I am building a new home and ultimately installed laminate. I am very happy with my choice. I have always known laminate and have never worked on anything else. We selected integrated Karran sinks (learned about them here from Joe, thank you!) and they look wonderful. In my market, level 1 granite was still more expensive than the laminate I selected. Laminate has a few levels of pricing as well so make sure you ask and understand what you are getting.

we're at the top of the home's price point for the area.

You answered your own question. Top price, thermofoil cabinets and laminate countertops. Makes no $$$sense to upgrade the counters. Replace laminate with laminate.

If it's in good condition I suggest living with it a while. I see nothing wrong with using granite with thermofoil cabinets. I don't have them but knew someone who did and hers looked great even after 15 years. Even at a minimum, would consider refacing and new doors before getting rid of them in the future, so long as the structure and layout are nice. Less for the landfills and lots cheaper reno.

There are some nice non-granite and non-laminate options available. I think the Corian (and newer brands) are a nice option. Lots of good looking styles and it's able to be relatively easily repaired.

"old school" laminates installed over 3/4" plywood with contact adhesive last pretty much forever... new laminates over particle board, not so much. I would not put them in sink area, personally, but that is because of my own sad experience with that :)

That being said, I had a "granite look" laminate and people asked me if it was granite... so nothing wrong with it from a looks perspective. Also knew a very very good craftsman who used a slate look laminate in the deep windowsills of an antique home-- fantastic!

Have a bit of fun! Life is complicated, decor doesn't have to be.

I was sooooo sold on replacing my very old, burnt, chipped, laminate countertops with new laminate. And getting an undermount sink.

A local countertop and flooring store was very snooty and said they don't sell laminate, only "box" stores sell it "and good luck with that" in a sarcastic tone of voice.

The box store was less than enthausastic. Said all the laminates were made the same, all the same quality, same price and you absoultely cannnot have an undermount sink.

The closest Karran sink store was less than enthausastic. He did have Karran sinks but something about they are acrylic and if you drop a sharp knife on them???? Or on the laminate??? It will chip??? He wouldn't recommend it?????

HELP. (Please excuse any typos...for some reason my computer suddenly won't spell check?)

If I give up....what's a realistically priced alternative countop material. I can afford the "good stuff", but we live in a simple house in a simple neighborhood. I have no desire to impress anyone and am not concerned about resale value.

You can have an undermount sink with laminate. My son does, and the installer did a great job. Laminate is not all the same. There are a few price points. The newer HD are very nice. For myself, I prefer an overmount sink, and I really do like laminate.

Wendycarol, you most certainly have a stainles steel sink under the counter with laminate. Not all laminate is the same. I have formica fx 180 and love it. I could of had any kind of counter top I wanted and still went with laminate. It is a work horse. My last house the laminate was 24 years old and looked as good as the day it was put in. For my current house I got mine at lowes and was very pleased with the service I received. I hate the feel, the care required and hardness of stone.

Ask yourself if you expect to replace cabinets (or reface) within 10 years. With house at top of market, if you do get new cabinets then good laminate cabinets (not from big box store) would be a relatively inexpensive upgrade.

Laminate countertops, especially High Definition, have texture and are nice. Avoid stone countertop if you expect to replace cabinets within 10 years.

HD laminate is cost-effective as DIY but in some areas labor can really jack cost up comparable to least expensive granite.

For my money, Corian is a huge upgrade for relatively little cost above HD laminate. Similar in cost to low end granite but more color choices.

https://www.wilsonart.com/ has some really cool laminates. In fact, just looking at their (new?) Teal Honeycomb high pressure laminate has me almost wishing I had done things a little differently. Not really, because I love what I have, but if I had seen that a year ago I might have a different new kitchen right now.

You just bought the house. Why are you concerned with selling it? Don't you plan to live there? Are you flipping it?

Laminates have come a looooong way since they were introduced. There are very lovely patterns and the price/quality ratio is good. I personally don't care for most granite and appreciate the ease free convenience of laminate.

