Corian does not chip, quartz can.

Corian can also come back from a number of ills, and you can’t break plates and glassware on it as easily as you can with your other options. I agree with Zalco, it’s a great choice for a busy family.

IMO granite to cover all the bases and corian to me has always been the last choice since I don’t like plastic in my kitchen. Quartz has limitations granite still takes a beating and always looks good.

“I don’t like plastic in my kitchen.”

Everyone has plastic in their kitchens Pat, even you. There are plastics in almost every appliance, there are molecular plastics in most paints and pigments, just about everything electrified uses them and so on. If you don’t like Corian, that’s fine, but you might find a less fallacious way of saying it.

I think granite, with a bullnose edge, will withstand three growing boys. There are so many beautiful stones to go with your home. Keep us posted.

We loved our quartz. It can chip, true, but my BIL exploded a Pyrex baking dish on ours and it was unscathed. It is also much lower maintenance than granite but still gives a high-end look, which I don't think Corian achieves.

Random thoughts which may or may not be helpful: I used Ikea wood counter on my island (extremely low cost, like $300) with the thought it will be replaced once the kids are past doing stuff like cutting, gluing, fingernail painting etc. on it and it has saved me stressing about that of that stuff. If you are back at Ikea, check out their sample kitchens -- they have a variety of counter surfaces and that stuff is absolutely beat on by shoppers, so you may see a full range of damages... As for granites, we encounter one annually in a rental that probably needs sealing -- but when I glance sideways at it, it's full of clearly visible tiny pits. I just can't imagine that's hygienic in any sense... pros/cons to any choice, I guess. Good luck!

I had granite with a house full of teens and it was bombproof. I will never go back to anything else. I sealed it annually which I did myself and it only takes the same amount of time as cleaning your counters. Corian and quartz will not hold up to heat like granite. I never used a cutting board or hot pad on my granite and it still looked new until I moved.

What is your personal preference?

There are granites that are pretty much bullet proof and don't need to be sealed nor do they stain. It would be hard to imagine what kind of abuse even the most rambunctious kids could do to them.

Corian has a particular look. I don't think it is more bullet proof than granite. In fact it is probably less so unless you choose white since it scratches and scratching damage is very visible on anything other than white. Scratching would be the type of damage that I could see happening with kids.

With teens in the house I would rule out Corian due to chipping and the hassle to fix.

We put in white Corian a year ago and I love it. I have a 12yo with motor delay (drops and slams things) and a 15yo who does some cooking. I got it so all our dishes wouldn't be broken quickly like they would with stone and because it can be refinished if need be (and last decades if you want). I don't care about not being able to put hot pans on it because I had laminate before, so I'm used to using trivets in the kitchen. It cleans up so easily with a wet cloth, or soft scrub if needed. I know there are Corian haters, but whatever. My kitchen does not look low-end. Fabrication and installation was also a breeze.

Hi! I have five kids all close in age, so they were all teens at the same time, three of them boys who are now aged 19, 17, and 17. I think there are pros and cons to each of your choices, so it’s best to just go with what you like the best within your budget. Personally, quartz is one I like the least, I just haven’t seen one I fell in love with, they just don’t do it for me. I’ve had two different kinds of granite... the first one I hated... it looked like salt and pepper pattern and it was polished, I hated it because it stained and I couldn’t see crumbs easily... I wear gloves when I clean, and I could wipe that counter and think I got everything, but then I’d run my bare hand across it and feel a bunch of gritty crumbs... it grossed me out. Now I have a granite that I absolutely adore! It’s a low level granite (steel grey) but it’s leathered and I just adore it! It doesn’t show fingerprints, it stays looking clean even though it might not be, but it always wipes off easily, it has been absolutely impervious to stains... only downside I’ve found is that because we chose an eased edge profile that if I or my boys aren’t careful with some of my cast iron cookware around the edges, it can chip. However, the chips are pretty easy to repair and are very difficult to see once repaired (some are practically impossible to find) and even before they’ve been repaired they’re hard to spot. I love the feel of the leathered granite surface as well, I was afraid it might get stuff stuck in to it, but that has never happened, not even when rolling out sticky dough on it. My mother in law has had white corian in her kitchen for the last... oh my... not quite 30 years but we’re getting close! I’m really impressed with her Corian! It looks just as good today as it always has! I do think she’s had it sanded in parts at least once, but it just looks great. Now, she can’t set hot stuff directly on it... I can kind of do that with my granite... however, technically you’re not REALLY supposed to do that with any natural stone (and I know it’s totally not supposed to happen with quartz) but with any natural stone you risk thermal shock and it CAN crack... so I’m always hesitant to do it with my granite even though I feel the risk is fairly low. (I mean, I wouldn’t set a hot pot of boiled water where I just had a bag of ice set...) but basically any surface (except maybe stainless steel) you’re not REALLY supposed to set hot things on them directly. Anyways, hope that helps! Here’s a couple of photos of my kitchen, we diy remolded it a couple of years ago and it gets pretty heavy use... sure love my granite and I’d choose it again in a heartbeat!

