The inability to make a decision has often been passed off as patience.
~Author Unknown
A few years back, Mr. Cottage and I went to a really great estate sale in a beautiful house. I never forgot the small, but gorgeous kitchen with the white cabinets and soapstone countertops. Ever since then all I've thought about is having soapstone counters installed wherever we might move to. So today I had some time and thought I would see who in our area sells it and installs it. I never got beyond my first call. It was a store that sells granite, but the girl said they also sell soapstone, "but are you sure you really want it?", she asked me. "Are you aware that you have to oil it every week"? and on and on she went. Geez, why can't anything be easy!
Next thing I knew I was checking out all the pros and cons to the various countertops:
Granite: The latest rage for the past number of years, and this one shown below is beautiful...
Quartz: Suppose to be better than granite, but it's man-made
Solid Surface (like Corian): It's been around a long time...
Stainless Steel: I'm thinking it's too industrial for me.
Marble: Stains too easily, but very beautiful
Wood: Our island in our house had butcher block and I loved it, but I'm ready for a change.
Concrete: I've heard it's extremely heavy and very porous.
Soapstone: What can I say...
Paper Composite: Yes, it is what it says but is suppose to be very green.
Tile: We're all familiar with this.
Laminate: This is probably the most commonly used.
So there you have the list of the most commonly used countertops. You can check out some of the Pros and Cons at Houzz. By the way, I discovered that you don't have to oil soapstone every week and not at all, if you don't want to.
So what I would like from all of you is what you love or hate with your countertops. At this point I have it narrowed down to soapstone, quartz, granite, and solid-surface. Help, please!
I have granite and love it love it love it. My daughter has Corian and we don't like it - you have to be too careful about putting hot stuff on it. In the past I've had both tile and laminate and didn't like either, so glad you eliminated those!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard anyone complain about having granite. I've had it for the last 6 years and never had a problem. (I wish it was a lighter color, but I didn't design the kitchen in this house)
ReplyDeleteCarol, I love my granite. It always looks great and is easy to maintain.
ReplyDeleteHi Carol, I have concrete and it's very pourous, so any splash of water will faintly linger for a day or so. That drives me a little crazy. I had Corian in house before and I really loved that and the seamless deep sink that came along with it. Soapstone looks lovely!
ReplyDeleteProbably good and bad about all of them. When we put in our kitchen we ended up with laminate because it fit our budget, but wanted Corian. I think granite is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSo do you have your cabinetry picked out? I would do that first as there aren't as many choices and then see what you like that is available in all countertop to go with. That may make your choice easy.
Merillat cabinets just launched a whole new line. Make sure you get to see those if you are getting cabinets.
I just redid my kitchen and went with laminate. It's just me and I seldom entertain, so it works well with my lifestyle and the choices these days are wonderful. Look beautiful. Check my blog for my progress photos.
ReplyDelete