Our FL condo had white laminate cabinets with avocado green laminate counters from the 70's. We DIYed the counter tops with a light stone-look laminate very inexpensively and are pleased with the result.

As mentioned above, wilsonart.com has a large selection, and a useful website.

Love that red retro counter posted! I had white thermafoil cabinets in my last house and installed wood counters from a home improvement store. They were warm, classic and beautifuL.I LOVED them and got many compliments. I posted pictures on this site back then. Good luck with your decision.

jij48, that red and white kitchen is one of my all-time favorites! I would love to do a kitchen in that style for myself or one of my clients!

Thanks, but still confusing. It was Lowes where the salesman was less than enthuestatic and claimed all the laminates were exactly the same? Absolutely no undermount sink. They carry Wilsonart and Formica????

I feel like sales people don't want buyers to go with the less expensive product so bad mouth laminate?

My spell check is still not fixed.

nothing wrong with laminate, if you chose the right color and it will serve you fro many years,

It was Lowes, who installed my sons countertop with undermount sink. Find another salesman or another Lowes. Sounds like the one you were in, was not the best place, and I would worry about ordering anything from there.

"find another salesman or another Lowes"-solid advice btw. I saw beautiful samples in ours..yes, of course they were more expensive, but they were really pretty. My favorites reminded fabric, a bit..)) and one was beautiful shade of green..

I wouldn't mimick stone, with laminate. But that's me

I like suggestions of butcher block too.

But frankly, for best suggestions, it's best to see your kitchen and how it corresponds to the rest of the space

And I second all who said to not be in a hurry

Thanks, fortunately I am not in a hurry. There is another Lowes not too far away.

I had worked in a showroom where we did some beautiful wilsonart laminate tops for our desks - granite is very cold on your hands...

People would walk in and always say how beautiful our granite tops were. We had to tell them they were laminate... Once they looked closer then they could see it.

The point here being, if it is beautiful to you then go for it! You just moved into the house why spend a ton of money when you can do something that is beautiful and pretty durable for less. Laminate had made major advancements over the years.

Please be cautious with refacing - it is way more costly than you think and doesn't last forever.

Here are the colors of the laminate:

Good luck!!

Laminate is a great product for its price point. In Maine there is only 1 laminate fabricator and they do not do the Karan sinks. So drop in sink it is. But you can get some nice drop in sinks. Elkay had one with a nice looking edge.

Debbi, what pattern is the top laminate, the light colored one? I like that one a lot.

I am in PA and was able to get the Karan sink. I got mine 4 years ago.

(Sometimes people suggest Corian as a cheap substitute for granite. It isn't actually cheap.)

So, Gail, what is your experience with laminate? If you've never had it before, live with it long enough to know if you want it again. Your fine crystal will appreciate it! If you like the way it works for you, get it again, preferably not in a stone look. If you know you'd rather have granite, get it, preferably in a stone look.

But you have the chance to test it out. Even abuse it! Then you'll know.

The lighter one is from WilsonArt and is called spring carnival. You can usually get samples from them. Formica also has beautiful colors. Sometimes the brand will matter with the fabricator you choose. The guy I use goes more with Wilsonart because it is easier fro him to get.

Good luck!

Debbi, I think we have a piece of lighter one, or at least incredibly similar, which is in our garage because we ended up not using it (was not for the kitchen, had a different space in mind)..I think my DH won't let it go, because he loves looking at it))

Thanks, Debbi.

The red and white kitchen with yellow walls that Diana Bier posted above is one of my favorites and was an inspiration for my kitchen renovation this year. Before renovating, I had 1950's birch plywood cabinets, 1990's teal laminate counters trimmed with oak, oak back splash, and yellow walls. I kept the 1950's cabinets and chose Formica Stop Red laminate for the counters which are trimmed in oak with oak back splash, Benjamin Moore Squish Squash yellow walls, and an Elkay large single bowl, drop-in sink. It looks fabulous and suits my 1950's modest ranch house.