Skmom, thank you so much. I love the look of Caledonia granite. How do you think it compares to the one you didn’t like?

kel_kat5, well, that granite looks exactly like the one I didn’t like because of the staining and hidden crumbs issue. I’ve heard of staining with granite being more of an issue for granites with a lot of white in them, I personally don’t have enough experience myself to say whether that’s true or not. That granite was here when we bought the house, so I’ll admit that I don’t know when the last time it had been sealed, it’s not something we ever did (and we knew when we bought the house that a gut job on the kitchen was something we were going to do because the original cabinets were falling apart and the layout was horrendous, so I wasn’t attached to the granite anyways as I knew it would be ripped out) But I’d strongly suggest that whatever countertop materials you’re most interested in, try to get a good sized sample and try to stain it up or damage it in the ways that bother you the most to see I it would be a good fit for you. Everyone has their personal pet peeves, and they’re jot the same across the board. I hate for a countertop to have crumbs on it and I clean mine often, but I appreciate a floor that can hide dust and still looks clean even when it’s not... I don’t sweep daily, lol! But other people feel exactly the opposite, you have to know your pet peeves I think.

I agree with skmom. Get samples and test them.

Not easy to get granite samples. What do you mean about staining on the Caledonia?

I got a sample of our granite but we went to a stone supplier, not a big box store. I’d get weird pinkish/orange stains on it, not really sure what it was. After I got rid of the granite I heard you could use a poultice to help remove stains from natural stone, but I’d never tried it myself. (By that time I was so sick of the original kitchen... did I mention how miserable the layout was? But I had pretty much stopped caring about it I was so ready to rip it out...) I didn’t hate the look of the stone or anything, but in my original kitchen I thought it looked too cold and uninviting. However, my next door neighbors have the exact same stone, but they have warm wood cabinetry and it looks great in their kitchen... I haven’t asked her if she can’t see crumbs on hers, I didn’t want to risk potentially offending her, and I haven’t been in her house often enough to see if she has any staining issues. I’ll include a before/after photo collage that shows our original kitchen. Most people didn’t think it looked too bad at a glance, but seriously, it was falling apart (and had no ventilation for the cook top in the island... ugh...) anyway, probably tmi about stuff you don’t care about, lol! Hope some bits are helpful!

There are NO " perfect" surfaces. Personally? I love soapstone. It's a rock, literally. You can't burn it. You can easily sand an imperfection . It's anti microbial. You can use an unenhanced seal, or you can seal it with ordinary mineral oil. You won't find it at the big box. It comes in shades leaning green, blue, gray , black. Do a little reading:)

if you like the Caladonia, then get it. it will be pretty much indestructible. I wouldn't worry about sealing it like some of the lighter white granites. Plus, your granite choice won't show any crumbs, grease spots or fingerprints. (because of the speckling)

If you want the lowest maintenance, that granite is the one. and it will prob be the cheapest .

(if you want a darker, more complex stone top, why not choose a diff granite? )

quartz is pretty bulletproof too, just don't set down your hot pans on it. I have a matte gray quartz and it cleans like a dream. I had granite before that and it was bulletproof. NOTHING hurt that stone (even hot pots)

If I were to do a counter again I’d seriously consider corian.

Marble is beautiful but not for 3 almost teen boys. Hard with most husband's too!

I've see some quartz that I liked but it was very pricey.

I'm not a fan of granite at all - just way too busy for my taste.

Quartzite is gorgeous but can be very pricey. Wood looks lovely but unless one has trained ones family well, it will not look good for very long.

