Advice on Countertops

I am on my third granite countertop (not because something happened - I moved and I remodeled) and I love granite. I can cut on it, spill, drop things, it's all good. Looks just like new. Whatever you decide, I hope you love it!

look into a product called quartzite. Supper strong granite chips in a composite material. Looks great and has much more strength than granite. Not cheep.
http://www.caesarstoneus.com/catalog/
I second Kristen's answer and if it makes any difference to you- I'm an NCIDQ certified interior designer.

We have granite and I have had zero problems with it. I would suggest either continuing to look at granite or look at quartz. It looks just like granite, but doesn't have to be sealed. The other one that is big right now is cement counters. You can stain them any color and they last forever without scratching...it may not work with your cabinets, but I thought I would throw that out there! Good luck!

We have quartz and love it! It's very similar to granite, but we didn't have to seal it, and it doesn't break. The cost is about the same as granite. Have fun picking out your new countertops!

We have Wilsonart (similar to Corian). I am not sure how I feel about them. I like the look and generally they clean relatively easily. I haven't had anything permanently stain, but sometimes it takes a few days/several cleanings to get things off the cabinet (I decorate cakes and the dye is one of those things I have to be careful with). Ours are about 8 years old. And even though we always use cutting boards, they have a few knicks and scratches. But we could pay to have those buffed out if we got ambitious. Our biggest complaint is that our island counter top cracked. It happened relatively soon after their installation. We are convinced they were installed wrong, so it's not the product, but the contractor who did it. When we contacted Wilsonart we were very disappointed that they refused to back their work...they claimed we must have damaged it. It can't be repaired, just replaced. I think that alone is a reason I would like to stay away from solid surface counter tops.

We went granite because we have a busy family and my friend's Corian has to have a cutting board on it or it'll scratch. We didn't go high-end granite, or get fancy with the edges but it looks very nice in our home. You can also do granite tile to get the look but not the price. We also picked a granite that is darker so the spills from a busy family don't really show. We've had it for about a year now and haven't babied it and it still holds its seal and looks nice. I'm happy with it.

Although I love my granite countertops, next time I remodel a kitchen I'd probably go with quartz aggregate countertops (Silestone, Cesarstone, Cambria, etc). If I do go with granite, I'd get honed (looks softer and more homey, somehow). From what I've heard about Corian, I wouldn't go there. I've known a few people who put in Corian and NONE of them were happy over time. Plus, not sure if you're considering resale value or anything, but Corian is considered to be "dated" (at least that's what real estate agents have told me). You really can't go wrong with granite (check out honed granite vs polished granite, it's a totally different look, but nicer, IMO) or quartz.

We have Cambria brand quarts countertops (we replaced our laminate about 2 years ago). We LOVE it. The Cambria brand is actually made in MN, it is a combination of natural stone and synthetic. It can take the heat, has a look similar to granite, and doesn't need to be sealed. The Cambria brand seams are amazing as well.

I love granite !!!! Mine is 2 inches thick so I don't think is anything that can break that......good luck on your search..

I have Corian in my kitchen, it is a white color...and yes, it does scratch...but I have had no problems with staining and I have spilled everything on it, including the dreaded red Kool-Aid!

I have lived in my house for 11+ years and like I said...no problems!

Good Luck!

~I gave heard great things about poured concrete?!

I have Corian counters that are now 10 years old. I have the speckled dark blue on my island and love it. does not show a thing. The rest of my counters are a creamy off white color and they are great too. I am not happy with the sink however. It is integrated into the counter which is great but it is white and does stain. I am not one to leave dirty dishes in the sink either. I don't have stains on any of my counter tops however so maybe it is the color. If you go with Corian I would still recommend a stainless steel sink although then it is not seamless which really is a great feature.

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We had granite, which required special sealing (I don't remember how often), in our previous house. I think I also recall that oil stained it? In our current home we have quartz, which requires no special sealing and is impervious to pretty much anything you put on it. We've had it for 6 years now and love it.

And quartz IS scratch and scorch resistant, just google it.

We have Corian. We purchased it 3 years ago and have no regrets. We wanted to go with Granite as well but we weren't ready to do an entire kitchen remodel and didn't want to "waste" getting the granite put on our old cabinets when we will probably redo the entire kitchen in about 10-15 years.
I think Corian will scratch but it hasn't been yet because I always use a cutting board. I've not had any problems with staining and my daughter even got paint on it. I took nail polish remover and it came right off and the sheen stayed. The contractor told us that if it ever gets damaged and we want it "repaired" they will come out and professionally sand it (I'm sure that'd cost a pretty penny though.)
Overall we are very happy!

We have granite. We've lived in our house for almost a year now and so far I'm very happy with the granite. I don't know all the details so you would have to do some research, but there are different grades of granite. Some are stronger than others. I think it's based on thickness and also on seam location, number of seams, etc. I'm not sure what ours is but I know my FIL had a better grade of granite installed in his house to be certain it didn't crack. I don't think we could crack ours by dropping something on it. It's about...an inch thick, maybe? Or maybe 3/4"...we're happy with it but we decided we wouldn't try anything like sitting or standing on it, just in case. Our house (3/2/3) is in the same price range as yours.

We have Corian and LOVE it !! We built our house 7 years ago and have had no problems with it we have no stains (we have the Corian seamless sink too and it is a light rose color and is not stained at all). Our counter color is Platinum or atleast on the website it matches our color the closest. We have a few scratches but they are not noticable we have not even taken the steps to sand them out they are so not worth messing with. We are very happy with our Corian and would recommend it. They are beautiful and in my opinion well worth the money and who knows maybe they are cheaper now. They have some really neat colors now too. Top masters of Kansas city put ours in. http://www2.dupont.com/Surfaces/en_US/products/corian/pr_...

We have granite without any of the extra fancy edges or anything like that & we love it. It doesn't scratch, nothing in the 7 years we've had it has "stained" it & it has never cracked or broken. I can't imagine what you would need to drop on it that we haven't done already (family of 4, 2 kids who were 3 & 4 when we moved in & are now 10 & 11).

Keep in mind that many of those solid surface products -- granite and quartz included -- can't handle heat, so you're basically in a laminate-like situation. I found that really shocking. I hate our tile countertops but don't want to backtrack to apartment days with not being able to put hot things on the counter. Not sure what product out there is heat-resistant other than tile or concrete, but if this is also a concern for you, it will greatly narrow your options.

I have Corian and it's great. It came in my house when we bought it. Now, if I were redoing my kitchen, I'd get granite or quartz for sure.

I wouldn't worry about breaking it at all.

My Corian does have some scratches - from the people we bought our home from cause they were careless - they would put the baby carrier on the counter and it scratched it. I guess I could buff them out but you really can't see them. I, however, have been in the house for 8 years and havn't added a scratch to them.

I do put heat on my Corian - not excessive heat but a medium hot pot - with no issues.

Go to a tile store and talk to the reps - they will steer you right.

Also, I don't think I would cut directly on a counter top even if I could - seems like a lot of germs going on!