I also went with Cambria Torquay for a marble look. Love it! You have to study it closely to find spots in the veining that expose it as a man made product. SO carefree. I was told to use Windex on it. I've been to parties where they have splurged on the real marble, and the hostess is a nervous wreck, constantly sticking napkins and coasters under everyone's wine glasses.

Currently I have old laminate countertop. If I could have my dream countertops they would be Pyrolave. http://www.pyrolave.fr/pyro/eng/

Due to the high cost of quartz and granites, we are thinking about installing Wilsonart's oiled soapstone in our new kitchen (cabinets will be white). Anyone have experience with this laminate? Would love to see a picture of this, or another dark laminate, that you are currently using and really like. Thanks!

Sue Vanster
Our last two homes have had Corian. It looks OK (not great), but the built in Corian sinks have been a real problem. They stain so easily and are difficult if impossible to clean. Have not looked into refinishing. Hope to replace the counters with either quartz or granite with an undermount stainless sink.

We chose honed Danby Marble. It is close to granite on the hardness scale, and the honed finish helps with clean up. We are not slobs, have no kids and no pets, so we weren't overly concerned about the marble choice. At the same time, we are by no means "delicate" with it, and it has held up beautifully so far.

I am very happy with my Silestone counter tops. Lower maintenance than granite and loads of color options.

I have Verde Peacock granite in our vacation home--new construction--and ceramic tile in our home home. Hate the ceramic tile--grout problems and upkeep. Love the granite, which is not busily veined, highlights the rustic hickory cabinets, and looks classy with little upkeep. I did not like the "uniform" look of any quartz that I researched, hence the granite. Have had Formica and butcher block. Stains, dents, and up keep became downfalls.

We just finished our kitchen remodel, which included taking out chopped up laminate countertops. We looked far and wide for a material we could afford that would last. Like Ellen, above, we also ended up with Uba Tuba granite. We got it at a discount granite store and it cost less than everything else we looked at. I absolutely love it.

When maple sugaring was more economically important and widespread, butcher blocks were made from sycamore. This top is 1.5 inch thick quartersawn sycamore. When quartersawn, sycamore grain is remarkable, and exhibits an optical phenomenon called chatoyance, for its resemblance to cat eyes.

The wood came from Groff and Groff Hardwoods and the shaping and gluing were done by Saner Architectural Millwork, both of Quarryville, PA. The finish is a European catalyzed varnish, by Wagner Cabinets of Wakefield, PA.

I love it, and must say the photo doesn't do it justice.

After dragging the hubby to look at countertop materials at Home Depot we decided we are going with quartz! Now to just pick a color.....oh decisions...decisions!

I just got my new kitchen installed and choose stainless steel countertops. Just love it. All the talk about fingerprints and scratches did not stop us. The backsplash is also stainless steel. It looks very modern.

this is a helpful topic for me. I have a granite in my kitchen now which has been fantastic and really easy to care for. I am doing a VT farmhouse renovation and have to decide on my new counters. I have had my heart set on VT Danby Marble - but I am starting to have reservations about it. I like the honed look and all, but will it be a mess of stains? Maybe soapstone? I will be looking into the quartz. and replica

Cambria "torquay" or silestone "Lagoon" what are your favs?

Stone will offer the least amount of maintenance. Slate slabs are incredible and possibly my favorite.

Ladonelan- you are near some of the finest dimensional stone in the world! Embrace the local products

I have a leathered natural quartzite on my island (Capolavoro) and a boring beige Corian on my perimeter. I don't love the Corian. I used to have it on the island too and it scratched quite a bit in that heavily used area. I ADORE my leathered quartzite.

Ladonelan, just be aware, if you decide to go with soapstone, that "Vermont Soapstone" is not really from Vermont.....or the US, for that matter. Soapstone is a fabulous material, however, and you cannot stain it no matter how hard you try :)

Quartz! More expensive, but I've got a small kitchen, so it wasn't THAT much more. No polishing. No sealing. No staining. I love quartz!

In our old house we decided to use brazilian granite for the counter and butcher block for the island and I love it!! The butcher block brought some warmth to the kitchen and it was great to work the dough for my breads and pastries. We got compliments all the time from our guests about how well the surfaces complete each other. In our new house we we have a darker granite and no butcher block and I miss it !!

Kehlief
What is the color of your cabinets?

We built a house in 2009, and used granite. It is so easy to clean, and always looks great. I gave a small corian cutting board......it shows scratches....glad I didn't choose corian. Granite comes in a great assortment of colors, and grades.....and can be affordable for most budgets

Kehlief, your kitchen is a dream! I've been considering Danby marble--it's beautiful and the honed finish is nicely understated. Not a fan of shiny, highly patterned surfaces.

We have white quartz countertops and since we were renovating the kitchen from a distance, I don't even know the brand name. Now I am having a problem with water marks or stains. Not really actual stains, but little dots of etched, non shiny circles or marks. I have not sealed the countertops as I was told quartz didn't need sealing but I have not been able to get rid of these water marks. Any ideas on how to remove them or how to prevent further staining? It may be that my quartz isn't the best quality! not too sure about that! Thank you all....

I've seen several heavy black walnut tops recently using salad bowl finish. They look very impressive although i've heard an undermount sink is not advised due to open end grains.

Formica Ideal Edge 180fx series Clacatta Marble. ABsolutley love it and the cost was next to nothing! I can change it in a few years if I want to change up the look of my kitchen.