I second everyone who says 'wait'. Give yourself some time to figure out your decor theme before you replace anything. Paint color, cabinet hardware, sink, lighting, tile, window treatments - you'll want to take all that into consideration before you replace countertops. Wait for sales. If you find a countertop material that you love that's high end but you can get it in within your budget why not? I planned on Corian but there was a ridiculous sale on Quartzite that made it only slightly more than the Corian. The installers were stunned at the price I paid per square foot. I also got some quality lighting for a fraction of the cost by checking prices on a regular basis. I now have a kitchen that I absolutely love. Our neighborhood doesn't warrant high end materials by any means but the actual cost made if feasible. Also, if it's Laminate you want try Home Depot. They had far more of a selection in every counter top type than our local Lowes and the sales people were friendlier. They also have an online estimator so you can compare the cost of different materials. Don't worry about sales people or installers fussing over your choices. The person that did the measure and the installers made some negative comments about my drop in cast iron sink. Apparently no one does that to Quartzite. I did and I love it. Lastly, consider posting some pictures of your kitchen. There are some talented designers here that can give you some great ideas that take your budget and tastes into account. I got some much needed information and wonderful suggestions here that helped me make design choices. Enjoy the process! It's not everyday you buy a new house.

We went with laminate in our kitchen and I love it. I do like granite but I just can’t justify the cost of it. Besides I can always replace later if I choose.

I have wood grain butchers block laminated work tops.. they are textured so they even feel woody ..never had a problem with it and a lot cheaper to change than granite etc!

to baldwilm, I'd love to see some pictures of your renovated kitchen! Are they in the "Before and After" section of Houzz?

following...

following...

Thanks for all your help. I contacted WilsonArt laminate products. They said undermount sinks with laminate could be done but the list of installers they kindly provided me with...none of them were very close by. So...I will re-read your replies and find out which counter top...Corian...quartz....whatever???? I will go with. My desire for an undermount sink tops my desire for laminate.

That seems to be a lot of money to spend in order to have an undermount sink! And undermount sinks were available waay before non-laminates became a thing, so I’m not sure why they would be mutually exclusive.

Non-laminate countertops have been so fashionable lately. And they have a lot of fans on this site, It’s a mystery to me why. The patterns make me dizzy.

I’m a laminate fan. In fact, some great contributors on another thread helped me pick a formica for my new house (yeppers, genuine Formica) that doesn’t look like my mother chose it. They picked a design and color I would never have thought of. I can’t wait to see it.

Go to Formica’s site and look at all their patterns. Go to Lowe’s or a building store and load up on free samples. I picked up, like 30.

If you have builders hedging on installing laminate, there’s something wrong with the builder. My builder orders the counters already built and sized. All his guys have to do is plonk the pre-cut pieces on the topless base cabinets, fix them in place and seal the joints (or whatever they do). This is not rocket science.

IMO, don’t worry what a future buyer might think. They are equally as likely to want to change the granite-quartz-corian stuff because they don’t like the pattern as they will be to swap out the laminate.

There’s something wrong with a realtor if s/he can’t sell a house to a client because it doesn’t have a fancy countertop...it’s so easy to remind said client not to be concerned, because “this is a great opportunity to get just exactly what you want.”

Use the money you save to add some nice features inside the cabinets. Like rollout shelves, Lazy Susan, pullout spice rack, a recycling station? These all would appeal to a future owner; more importantly you can enjoy them for you.

Hi Gail, We renovated our kitchen in the early 90's with thermafoil white cabinetry and solid white formica countertops. Everything was a clean white including the appliances and sink. Some people think solid white countertops are hard to keep clean. We found it just the opposite, because we could see any crumbs or places that needed cleaning.

The only exception to white was the Marmoleum floor that was Mediterranean blue. Even though it was a lower priced kitchen renovation, we always received so many compliments on it. It survived the activity of a family of 6 and a few cats who weren't supposed to be on the counters.

