For pure white Corian works. However, I wouldn't choose a Corian sink unless they have some newer less dated styles.

We’re about to put white Corian in our newly remodeled house. We had it in our last house and loved it even though it had some installation problems. I agree about the options for different shades of white. That was a big draw for me for sure.

You won't be sorry with Corian, especially in a solid white. Timeless, sanitary, repairable, and functional.

Thanks for this feedback! Super helpful. It looks like my original post got cut off and didn't quite display properly, but most of it posted... My final comments that got cut off were that I had wanted to take a little bit of a different path than my aunt and mom by using quartz, which I think could be beautiful if I find the right shade of white. But the more I struggle to find that shade of white, and the more quartz samples I view, the more appealing Corian is becoming (athough several folks in "the industry" have tried to steer me away from Corian, none of these naysayers really have cited any convincing reasons for their position, so i'm a little confused by their opposition to Corian).

I still would love to hear from others who have been in a similar situation in searching for a solid creamy white countertop (especially if they ended up finding a quartz they loved) or who otherwise have helpful thoughts and experiences to share! I really appreciate the helpful feedback so far.

Oh, also, we plan on doing a stainless undermounted sink as opposed to Corian sink. Thanks for that thought, BeverlyFLADeziner.

We went with white Corian last year, mainly thanks to Joe and a few others here at Houzz. Our family needed something nearly bulletproof and repairable, but also a softer surface than stone because of dropped dishes. I decided on solid surface before engaging a KD, and she was surprised when I told her we were doing Corian. I think she and the GC had their eyes opened a bit regarding solid surface (in a good way). A friend in the business was also surprised, and she said something like "let me look into Corian and get back to you. I think there is some kind of issue with it," but she never did get back to me. Maybe she couldn't find the mythical "issue" with Corian? Lol. And our neighbor, who is a cabinet/kitchen guy, and very fussy, said "I love this counter! What IS is?" when he saw it. I am so glad I went with it. We also did a SS undermount sink (Karran Edge, also recommended by Joe), and we love that too.

Our counters are Glacier White, which is probably cooler than what you want, but there seem to be plenty of creamy whites as well. I would order a bunch of samples.

Joseph, can one sand/buff/repair polished Corian? Just asking out of curiosity, as I'm sitting in a not open as of yet coffee/tea shop with such highly polished Corian counters. Absolutely beautiful! But my friend, the franchise owner, is worrying how it will hold up against tea stains and if they can be removed or sanded off.

Corian has five shades of white, one is sure to please you. A friend has a 45 year-old Corian kitchen countertop that has been refurbed to its original pristine state...great product.

We had Corian white countertops in a previous home. The color was called Glacier White. It held up beautifully for many years, and the current owners still have it. That's about 20 years. Glacier White might be whiter than what you want. I'm not familiar with their other whites but am guessing they have one that will work.

ETA - The one thing I had to be careful of with Corian was heat which was no big deal. The installers left trivets made of Corian for me, and even those held up well with heat.

Stains can be buffed or sanded out and the total top can be rebuffed to different finishes. It's great for white and off white. Not as perfect with actual colors as they have a tendency to look plastic and fake.

For many years it was used as counter surfaces in international airport restrooms. You can sand cigarette burn stains out of the edges.

I really like our Caesarstone Frosty Carrina quartz countertops with the dove white cabinets. It isn't solid white, but has subtle and warm veining.

"Joseph, can one sand/buff/repair polished Corian?"

Yes, but there isn't a tea on earth that's going to stain Corian.

The pictured gloss tops are pretty, but I wouldn't recommend that finish, especially for a commercial application. Matte or semi-gloss at the most, please.

I’ve never had either surface for a counter, but my mother in law got white corian counters in her kitchen right before hubby and I were married, so that was almost 27 years ago. Sorry, I don’t know exactly which white, but it’s a softer white, very pretty. Her counters still look brand new and she is not a meticulous housekeeper. I don’t know if she’s had the entire counters sanded before or if it was just spot sanding, but I know she’s had at least that done, I just don’t remember why she had it done. She certainly doesn’t baby her counters.

