Dallas, a $150k home would be expected to have laminate or some other less expensive man-made product. A $300k-$650k home would be expected to have a mid-tier granite or a mid-tier man made product. Get over $750k, and you better have a quartz, quartzite, premium granite or something like a dolomitic marble (super white; fantasy brown).

Off topic--Ravencajun, all stones I have ever seen labeled "fantasy brown" are more accurately described as dolomitic marbles, NOT quartzite. They are metamorphic forms of dolomite. They will etch, etc., like any marble because it has calcite in its composition, which is reactive with acid. Quartzite is metamorphic sandstone, so it does not react with acid, meaning it won't etch. Doesn't really matter, but probably not accurate to call fantasy brown a quartzite, regardless of what the sales person told you.

For me part of the question is how you cook - not just the aesthetics or if it is 'in'. I have granite and I love it. The one I have - and I don't remember its name - requires no maintenance other than normal cleaning and has the absolutely wonderful feature that I can set burning hot pots and pans right down on it with no consequences whatsoever. Don't try that with many materials. It's such a delight to be able to pull a hot pan off the stove and set it directly on the counter without a second thought. It has not scratched - or frankly had any issues - in the 14 years it's been in the kitchen taking a daily beating. Granite is definitely my 'forever kitchen' material. There are, as others have said, a vast number of types and colors and price points. If you decide to go with it, I think it is critical to visit the stoneyard yourself to pick out the slabs to be used. It's man-cut, not man-made, and nature does some amazing things.

It doesn't cost anything to look. Go to a granite supplier and check it out. At least that way you will have an idea of price and colours and which ones need maintenance or not. I love wandering thru the slabs or looking at the samples in a showroom. There are so many choices!

Another factor is that laminate is available in patterns that you just can't get in stone. Like linen, or rusted metal, or boomerangs. Or solid colors. If you were thinking of a stone-look laminate, I would definitely take the opportunity to check out real stone. If you were thinking about aqua boomerangs for your mid-century kitchen, I would walk on by.

Thank you everyone. I did not realize that some granites required more maintence than others. I thought granite was granite and the pricing differences were more the design and color aspects of the stone itself. I don't mind once or twice a year, I will have more than that with my island.

I do like granite and natural materials. I cook almost every meal from scratch, home can veggies & fruits from the garden, and do some pastry work now and then so I have a small granite slab now just for that. So the counter will get used... ALOT!

As far as building cost it will be between $300K and 500K, hopefully closer to 300. But a big piece of that is the driveway, septic, electric, water etc since it is 700 ft off the road cut into a hill. I don't care about re-sell so am not pressured by the norms that say I absolutely have to have granite for that price point. Though I do want a nice home.

I do love the farmhouse sinks, but pricing them made me cut it out, plus I was thinking I would be getting laminate which is not a good mix. Right now we are going with an extra deep drop in stainless. Unless I can afford the farmhouse, to me a sink is a sink, undermount doesn't excite me any more than drop in does so I let my husband have more of a choice in that one. And stainless are easy to keep clean.

(unless I have to cut from the final bid) My cabinets are going to be a natural hickory, floor will be acacia hardwood, the main counter will be either a granite or laminate depending on the granite choices. My center island will be distressed look, wainscotting on cabinet doors in a sage green with a butcher block top. Inspired from below photo. So yes I will need to make sure the colors in the granite will go with everything else.

FWIW, I love my under-mount sink. So much easier to keep clean than the raised ridge of a drop-in. The granite we have does not require much maintenance. It was sealed with a supposed 10 year sealer when installed. It's 6 years in, and there are a couple of areas around the sink that I think we need to re-treat. If you are going to stay there a long time, get something that you like (and can afford). Good luck on your build.

I HATED my stainless drop-in sink. That rim is always a nuisance to truly keep clean, and I found that in my hard water area, it was always water spotted. Getting my integrated white Corian sink (I already had white Corian countertops) was one of the best things I ever did in my kitchen.

I agree with annac54 on the drop in vs under-mount sink: it's so much easier to simply wipe counter-gunk into an under-mount than to deal with a raised ridge. No places for anything to get stuck, no edges to clean. Make sure you will enjoy whatever you get.

Your kitchen sounds similar to what we are butting in our new build - stained perimeter with granite, painted island with butcher block. Granite is still very much in around here. Quartz is making a push to be more popular in this area but I don't think granite will go anywhere. Definitely go look at what your tier 1 options are. I only found 1 tier 1 granite I liked but ultimately we upgraded a bit to get a granite I loved.

I second it-it is worth to get granite just for the undermount sink

While it may be true that you can risk hot shock fissures, and you should check out any material, I would love to see information on how commonly heat fissures might actually occur. I've done this literally thousands of times without issue. That said, I've also had "oven ready" stoneware crack apart in my oven at 350F from heat shock. Are heat fissures something that falls more into the realm of "manufacturers protecting themselves" (as we live in a litigious age in a litigious society) or something that has more than a 5% chance of occurring under normal temperature ranges (ambient house temp in the 68 to 75F range) in normal cooking situations (hot stove to ambient counter)? Because, while I've asked around, (that is, anecdotally) I've never spoken to anyone who actually had it happen. So I've never changed my behavior. Yes, it is a frequent occurrence or yes, it certainly can occur? "Happens when product isn't cured properly, has lots of retained water", etc.

About setting hot pans down on granite - I have done it occasionally with no harm. I just don't like to do it. I am actually more concerned that the hot pot or pan will itself crack against the granite than that the granite will crack. In any case, my method--ingrained in me by my mother in our '80s Corian kitchen growing up, and therefore nearly impossible for me to change--is to set hot things either on one of the range's unused burners, or to toss a thick potholder onto the counter and put the pot or pan on that. It's easy.

The only counter surface I know of that you can set hot pots down on with no worry is soapstone. I adore how soapstone looks and feels, but I am not comfortable that it can scratch and chip. Every counter surface has pros and cons.

My granite counters are not sealed and I don't baby them at all, and they look like the day they were installed. Other granites may be higher maintenance. Before making your choice, post the name and a photo of the granite(s) you are considering to get information on it.

I love my granite counters so much that I literally am reluctant to move for fear I won't find it again for a new kitchen. That's crazy, I know. :)

Some granites have different pockets or veins of other minerals. If a hot pot is set on them, they can burst or crack. I am sure one of the experts can expound on that. Some granites will be more prone to it than others. I have always used hot pads and trivets since I started out with laminate counters years ago which would get burnt. And I love my granite too much to risk ruining it. Using trivets is just a simple habit to get into.

At your pricepoint you could include quartzite in with the granites you look at. It's a little harder in some cases than granite and can give a more linear/flowy visual effect.

Quartzite

No, granite isn't "out". It isn't cutting-edge trendy like marble or quartz, but that's not the same thing as being "out". You received lots of good advice here already, and I think I'll be a bit repetative:

- Given that this is your forever house, go with what you personally like and will enjoy every day.

- Do consider how you personally cook. Hot pans, etc.

- If you're concerned about granite (or other stone) being cold, consider including under-slab heating.

- Don't buy any granite unless you go to the stoneyard and look at it personally. Slabs vary so widely.

- I recommend you stay away from laminate; I put it in 8-10 years ago, and I am not happy with how it's held up. In the spot where I prep all the time, I have lots of small scratches, and it's separating from the under-plywood over the dishwasher. I'm going to have to replace it again when I sell this house.