I didn't read your entire post. I think a photo would help us figure out what to do.

Here's a general picture of the kitchen in question

@eld6161

Just posted one, we're currently not in the state where the new house is, so the pic is all I can provide for the time being! Thanks!

(This is to bump up on forum)

Corian isn't in vogue any more, but it stands up well to most wear and tear. You do need to remember a hot plate, as it will burn. General uses scratches can be buffed out.

Only some of the engineered quartz patterns have the "sparklies" in them, and I see a lot of options with very little pattern if that is what you are looking for

https://www.silestoneusa.com/color/blanco-maple/

https://www.silestoneusa.com/colors/

Ceaserstone organic white is simple but not boring. It has nice depth to it.

You'll have to see what the expenses are in your area after you get there, but I would do a quartz or granite on the counters with wood on the island. These materials won't go out of style if you do fairly neutral and will hold their resale value. You have a nice big kitchen! I'm sure you're excited:)

If that was my house and I was thinking about remodeling, I would research into the expense of taking out the island and replacing it with a rectangular one that wasn't at an angle.

I love the idea of doing something neutral on the perimeter and going a little fancier on the island.

I am a hold out, love my granite, sealing it is super simple. This is the second house I have owned with granite, these counters are about 12 years old and look new, we do not baby the granite at all. It has survived through kids and teenagers without a blemish. While granite is not as uniform as quartz many varieties come close. The only negative is a dark granite really shows dust but the lighter and mid tone counters seem to hide it. When we were househunting for our current house I saw several stained quartz countertops, that alone gave me pause in considering quartz for a bath update. Unable to give you granite pricing as I know it has come down in price quite a bit since we put ours in, also pricing is very dependent on your area and the type of granite chosen.

Nobody has mentioned budget. Your kitchen is pretty big, so I'm guessing you should save up $2-4k before you go shopping. If you fall in love with something fancy, you can sometimes save money by either (a) putting fancy on the island and plain on the periphery, or (b) doing fancy for your main counters and then something like butcherblock on the island (which would also be good if you might change it to a more useful island shape/design later). But a nice quartz can easily run you $80/sf installed (up to $120/sf if you want the most cutting-edge option), so you can measure and see what you're looking at.

Live in the house for a while and get a sense of the overall style/décor you're going for. Then visit stone yards and pick a stone that fits your long term vision. Check out different Granites, quartz, and Corian products... Prices vary greatly.

I have a kitchen on the smaller side and I paid $3500 for a mid grade granite and I'm in the Midwest. The cheapest granite option I found was 3k and this was over 5 years ago.

I'd set aside 4-6k if you want quartz or mid grade granite. Otherwise there is Chinese granite that is cheaper. Corian isn't cheap either.

I think the 4-6k range is about right. I'd go with a quartz if it were me, but it certainly won't be cheap. Corian wouldn't be bad. If you don't want shiny, some of the quartz options come in a leathered type finish. I love those non-shiny finishes.

I love my tile counters, grout and all. If I ever remodel, I'll do tile again, but am thinking I'd go with large format tiles, maybe that would be an option for you? With the advances in types of grout, it can be much easier to maintain.

I love my quarts counter tops, but I guess they were not cheap. I think I have about the same amount of counter space that you show, and mine cost about $4400 in Los Angeles. You can redesign the shape of the top of the island when you get new tops, and this could include an overhang to allow for stools, if you do not already have that option.

What does the floor look like?

I have had quartz a year and it looks as good as the day it was installed. Originally, I kept my small island butcher block, but recently had the quartz installed on the island.

I live in Iowa and went through Menard's - which was not any cheaper. The quartz was not as expensive, but I had to find my own installer and his charge plus the quartz was probably about the same as at a kitchen and bath store - but none of my local K and B stores had the quartz.

I love it - I grew up using hot pads. I had laminate before and while it had become somewhat worn looking in 18 years, it did not have any burn marks on it, so I think I am safe from habits that would cause me to scorch my quartz:)

I spent $5000 total on perimeter counters (31 sq. ft - about $2000) plus a Kohler Whitehaven "short apron" cast iron farm sink for standard sink cabinet ($960), new faucet and backsplash and labor ($1300). I installed the backsplash myself so saved some labor there. The island was an additional $1000 (quartz, labor, supports).