The kitchen at my office has white Corian counters, and I can vouch that they seem impervious to coffee an tea stains.

Okay - the "queen of Corian" will now add to this conversation. In 1984, I had Glacier White Corian countertops installed in my kitchen over old kitchen cabinets that we painted. Fast forward 19 years, and we added an integrated large Corian sink. It's the best sink I've ever had and I cannot imagine how anyone could call a large, single sink "dated" looking. It's SO easy to keep clean and water spots don't show like they do on stainless (I live in a hard water area).

Fast forward again to 3 years ago. I finally decided to get new cabinets and move my refrigerator. I still loved my white Corian countertops and had no desire to replace them. I found a Corian fabricator who came and removed them (and the countertop with the integrated Corian sink in it), and later re-installed them. He had to shorten one countertop as the refrigerator is now on that wall. He had to add a new 5' countertop where the old 24" butcher block one and the refrigerator had previously been. He also had to repair a chip on the countertop edge caused when a huge chunk of plaster from the soffit that was being removed, hit the edge which had not be properly protected by the idiots doing the work. I have a general idea where the chip is but can't find it exactly.

I could not be happier. I LOVE my Corian countertops! They wear like iron and I think will still be looking good long after I've become "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust". The sink is spotless. My DD also had Glacier White countertops and the same integrated big single sink installed about 12 years ago. This is in a house with a very mess SAHH and two boys. If they can't destroy Corian or stain it, it just plain can't happen. Hers look like the day they were installed.

Corian fell out of favor in the US for residential use many decades ago. There were fabricators who were doing a poor job installing it. So Corian pulled all the licenses and required that ALL installers of Corian be re-certified. This happened just about the time granite first showed up in kitchens. Many former Corian fabricators did not bother to become re-certifed and jumped on the granite bandwagon and badmouthed Corian.

Corian never stopped being used in commercial installations in the US and is widely used in hospitals due to it's anti-bacterial properties. It has never lost favor in the UK and Europe as it has and still is considered a very custom, luxury product. Many highly contemporary houses have fully custom Corian sinks - it can be made in virtually any shape.

Now quartz is displacing granite as the "countertop du jour". It's a nice product but it has it's limitations and is very costly. Of course, marble is also popular but few people like it after even a few months, let alone a few years. In the US, "patina" is not a valued attribute - we want "out-of-the-box" perfection. Of course, Corian does exactly that...forever!

Here are a few pictures of my kitchen with Glacier White Corian.

This is the "new" piece of Corian that was installed 3 years ago. I think my countertops are semi-gloss and have now have a patina that makes them a bit more matte, which I prefer. I like my hardware/metal in my kitchen shiny, but not my tile (honed white Carrera marble large subway tiles) or my countertops.

To me, it's the best countertop out there. One can change the color scheme in the room and the cabinets will continue to work. It's like a really great white blouse - goes with jeans, goes with a velvet long skirt.

I tried for months to find a white quartz with a very subtle hint of color or pattern, but could never fully embrace the simulated nature look. I found myself gravitating toward a classic, solid white, and Corian would have been my choice because of all the positive things I've read here. I ended up choosing a busy granite instead (oh no!), but still sometimes daydream about Glacier White Corian.

I love all of these good thoughts and pictures! Thank you all! Stillpitpat, drsaj, and anglophilia, it is so helpful to see your pictures - thanks so much for sharing. The history on Corian is very interesting, angliophilia... Drsaj, the last time I was in the countertop store, I had my mind set on solid white, but I spotted frosty carrina right before I left. I was in a hurry that day, but I’m going to go back and look at it again. It is so pretty in your kitchen. I also love that classic white Corian look - I need to go take a longer look at the white options in person. I have a small sample of cameo white, which I think could be a good match for our cabinets (I love glacier white - I think that’s what my aunt has - but it’s too bright for our cabinets). I’m very thankful for this great forum to glean so much helpful info. Thanks again.