We kept this configuration until 2015 when it began looking tired. We needed a new countertop as it was dinged/chipped in some places and had some scratches that couldn't be repaired. The cabinet doors near the dishwasher were starting to buckle and swell from the dishwasher use. Our thermafoil cabinet doors could not be replaced with new ones (unavailable). A whole new cabinet with doors would have to be ordered and installed which was impractical. We considered granite countertops but reached the same conclusion as you. New granite countertops on inexpensive cabinets that had a limited life remaining made no sense.

In our case we have been in the house since 1986 and the property has appreciated.
With the kitchen cabs and counters at 15 years old of heavy family use, we made the decision to tear it all out at the same time-- thermafoil cabs and formica countertops all at once. At that point we put in our dream cu$tom kitchen-- but kept our marmoleum blue floor.

Any way, white cabinetry with solid white formica countertops worked well for us for many years. Good luck with your decision.

Gail, did you try contacting Formica. Maybe they have installers in your area since Wilson doesn't.

You guys are killing me. I had given up yesterday...was going to go with ???? whatever was of reasonable quality and not crazy expensive countertop. But just now I sent an email to Formica. Hope against hope they will give me a different answer than WilsonArt. Or I will try to convince myself I can live with a drop in sink and go with laminate. The wiping and cleaning around the edges of my current drop in sinks really bothers me. But maybe not 100's of dollars worth of bother? By the way. there is some confusion from replys. I have lived in this 65 year old house 13 years. Am just doing some upgrades, renovations, to please myself. Make some of the rooms a "gosh that makes me happy" place.

wendycaroleceleste, I think the confusion comes from the fact that the original poster had just bought their home, so commenters may be responding to them.

You might want to start a "dilemma/advice" thread and then hopefully comments will be more tailored to your situation :)

It would be great to see photos of your home and what you are trying to accomplish!

Update...Formica only recommends drop in sinks. But thanks for all the advice.

"wendycarolceleste

Update...Formica only recommends drop in sinks. But thanks for all the advice."

What??? That's nonsense. This is right from their website.

http://www.formica.com/en/us/advice-and-ideas/sink-options_undermount

http://www.formica.com/en/us/advice-and-ideas/laminate-countertops-love-undermount-sinks

I find that odd also. I have had my undermount formica sink for 4 years. I had no problems with formica installing it or problems with the sink itself. The first link Chessie showed is my counter top. I have a single bowl SS sink.

Countertops often work even harder than cabinets, so I think it's definitely better go with granite. You can find cheap options like single slab deals, or granite colors that are simply better priced than other granites but equally durable. For example, Santa Cecilia, Uba Tuba, Bianco Fiorito, and New Caledonia are significantly cheaper than Bianco Antico, Blue Pearl, or White Spring at our showroom.

Thanks for the other options Aqua, and all other responsers. I guess, obviously, it is possible to get undermount sinks with laminate. But I have given up the "good" fight. I will check out different granites, quartz, corians, etc. Thankfully my counterspace isn't huge, and it isn't even a matter of the cost. There were just a lot of things I liked about laminate. Oh well....I did try.

Did you consider the flush mount stainless sinks? They are top mounted but almost flat to the worktop. Here is a list of Blanco flushmount sinks, but I am sure other brands make similar.

https://www.blanco-germany.com/en/int/search/search_result.html

Oh no! Every time I decide to give up you guys reel me in! I took a quick look at the Blanco flush mount sinks. It looks very promising. Thanks so much.

Well....I took a quick look. The sinks were pretty expensive! Don't know if the savings on laminate with flush mount will be more or less than granite/corian/quartz and an undermount? I chatted with Blanco, asked about prices, and they said they'd get back to me.

There might well be other companies making flushmount sinks, but I am in the UK so hopefully some US members will be along soon to suggest a cheaper option.

Have you priced Corian or similar? Or try to get a deal on some basic granite. Is your space small enough for a remnant?