I just looked at a quartz at Arizona Tile called New Carrara with my sister. It is white and very subtle. I think it was on the cheaper end. I thought it was very pretty.

" Does anyone have any recommendations for a white countertop that isn't too busy, that is durable and that won't be the most expensive option out there?"

It's called "Corian".

This is probably 20 years old. Don't get the ogee edge and you won't have trouble cleaning.

Corian only works if you don't mind paying a premium for the look/feel of plastic. Yes, it's a great product and they have some beautiful choices that don't look plastic. But if you want stone and maintenance free, then opt for Quartz. Quartz is the manmade stuff. I have white quartz in the bathroom. Color is Aurora snow by Hanstone. No issues.

Thanks for all this info. I would prefer stone. New carrara looks very pretty, and I will check out the aurora snow. Does seem like it's more durable!

Maintenance free quartz? Sure just as long as you never set a hot pot on it, or permanently stain it.

Corian look/feel like plastic? Yes, some of the ones that mimic granite do, but not plain old white, matte finish Corian. And it's as close to "maintenance free" as any countertop material out there. This is a picture of a 32 yr old countertop with my new cabinets. "Plastic"? I don't think so!

Since I had a very similar question recently, and Corian was the answer, can I ask what it does look and feel like? The shiny white counter you have, Anglophilia? I know I need to get to the store to check it out, but I'm curious.

I had Corian in one of the baths in our previous home..it looks like a clean unpretentious soft white surface, pretty pleasant to touch and to look at. It cleans well..I'd say very well-given I had it in kids' bath and my then-teenage daughter had an abnormal amount of cosmetics and other stuff on the counter( four fifth of which she didn't need), and wasn't especially tidy with it too.

Quartzite is a very very good stone, very resilient..yes, definitely more expensive than Quartz.

I have Quartz for almost half a year now, and I baby it much more than I hoped to. It doesn't have any movement and is light colored..so it's understandable it needs constant attention..every crumble-you'll see it. you can also see seams more..it's very hard to make them completely invisible when the slab is so light colored (well or so I hope lol).

But color wise, that was the best choice for our kitchen. I spent months looking for the right color.

I didn't know this about light quartz -- thanks for the info!