I grew up in Nebraska and much of my family lives there. They have found reasonable prices for labor.

It is an older kitchen:

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/57579129/thumbs/my-pics-work-in-progress

Surprisingly, Warren Buffets home in Omaha is very modest.

I agree with the other voices that you might want to live with this kitchen for a while before making any decisions. I inherited Corian countertops when we bought our house last August, and my first instinct was to rip them out immediately. Budget didn't allow it, though, and now that I have gotten used to them (and bought an island with a stainless top for hot things), I am finding that I don't mind them quite so much (although Corian will never be my favorite material). I'm now willing to wait until I can afford to do the whole kitchen the way I want, rather than just replacing the counters as a stop-gap.

Anyway, a few more photos of your kitchen with better lighting and showing some other angles would probably help us make suggestions. I am inclined to agree with the others that I would want to move/change the shape of that island at a minimum, before doing anything to the counters. Have you decided upon a paint color, backsplash or anything else that you would want to coordinate with your countertop material? Also, budget?

I agree that you should live with it for a bit and see if the kitchen works for you as it is laid out. If you think that you might ever want to change it, investing in stone countertops on existing cabinets can be a waste of money. Figure as a ball park price for granite or quartz at $75.00 sq ft installed, and also add in labor for removing and disposal of the old tops and some plumbing help if you're not handy and able to disconnect & re-connect the sink, and also price a new sink and faucet. Then add a tile backsplash and you could be in for $8,000.00 - $10,000.00 when it's all done. (I'm in the expensive northeast, and Nebraska could be different) See what the rest of the house needs and live with the laminate for a while -- I know it's not HGTV-worthy, but it's a very practical countertop.

Quartz sounds like the perfect material for your new home! Quartz is durable, strong, scratch/stain/etch resistance and incredibly low maintenance. While you should still use a hot pad anytime you want to move hot pots or pans onto the counter top it is one of the strongest materials possible. Another plus with Quartz is that the material is manufactured so the color and pattern is consistent throughout the piece. I completely understand the desire to have a counter without the crystal sparkles through it and luckily Quartz has thousands of color and pattern options available and you can easily find one without them in the desired color. Quartz has quite the range of prices as well so you should easily be able to find one to fit in your budget; they typically range anywhere from $75/sq ft. to $150/sq ft and up depending on quality, cut, edge, color and if it mimics more exotic or elegant materials like marble.

Steel thyself, this is a long post!

Paint is SW light french grey, trim will be white, floors are Shaw floorte plank in teak. Those things have been decided on

(image is carpet and paint choice) (image is plank)

I wish that there were more photos from different angles and such for the kitchen that I could post, unfortunately we've been doing this whole process with the mister going back and forth between SoCal(where we live now) and Nebraska (where we're moving to) and lots of iPhone facetime between he and I for making these decisions other than when I was out for the initial day for property showings that resulted in submitting an offer for the house.

The cabinets are upgraded solid wood, we plan to add pulls/knobs ourselves - it's easy enough to DIY and we already have the necessary tools/template just need to buy the hardware itself (and the color is a wee bit deeper cherry than the photo shows, these are in the bathroom but same style/mfg and color are in the kitchen.) We've scheduled the painters and the replacement of both floors and carpet to be done between closing July 26th and move-in August 5th; delaying the latter since the closing on our present home isn't until August 3rd.

The sale of our current home is allowing us to buy the new one outright and have enough left over for the carpet/paint/floors plus a few furnishings to replace what we're leaving behind due to the condition or quality counting against adding their weight to the total being moved. The mister and I agreed we would live with the hideous flat beige laminate until we have had the time to settle in and add the category to the monthly budget so we set aside funds until they equal 2/3rds of the total cost at minimum. I just got information on what our tax liability and so forth is expected to be and boy am I happy - not nearly as much as I was anticipating but that doesn't mean I'm going to turn around and go wild with the spending. :P I'm not opposed to waiting and saving with the intent of buying something more expensive as long as it's quality. In terms of residential real estate though, one can buy marble and exotic hardwoods, have them installed in their home, but when the home in question is in a neighborhood that prices in the middle range for that area - even if you plan to live in your house till you die in it at a ripe old age - your high end upgrades and their $$$$ cost aren't going to result in equivalent return on investment when/if you decide to sell.