There is nothing wrong with Formica but it really doesn't belong in a high end house and it does look plasticy.

I've had Glacier White Corian now for nearly 35 years. I've had one chip - that happened when they were removing the heavy plaster soffits above my old cabinets and a huge chunk dropped down on the edge of the counter. When the Corian fabricator came, he quickly and easily patched it - I cannot tell where. That was after 32 years with no chips!!!

It's very easy to clean. Can you set a hot pan right off the stove on it? No, but does one NEED to do this? If you do, then get slate but it's going to cost you.

Corian is pretty darned bullet proof. White Corian will show no seams - no pattern matching. I love mine and wouldn't have anything else. I do love the look of slate but I don't want anything dark in my kitchen - like a nice, bright kitchen.

Plastic? Well I guess it has plastic in it, but it looks far more like white marble. Get it in a satin finish, not high gloss. It will get a million tiny scratches on it over the years (just like your sterling silver flatware) and they will grow into a lovely patina that is gorgeous.

I think I would have been happy with any of those options, but we ended up choosing quartz over granite because our builder’s fabricator didn’t have access to any granite I was personally a fan of; they did, however, have access to the quartz I liked. Sometimes access and price will decide for you, so I’d recommend picking what you like and finding out what it costs before falling in love.

Skmom I am still wondering about the granite staining. Was it because it was polished? Do certain granite surfaces stain easier? Smudge? Moisture rings?

It seemed to be moisture or something like that left under stuff, like I had a flower vase that left part of a ring... but it was an orange/pink... I wasn’t expecting anything like that to happen, it was the first time I’d had granite (my previous kitchens had all been laminate or tile counters) I have zero clue what the staining actually was, and I was never able to scrub it off. It made no sense to me. I mean, I never tried a poultice to remove it, but I had to live with those counters for five years before we were able to remodel and I never was able to get out any of the stains that showed up. The only thing I could figure was that the white parts in the granite were just too porous or something... it didn’t LOOK porous though, it was polished... I don’t know, but I know it turned me off of stones with too much white.

Of the 3, I would choose in this order: granite, corian, quartz. Granite is virtually indestructible. If you are looking at grades 0-2, visit some granite yards and get an education. See what the granites look like in those grades. You may find some you like, you may not find any at all. But visit a few if not several stone yards.

I had Corian in my first house (20 years ago) and used my kitchen daily. I had no issues with it and loved it. Corian has come a long way since then and I would probably use it again. As for quartz, I'm personally not a fan of the way it looks and I would never choose it first. I definitely would not choose marble (not even honed) for a busy family of 5.

This truly comes down to personal preference. If you've found a quartz that you love, get it.

I had Corian years ago and it was good. When we remodeled our kitchen, I selected granite. Granite has served me well during the time the kids were in residence and ever since. I don’t ever put food on the granite surface...I have a Corian cutting board, wood cutting boards and plastic cutting sheets for chopping, slicing and dicing. (Well, maybe I put bread on the counter if making a sandwich.). The Corian slab and the plastic sheets can be cleaned in the hottest water, and the plastic sheets are replaced when they start to look worn. The granite counters are wiped down frequently and look like new.

We have quartz. It was installed five years ago and looks like new. My husband is equivalent to three teenage boys when it comes to being rough on surfaces LOL so that’s saying something. I lived in a house with white Corian in grad school and hated it. It stained and was hard to clean. Swore I would never have the stuff in my kitchen. My brother and his wife went with granite in their kitchen and love it (they have three young kiddos).

Genuine Corian doesn't stain. If it's white, you can use soft scrub with bleach, and that removes everything. So far, I have removed marks from a highlighter, coffee, red wine, turmeric, tomato sauce, etc. Most of the time I don't even need the bleach.

I love my Corian counter. (Actually it's not Corian brand, it's Hi-Macs. Same stuff, but I liked my particular shade of cream better in Hi-Macs.) When my counter was fabricated, I got the piece that was cut out for the sink and put it next to the stove to use like a big trivet. I pull pans directly out of the oven and off the stove, and put them on it. After three years, that piece, like the rest of the counter looks new. While it may not be the most "natural" substance, I think a countertop that lasts decades is not so bad for the environment.

There is nothing natural about quartz counters either. Quartz plus plastic is not organic.