Here's an article from Formica about their IdealEdge that could be helpful. What "pattern" laminate are you considering?

Of the two IdealEdges Formica offers, ogee or bullnose, I prefer the bullnose. That said, if you want solid color and no pattern, I'd go for the Colorcore.

Thanks for the article eam, I will definitely check it out.

The one I'm strongly leaning towards is Wilsonart Spring Carnival.

https://www.wilsonart.com/spring-carnival-1876

also apparently there are now undermount sinks for laminate, that would also help the counter look less like laminate

Ok, pretty pattern. If you want to fool the eye into believing it is looking at actual stone, my observation is that most of the look-alike stones with lots of detail look like fake stone to me. The ones with fewer inclusions and less detail look more realistic. In fact the faux marbles are pretty spot-on - much more so than solid surface fax marbles.

I heavily considered the marble laminate, as I agree, it can make some look twice. For me personally though, the problem is finding beige/warm BS's that go with it. I've looked quite a bit, and I don't see much. My cabs are going to be grey brown, and white BS's are too cool for the warmth I want the kitchen to have.

Do you have any inspiration images? If not, google images of grey brown cabinets and laminate/stone counters and find some looks you like. Then worry about your bs choice.

I like your formica choice. I would go with a bullnose edge.

With an upgraded edge, and an undermount sink, installed, your laminate will be more expensive than a basic granite counter. And the granite will out perform the laminate for years.

Bummer.

eam, yes, I have lots of pics. I know the look and feel I'm going for, and it doesn't work with marble. But thank you!

Cpartist, thank you!

Sophie, that well may be, but I have a husband who wears hearing aids. He hates how the dishes clank together (how that sounds through his hearing aids), and he (and maybe me) would hate the sound of dishes and glasses hitting that granite. Sometimes, we have to pick what's best for all involved, not what's most cost effective. ;)

Yes, I have often found that an entry level granite like the New Venetian Gold used in this New Traditional kitchen to be very close in price to an installed laminate price. Especially when comparing an upgraded edge or other upgraded features.

In this case, the price difference between the two was the $300 that she paid for polishing the cutout for the undermount sink. If she had done a topmount sink, the two quotes would have been the same cost.

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Nice laminate choice - I really like it and the hint of warmth. not sure what your edge options are but if you can get something close to a pencil edge that would be my vote. Laminate is a great material and the "drawbacks" are overblown. I can't set anything from the stove top or oven on my quartz. Not sure about counter life with an undermount sink and I'd probably go top mount just to avoid issues (but you didn't ask that!). I hate (strong word) dishes clanking on my counters, too.

I like the Mitered Edge shown in this link, but it may not be as effective in a laminate that doesn't have veining like the pic - https://www.wilsonart.com/laminate-edge-options

I'm not at all knowledgeable about sound and hearing aides, but I wonder whether solid surface (Corian) might be quiet as well. Have you considered it and ruled it out?

I was actually going to get Corian, but for a couple reasons changed my mind to this Laminate. Thank you both for the suggestion though!

ogee edge would be my pick with your counter pick. I'd go for a more traditional/classical look with this one. Trend that way with hardware/faucet and stick with single drop in sink. Really pleasing somewhat classical look.

We have laminate, by choice, and put just a regular square edge on it. It looks nice, but it is a "marble" pattern and the veining does go around the corner in some areas.

The spring carnival is a beautiful top. I worked in a showroom where that was on display and everyone comment one how great it look THEN they realized once up close and touching it that it wasn't granite.... Get it with the crescent edge ( rounded ) - looks so nice...

Good luck!

beth09, yanno, that is something I actually never considered - the "noisiness" of stone counters vs my existing laminate. I swear there are always drawbacks to everything. :-) Here's hoping I don't wind up keeping a dishtowel on my counters!