I'm also kind of lazy - if one were to measure my desire to scrub grout with a toothbrush it would be below 0. I clean the house (with the mister doing his fair share) to keep it from being disgusting and maintain for our benefit as much as to not be horrifically embarrassed should anyone randomly drop in. I've lived enough years to recognize how much I can expect from myself when it comes to tasks I only do because I have to do them - laundry, because not wearing clean clothing is disgusting; scrub the toilet, because not doing so is EW; keeping the counters free of bits of food and crumbs, because ants or worse (shudder). I could convince myself that I will always get my counters properly sealed, that I will never forget a cutting board, that the mister will never ever despite my constant reminders, put a hot pyrex dish on the counters - but in reality I know that all of these things are very unlikely. :P

Some questions:

What is the difference between 'solid surface' and laminate?

If one doesn't choose some sort of stone or stone composite material for counters, would having the project done through one of the big box home improvement stores still be a terrible idea?

What the heck is dekton?

Are all the 'grade A/level 1' granite from the brown/black color family? What makes the visuals in low end granite have less 'movement' than the exotics - they all look pretty busy to me!

Does anyone have suggestions for a countertop material that has white with a cool undertone no other colors in it, and/or one that is white (cool undertone) with very minimal grey or blue?

If I were to go basic on the counters (I suppose I could do them in a white laminate...) and fancy on the island how does one phrase that one wants to see 'remnants/leftovers'? If a certain one is being discontinued but from the exotics (think one with any sort of blue in it) or is left over from something else, would it still be a way of lowering total material cost? I would be more comfortable with less costly materials but I want to pay people fairly for their time doing the work, not skimp.

I'm a white Formica person myself but I wish you lived next door to me. We could have so much fun because we think so much alike.

Solid surface usually refers to a material like Corian or Corian knockoffs. Corian gets high marks from the forum's master countertop repair guy, Joseph Corlett because he finds it one of the easiest surfaces to repair and renew. It is a man made material.

I live in an ordinary middle class neighborhood - homes built in the 70's with some refreshed and some not. Many are replacing the laminate with granite and quartz, some keeping original cabinets, some doing a whole gut job on their kitchen. I have friends with granite, quartz and laminate - all seem to find them reasonably easy to maintain.

There are a ton of choices. Once you get settled, you can pop into local kitchen and bath stores to see what they have and what's on display. Every time you run to a home center store, look over their kitchen displays and countertop choices. Often, whatever is at a home center store is also at a Kitchen and Bath store too. If there is a place that is an actual stone place that fabricates the counters on site, you can ask them about remnants. If you are in a rural area, that might not be an option unless you are willing to get in the car and take a road trip. My neighbor got her quartz through Home Depot and I got mine through Menards. We are both happy with how everything went. Others will complain that things did not go well with a big box store. You can always ask for the store to provide references for the installers - though as I mentioned, Menards does not install.

If you get some samples and want opinions - there are plenty here who will offer one:)

You do have warm toned cabinets and that will come into play. Before you hop too much on the gray trend, spend a winter in Nebraska. One reason that trend is not as popular here in the midwest is our gray winters. We tend towards warm, cozy interiors unlike sunny, hot areas of the country that like a cool interior.

Dekton is actually pretty cool. In my mind, it is kind of like one big piece counter-size piece of porcelain tile. It is thin like tile (as opposed to thick like granite or quartz), but no grout lines. We considered it for one of our outdoor kitchen areas.