Anglophilia, I just reread your comment again. “Long after I’m ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” That made me chuckle. I believe it. My aunt’s glacier white was installed twenty-five years ago and looks great still.

Get samples of whatever you are interested in and test them at home. There was a white quartz I was interested in, but when I tested it against my corian sample, there were a few things that stained/marked up the quartz which I couldn't remove, but I was able to remove all marks from the corian. I don't remember which things stained the quartz, but I tested a bunch of foods and drinks, and also sharpie, pencil, silverware marks, and dish marks (I have kids). I want to say that silverware left marks on the quartz, but I can't quite remember.

For those of you with white corian, would you use it in a kitchen or bath in a rental? This is a short term rental in a resort town. I’m loving the look but am concerned about someone putting a hot pot or flat iron on it. I’ve never lived with corian so am not sure how it would hold up in that situation.

Please be sure to check out wilsonart.com and see the solid surface color called Designer White. Compare it to Luminous White and you will see it is slightly warmer.

Wilsonart sends out free samples of their solid surface offerings rather quickly!

I love my Wilsonart brand countertops in both bathrooms, which I had installed about 2-1/2 years ago. I've never been sorry I selected solid surface (Corian is just DuPont's brand name for it). I nearly installed quartz, and no offense to it, but I just didn't care for all the hype.

And this is the one I got with slight mirror flecks called Morning Ice. Perfect for my needs :)

"I have a small sample of cameo white, which I think could be a good match for our cabinets..."

I was looking at Corian's whites online and thought Cameo White looked like a possibility for you.

We renovated a kitchen and used thick white quartz. This was around 9 years ago when the stark white kitchen trend was first coming in. It looked beautiful and no major problems, although we did get a 1cm chip on the sink. Not sure how - must have been regular pots and pans going in.

Then we renovated a kitchen 4 years ago and used glacier white thin corian in the master bath (including integrated sinks) and kitchen island. No problems with either in the three years we lived there. I also think the corian look is a bit more contemporary than quartz right now.

My mom has had variations of white corian counters in two homes (main house and beach house) for 25 years with no issues. They definitely look older than my newly installed corian -- sort of have a buffed look from years of scrubbing. But no chips, stains, etc and look far more timeless than most of the other counters that were installed in that era (ask me how i know.... our current house was renovated in 1999 and the granite counters are a brutal standout).

I’ve had .wilsonarts white solid surface for 25 years, in my kitchen and all 3 bathrooms. I use a medium 3m scrubbie on it to get out some stains, cranberry juice, red wine, iced tea, and brown hair dye. ( not recommended to drink red wine while using brown hair dye). Bar keepers friend also works, as does a magic eraser.

Regarding stains mentioned by ladma : These days you'd have much less worry about solid surface! I had done some research on solid surface before proceeding in 2017. The bonding material was polyester way back when, whereas now it's acrylic. Though it may sound like no big difference, I can confirm it truly is.

My counters don't have the older solid surface (somewhat plastic-y) look or feel to it. Mine don't feel like quartz though either, which I'm more than OK with. It feels hard and solid, yet not brittle.
I recently hit the edge of my vanity quite hard with a blunt object, and I looked to be sure there was no hint of chipping. I needn't have worried a half second!

Kid sis put creamy white Corian with integrated sink in her first home in the late ‘80s IIRC. it has been a rental since around 1995, gone through several tenants — kids, lunatics, alcoholics, you name it. (The property rental biz can be ugly.) Despite it all, those countertops are still pristine! I have had quartz in my last two kitchens and love it, but nothing looks as creamy and elegant as Corian.

Beautiful!

@K R Are your cabinets BM White Dove? looking for a solid white for a bathroom. Thx!