Debbie, thank you for the suggestion! Nice to hear people found it pleasing. :)

Chess, I assume you are changing your counters in the future? I wouldn't worry, this noise issue does not seem to be of concern to the vast majority of people. ;)

hq, thank very much for posting the pics, and for your thoughts on the different edges. I really appreciate that. Your cabs and counter are very warm and pretty!

Look at how beautiful HQ tops are! I do agree that in many areas people wrinkle their noses at laminate, but when you can show them something like this it really helps!

housequester, I am coming back to thank you again. I was thinking about what I said to you about your counter and cabinets, how warm and pretty they were. And that hit me that that is what I was after when I originally started planning my reno over two years ago. (life got in the way til now) Back then I had said I wanted a warm and inviting kitchen. Your counter is warm, what I was leaning towards is definitely cooler. I love it, but it's not real warm. So I went to the big box store yesterday to get a sample of Wlisonart Autumn Carnival, which they didn't have and will have to send off for, but did get a sample of their Bianco Romano. I am thinking I like the Autumn better but we'll see. Either one would definitely go with the color stain I'm wanting on my cabs.

So thank you again for posting those pics. you were more help than you knew! :)

Beth09 I'm glad I could help. Another thing that helped me is my kitchen designer sent me to their fabricator, who showed me an entire slab of our laminate. It was good to see what it looks like as a whole; the repeat is very long and one little 1x2 chip doesn't necessarily represent it well. They also cut me larger samples about a foot square of a couple of them. I'm not sure if the big box store will be willing to give you their fabricator's name, but they might. We're in small town USA here so things might be different elsewhere.

I am in small town USA also, and I totally agree, you need to see a slab for best visual. I can't believe they even give out the 1x2's, they're a joke. However, they also had some that were 7x10.5 (though not in Autumn) and that helps. I will be going back today and will ask about seeing a slab. Not sure who I am going through yet, so if they can't help me, someone I end up with might be able to.

Thanks again!

Beth09, you can order samples for free from Formica and Wilsonart. I have a stack of 12" square, 5" x 7" chips, and even a few odd shapes from the local fabricator.

Idstarr, Could you post pics of your marble-look laminate??? We are settled on Formica's Carrara Bianco, but I am worried about edges and visible seams. We have a peninsula floating into the center of the room. The current laminate is bullnose, but it has a flat surface at the end of the peninsula. The local fabricator doesn't offer the curved edges on all sides. Ideal Edge looks like it is a mitered veneer glued to all exposed edges?

I have only ever lived in houses/apartments with laminate. I have spent time in vacation rentals with granite, and I really don't like it. Noise, coldness, keeping it shiny and streak-free... While I may still seek out a quote for quartz, I doubt that anyone can beat the $700 estimate for laminate (over 50 sf counterspace).

Our neighborhood definitely leans to expensive finishes in remodels and new construction, but we are doing this kitchen refresh for us. Honestly, I hate to put an expensive countertop on existing cabinets/layout. We completed two bathroom gut remodels in the past two years and didn't skimp on countertop materials (one Staron solid surface; the other marble), but my gut is not telling me to upgrade for the kitchen. If I receive an unexpected large infusion of cash in the near future, I will gut the kitchen and mix soapstone and butcherblock :)

Wow laminates have come a long way. I just looked through the WilsonArt catalog online, and it's quite impressive. I was poo-pooing laminate counters earlier this year, but little did I know how nice they can look now. I agree with them being a great budget-minded option. Frankly, mine are 23 years old and still look perfectly fine. If my budget was tight, I would have no issues replacing my counters with new laminate.

Here a a couple of photos of my sink counter edges. The "dark" line is much more noticeable in the photo (taken with flash) than in real life. At my last house, I touched up the edges with craft paint.

The edge you are seeing in the above photos is called a self edge or square edge. The laminate is applied to the front of the countertop build-up.

There are other edges as well - the one abbeycat was talking about is called a post from edge. Those tops come in straight lengths where the detail is only on the front - the sides will always be square:

Hope that helps!