I know most people like warmer colors there, try as I might I just can't get into warm color palettes. We're going to be in the Omaha area (Elkhorn). The wood cabinets are a really awesome thing to have found a house with, after living in the current place since 2003 (bought in 2002) I can say that the first regret that comes to mind is the painting of both the kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Once you paint you have to continue painting over those unless you want to spend $$$$ sanding, staining, and finishing - or move. Guess which one made more sense to us. ;)

@Imhappy&Iknowit

The mister worries that we'll stand out as formerly from SoCal, and swore that the guy at the flooring store sighed several times in an exasperated manner while we were face-timing on our iPhones so I could tell him what options to get samples of for a 'photo shoot' at the new house. (By photo shoot I mean he painted the various paint colors I'd selected to swatch onto scrap drywall, carpet samples, floor samples, and then took them all into each room at different times of day, took pictures, and sent them to me.) I feel somewhat bad that the seller had taken the time, as well as the expense of painting and new (*BROWN!*) carpet, before putting the place on the market. All of that just to have it painted over and ripped out to replace. :P

If I *did* swap out the beige for white laminate, would it be ridiculous to then also have a backsplash that is moderately fancy plus a moderately fancy island top? To pull the look together?

@Smit2380

My worry is that having a continuous run like the kitchen countertop area with a material as thin as porcelain tile, it would be challenging to fix should a crack or chip develop without doing ALL of it over again.

Given the parameters you state regarding your desire to clean and the likelihood of your husband putting a hot pan on the counter, I would go with granite, no question. It is the easiest-care countertop I have ever had (out of formica, tile, and now Corian and stainless). The whole sealing thing with granite is MASSIVELY overblown, IMO - I had mostly-white granite counters in my co-op, which were sealed when they were installed and then maybe one other time in the 10 years I had that kitchen, and I never had a single stain. I am a messy cook, too, and I cook with a lot of high-stain-potential ingredients (think turmeric, red wine, etc.). Just make sure you stain-test samples of your contenders to make sure you get one that is relatively stain-resistant naturally, and you should be good to go. Are you 100% positive you want solid WHITE, or are you willing to consider other colors and/or white with some speckles/movement?

I would like honed granite in the space or a subdued quartz, not sparkly & not pure white. We LOVE our quartz & find upkeep easy. I also am the unusual person who still likes laminate, but with your other finishes, I can see a quartz with maybe a light grayish/whitish tone. Let us know when you decide!

Ideally solid white, but I am not opposed to some speckles/movement as long as it's not a lot. :)

@blondanonima

With stain testing, I'm finding a lot of places that I email about samples are only willing to provide fairly small pieces so far. This may be due to the fact that they would have to mail them to me in SoCal from Omaha area though.

I wish I had the ability to photoshop (or similar) the paint I'm going to use and swap the color on the counters currently for white (@Flo Mangan, paging Flo if she's not busy please!). My tastes lean towards classic and simple, when it comes to granite and other 'busy' counter top materials there's just too much movement for my preferences!

Not being able to get samples is all the more reason to wait until you're in the house to make a decision ;) There is also massive variation in natural stone from slab to slab, so it's entirely possible that you may find something you really like at a local stone yard that you would never have thought of from looking at online samples.

Oh I know that the actual decision will have to wait until we're moved in, plus at least a couple of months - but that doesn't mean I shouldn't investigate the options and do some basic cost assessment so I have an idea on how much we need to save for the project. When I don't have any clue about what I want for a space I always feel like I'm wasting the salesperson/contractor's time by having them show everything they have in all colors, all materials and them stuck hoping I spot one I want.

Omaha has the biggest big box store I've ever seen in my life - Nebraska Furniture Mart. While we chose a smaller business for our carpet and flooring we might end up at NFM to look at counters.

We've written an article that covers the pros & cons of the top 10 most popular kitchen countertop materials - Butcher Block, Ceramic Tile, Concrete, Laminate, Stone, etc - you might find this helpful in answering some of the questions above :)

http://www.futurofuturo.com/kitchen-countertop-materials

Preview:

You might also want to check out the section "Countertop - what profile should I choose?" in our "Six Questions To Ask BeforeStarting Kitchen Remodel" article.

I have just selected Caesarstone Blizzard for my kitchen countertops. I tried so many samples and looked at so many slabs. Finally narrowed it down, and we all agreed the Blizzard looked the best. In the pictures on the Caesarstone website, Blizzard appears to have big spots in it, but in truth the "spots" are extreme minute and not seen at all. Blizzard is a slightly warm white quartz. I am so happy about having the final selection made. Am going to have the edges ogeed.