"Leathered" finish Cosmos granite. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. All the natural qualities of the granite just glisten and it is super easy to maintain.

arubaaruba. Thanks for posting the comment and pic of your formica Ideal Edge in the marble...i wonder if that series has one with a black, soapstone or veined look. Will check that out.

they have a lot of new ones to choose from, and they all look really nice! several edge profiles also. I do not regret going with laminate at all!

After a ton of research and decision making, we decided on quartz. Here's the website: http://www.lgviaterausa.com/. We picked Viatera Solano for the wall countertops, and Viatera Bourbon (darker) for the island. We decided to keep our existing oak cabinets, as we feel they are timeless.

Pure White Caesar stone

@azureoak It is a custom catalyzed finish based off of Tempered Steel by PPG

@Diana Bier Interiors LLC Thanks!!! We love how it turned out.

Soapstone. Doing this on many of the kitchens I design right now.

@Ladonelan the VT Danby Marble has been great. I have even been able to remove a huge green stain from a juiced kale, spinach, apples and lemons concoction that was accidentally left for two hours!! Ours is honed, so we were able to take a scrubby pad to it without worrying about messing up the finish. You cannot do that if you go with polished. Just keep that in mind when choosing the finish.

I've also been experimenting with honed Absolute Black granite and like the results so far:

Hi, There, a friend has the exact same problem, and we think it is the hard water which affects the stone surface, and have found a spray named Daily Granite, made by Lakeside, in the U,K, it has Orange oil amongst other things, and seems to improve the granite surface considerably, maybe they stock some thing like it where you live...

Cabin girl....PLEASE DO NOT choose any countertop with specks.....you will be driven nuts brushing it off all the time mistaking the specks for toast crumbs, pepper, spices...or having them on the counter and not knowing.
Get a quartz with movement. You don't need a veining if that seems too busy for you. There are so may to choose from, take your time, see it in a larger sample.
I would send for a sample....the money spent on a large scale sample can make all the difference in how happy you are in the end. I personally like the Caesar Stone products.

I am redoing kitchen in house built in 1900. Really torn! I want to do an old piece of marble on the peninsula and quartz on the countertop.
Very small kitchen. Want it to be correct to the period but a little updated...
Anything wrong with Cambria quartz and ole Cararra marble.?

Cabingirl, I am so happy for you finally making a decision. You will not regret it!
Solanco, those quartersawn sycamore counters are breathtakingly beautiful! Wow.

I didn't want formica.....I had it for 33 years.
I thought I wanted corian (integrated sink sounded easy to maintain) till I talked to a few people at the stores.
I visited a home in which quartz had recently been installed. Looked too patterned..same thing over and over again, though it was pretty. (And expensive.)
I liked soapstone, but couldn't find any slabs with the eye-catching veining I had seen in many photographs.
I didn't think I liked the shiny aspect of granite. But it is basically maintenance-free, I don't have to be concerned about kids not using the cutting board, hot pans left on the counter, staining or other discoloration, and it is natural. (I think I simply prefer non-artificial materials.) My cosmic gold (really more like cosmic black) granite has variation both in color (black, gray, silver, white, a little bit of gold) and pattern (specks, streaks, veining, some white patches that make me think of ice that you can see through)--totally unique, not like any other anywhere. The various colors and designs seen only up close are amazing, and the sparkles here and there just add to the snazz factor. I totally love it and still admire it every day after two years. The fabricator, a business with 12 employees, actually was cheaper than the big box store where I had begun.
Btw, the granite availability is totally astounding. I have a whole picture file of photos of slabs that I could never actually choose for my house, but which were stunning. I never knew God made such beautiful stone!

We used butterfly granite for the sink counter and extended it to serve as the window sill, which has worked very well.

Whoops

After some digging, I finally found the file with my kitchen photos. This is cosmic gold granite.

marjie1059 Ooohhh I love the veining in that cosmic gold granite!

Thank you, kehlief. I had noticed earlier in this thread with appreciation that you have marble. I had admired several of the marbles, as well as soapstone, at the warehouse. It was hard to turn them down, but I could only choose one.

Well, it is evident that I'm not the norm with my selection of countertop. With my coastal cottage feel, granite just didn't fit for me and I didn't want laminate or tile. So, what was left that could also fit into my budget...galvanized sheeting...of course, it was a plus that my dad was in the steel business. I don't mind the occasional spotting or scratching that occurs upon use of the kitchen because I'm a person that likes the distressed look...it just adds to the story in my book. I love it!

Does anyone have experience with large slab Italian porcelain for counter tops? Looking for something to mimic marble without the upkeep and came across some graniti fiandre products that look gorgeous (www.granitifiandre.com).

Hi,
I would like to share with you the new Caesarstone produtc: Calcatta nuvo
http://www.caesarstone.com/en/The-Catalog/Pages/5131%20Calacatta%20Nuvo.aspx

I harries22 I too have used galvanized sheet metal on a counter top for my much loved guesthouse in the country.
You are correct granite seems off in some surroundings. A bit dressy unless honed and even then finding one with out being busy presents a problem when you are looking for a light color.
I love the galvanized metal as it ages...the wear and dulling down reminds me of lead countertops....at a fraction of the cost.
The only drawback as I see it, is because you are using a sheet of something...you a need a straight run. In other words if you come to a corner you can't attractively turn the corner because there would be seam at the corner.
But for...simple...straight forward...cost effective....great look as it ages I think it is overlooked.

We have Quartz on the island and Corian around the perimeter. I love them both. Corian can be easily cleaned with a green Scotch Bright pad and Soft Scrub with Bleach. That combination will take out small scratches and stains. Just wanted to mention that to anyone having trouble.