I'm not sure about the durability of laminate countertops (never dealt with it).

I personally prefer the non-intrusive (less veining), but you are the one that has to live with it. :)

FYI - I would NEVER recommend (or shop at) Home Depot for your granite choices.

You might want to go to a couple of Slab Stores and check out actual granites. You might be surprised at the choices you'll have and actually find them affordable.

Thank you :) I’ll go to a few and check them out. The quartz price quote was from one through the measurements & design sketches but hopefully one of the other places will have something in my price range. I just really hate speckled patterns and also am not a fan of brown.

Also, just saw the other comment. Definitely check into some granite at a slab store. They are typically cheaper now than quartz. You may find something you like within budget.

@Junk Salvation- great point. I wish the photos could do the flooring justice but sadly they don’t :(. In person they look so much prettier but I agree very busy since it’s 4 different shades of wood and grain patterns.

LaDonna - I think you are turned off from granite because of the options you found at HD. You'd be surprised to find that not all granite is speckled or brown. :) :). Even though we've already purchased, and installed, our quartzite countertops...whenever I go to a Slab Yard/store, I ALWAYS take a walk through the granite and quartzite slabs. Most look like gorgeous paintings.

I’m for sure going to check around now. I know our cabinets are from Home Depot so just looked at their selection so far except the one quartz online. Our Home Depot has everything in grades. Like grade A is the lowest price per category, grade B is higher and so on. The laminate color is grade C in the laminate section so $30 a square foot installed ($24 during sales) and Their lowest granite they had looked really bad. It was about $33. I’m hoping a stone yard will be better.
Main goals with the countertop are:

1. Durable & will last
2. Budget
3. Pretty
4. Not speckled/busy or brown.

I know my strong thoughts on brown probably seem strange but I have reasons haha. When we first bought our house 7 years ago the walls were painted prison grey (small home) and it felt like walking into a cave. I had the walls painted what I thought was white (paid for bright white) but they used cream (long story). Well the furniture like couches and such we bought to try to go with the messed up paint were brown. Next thing I know the entire house had brown everywhere. About a year and a half ago I finally got fed up with it all and started painting myself. That turned mudding/painting all the walls in the house (& laid new floors)except the spare 3 rooms (they are next). Built our own custom sized master bathroom vanity, new sinks, faucets, lighting. Spare bathroom was pretty much gutted and re built. Kitchen is currently 98% gone. I ripped all the cabinets out except 2 (sink & over stove) and we are buying the new cabinets now (a few per month). I have 2 in there right now. They are the unfinished ones which I’ll be staining.

LaDonna - You don't have to explain your reasoning for liking - or not liking - anything. I get it. I went through the 'brown phase' myself. It made the space heavy and dark. So I get it.

I'm familiar with bot HD and Lowe's countertop selections. A few years back hubby and I roamed it in hopes of replacing our 'then' 6 x 6 beige tiles in the kitchen. Their prices stunned me (although they had a pretty huge selection to choose from).

There are very affordable slab stores/yards to the top of the line. Not sure where you're located, but in our area seems that the affordable ones typically either carry the less attractive/popular slabs, or the 'rejects'.

We shopped multiple places within a 70 mile range, and fell in love with one slab after another, but ended up making our purchase at one of the top stores in the area (known for both their inventory as well as their customer service). Def. way above what we had budgeted, but as they say 'love is blind'! :)

Disclaimer: The killer with natural stone is not only the price of the stone but as well cost of fabrication (which can most often be the same price, per linear foot, as the slab is per sq. foot.

I'm not trying to sway you one way (away from laminate), or another (towards natural stone), rather want you to consider ALL your options prior to making your final decision knowing that HD is not the best, or only, place for countertops!

Keep us posted!

Laminate is a fine choice for counter tops. I had them in my kitchen for over 25 years and they held up very well. My issue with your selections is that you are looking at a very small sample. You could be wildly disappointed when you view either of those patterns on a large scale. Can you see a larger sample? Usually the website of the manufacturer will show it.

I'm also not a fan of faux marbles, since most of them look too fake, whether it's quartz or laminate. I would go with plain white or a much more subtle pattern.

Liking the Carrara of these two. Go for a backsplash tile down to counter...light .taupe /mushroom shade glazed ceramic tile in subway. It will lend some warmth/nod to floor tones....really nice.