YOu're getting in too big a rush here. Live with the kitchen for a while and see if the layout works for you. The kitchen looks dated - I would never put $5000-7000 worth of countertops in a dated house.

I'm another fan of Corian, preferably white Corian. It is bullet proof, always looks great and never looks dated. No, it is NOT popular in residential use in the US these days - it is mainly found in hospitals and restaurants. But in Europe and the U.K., it is considered a very high end material and is used extensively. Granite knocked it out of favor and then Quartz. The main reason was DuPont's requirement that all fabricators be re-certified. There were some bad installations about 25 years ago. It was easier for the fabricators to just start installing granite and later, Quartz.

I've had the same countertops now for over 32 years. I kept them when I redid my kitchen last year. I love the clean, simple look, and I adore my integrated large single Corian sink. I'd never part with that!

One person's 'dated' is another person's 'classic'.

The cabinets were installed in 2013 so it's not as though they're ancient relics.

This is not dated and definitely not dated in Nebraska:)

I am not making fun of my home state. Midwesterners tend to be practical and like solid, long lasting materials. There are plenty of painted kitchens too including my grandmothers - dates back to 1920, but the idea that one would spend tens of thousands of dollars just to be "on trend" is not a Midwestern trait. Last year I saw a local cabinet maker loading up his truck to deliver brand new custom made cabinets - with cathedral arches on the doors:)

I now live in Iowa, and see lots of people simply putting new countertops on their old oak or other wood cabinets (that are still in good condition) because they like their sturdy wood cabinets - even the women.

I don't know how stain resistant this granite is, but this is a pretty kitchen - wood cabinets with light granite:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/finally-finished-with-kitchen-updating-dsvw-vd~4512247

Oooh that is a pretty kitchen!

My parents bought an empty lot and had their home built on it when they moved to Nebraska, with the options they chose and the location it is considered on the higher end for the region - even with just 3 bedrooms and three bathrooms (plus office). California would price the square footage in the range of 1 million in a 'just ok' neighborhood. My parents have never been much for remodeling to stay 'on trend' - durable, attractive, and for the long term is their approach.

In a sense, it's also mine.

Jennifer, I don't see it as dated either. And I live in New York. :)

I'm another one who can not throw out perfectly good cabinets. It has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with I'm just not going to throw out perfectly fine wood cabinets. If they were damaged, or broken, or so cheap they're starting to come apart at the seams, then sure.

I bought a beach home (2nd home) and I'm struggling with this same dilemma. The counters are worn. The cabinets there are fine. So I'm having new granite put on top of my "dated" cabinets, will put a fresh coat of paint and a new backsplash in and will call it done, and be perfectly happy.

I like granite. I also like Corian. I've had both and they each have their pros and cons. I second (or is it third?) the advice to just go shopping. Look at the various options, touch them, and hopefully it will help you decide.

But I salute you for not worrying about "dated." Heavens above that concept irks me. If someone personally cares about "dated", then that's fine and people can offer opinions about what is dated for hours on end. But nothing about your post indicated you cared about that concept, nor that your cabinets were garbage and needed to be replaced. Bless you for accepting somewhat rude commentary with such aplomb. :)

I agree that shouting "Dated! Get rid of it!" is not productive.

But, I do think, as I and others mentioned above, considering a minor layout tweak like moving or modifying the island is worth consideration. Just because something is old and functional doesn't mean it can't be made more functional and attractive.

If the fix is a small percentage of your budget why wouldn't you at least consider it?

I actually like the island for the side you can't see in the photo (again, wish I could provide additional photos but I'm not even in the same state as my new house and the mister wasn't able to get in there for long enough today as the seller and her daughter are busy packing things up. He's coming home after meeting with his new employer, going to be on a late flight so he probably won't get in until after midnight.)

The other side is storage cabinets and drawers. Finally I'll have a kitchen that ALL of the cabinets are accessible and functional. Where we live now, there's a cabinet next to the stove/oven with this really narrow door but it's as deep as the breakfast bar area and is right next to the cabinets under the sink. Not even someone with very long arms could manage to reach all the way back into the huge but mostly useless thanks to the small door opening of said cabinet. It's ridiculous.