Agree with Diana. Your floors are over the top (imo) and adding any more pattern may create more busyness

if i was doing laminate, i would not choose something that looked like stone.... it always look fake, IMHO.

i agree with above, go simple here, no pattern. how about Corian?? your floor is the boss, in a good way!, you need supporting players. go simple here. you can go your flair with accessories...

I will never not vote for carrara.

I don't know your budget, but here's some reading as an fyi.https://www.flooranddecor.com/countertops-stone/ready-to-install-bianco-carrara-marble-slab-includes-backsplash-100221019.html

I put carrara in my bathrooms and nothing compares, imho. Yes, it's prone to scratching, staining, and etching. But, like a husband after many years, I love it anyway :)

We got ours from a yard...

If definitely laminate, then I agree not to do faux marble. There are some stunning other choices to be had...

Well I suppose we all see things differently. I really like the stone looks in Formica. I think they look good w what can be done w digital imagery. It is a good material but get the more durable ones in the collections (there are differences) . There are other materials: solid surface (corian) and entry priced granite. But formica has a place in the list. The floor and these options are fine and if I wanted /liked it I'd move on to backsplash./hardware for my personal imprint. I have a commercial carpet in an area w about 6 colors in the tweed pattern . When you walk in and around it is nothing but a med to dark neutral backdrop. When you look close to inspect and examine you see the colors and pattern but no one does.....your floor pick will become a backdrop and your tones and so forth are fine.

I vote for the Carrera laminate. Good for you choosing laminate. I just replaced 21 year old laminate with steel gray granite. Laminate was in pretty good shape, just dated. I paid about 3k Installed for my granite from a fabricator who also sells granite, 51 sq ft. Your kitchen will be beautiful!

Also I like your floors are they luxury vinyl plank?

I’m trying to get a full pic of the kitchen currently. Will be back on soon

I have 12-year old laminate countertops and love them. No worries about durability and they were super affordable. Stone for me is too noisy, too cold and never looks clean. Just a personal preference but I’d choose laminate again in a heartbeat. Love the Calacatta!

Please ignore the mess. We are attempting to use the kitchen while doing a reno. The wall the opposite the sink will have a big cut out into the living room. All lower cabinets below the cut out and open shelving on both sides of it.
The wall at the very end of the kitchen I had to leave a 12inch gap on so if we need to move the fridge out in the figure we could.

Not sure why it didn’t post it the right way. Let me get a pic of the cut out wall

Floors shocked us. They are a peel & stick vinyl plank. Traffic master brand. Really durable and dirt cheap. Our master bath tile had cracked over the years and it caused mold to form under it. I knew I didn’t want tile again because of that and I’m clumsy and have been afraid of serious injury if I fell on it so I went to Home Depot to look at all the wood floors. The lady there pointed these out since she used them in her house. We figured if they sucked it wouldn’t be that bad because it was only $60 (2 boxes). We installed it and watched. Ended up having 2 bathroom floods due to septic issues and the floor survived both. Decided to put it in all the rooms of the house after that. It also doesn’t scratch when our 3 pups walk on it or my son plays with toys on it.

This is a photo of the calcutta formica in large scale from a blog. I love the look of it. Wish we could do the island but I'm worried about floor space Kitchen designer at home depot said we could possibly put them in. He normally does them in a 34+ between the cabinets on each side and we have 33.5

LaDonna, whatever you choose, I recommend not going with the integrated backsplash or the rounded front. It's not as good of a look imho.

Don't envy you the decision as there are literally hundreds of colors/patterns to choose from..

Make sure you come back and do a show and tell :)

Also, I don't think half an inch would kill the island idea...although many prefer a larger space. However, those of us with smaller kitchens manage just fine with what we have...(tape it out on the floor to see how it "feels"...better yet, use boxes). Also have you considered a butcher block top for the island? Google "Ikea butcher block" to get an idea...so many have diy-ed them and I think they look wonderful (also you can sand them down and re-apply the finish when they get worn)

Hopefully this works. It’s rough but it says what’s on ether side/end. Basically looking into the kitchen you have the living room to your right, dining behind you, outside wall to the left, and laundry room in front

Did the photo show up?

How wide would the island be?

You will love your drawer base cabinets. Mine hold all plates, bowls, bakeware, Tupperware, flatware. Well, everything except water glasses which are stored in one of only 2 wall cabinets.

My worktop is Calcutta, in a pokey UK east facing kitchen. I'm sure yours will look nicer!!!