Night Elf Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Our kitchen needs updating. The counters are light gray/blue laminate. DH priced granite countertops at Home Depot and found an average price of $50/sq. ft.. He didn't like the look of the cheaper ones at $35/sq. ft. There are many other types. The first one that comes to mind is Corian. What are some good choices to consider that wouldn't run as high cost as the granite? Our kitchen is a country style to match the house. We have no desire to change the cabinets so we believe anything too modern would look really out of place. We want to also replace the countertops in the bathrooms. They currently have the same laminate as the kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Silestone is a quartz based material. Home Depot carries it. We put it in our kitchen at our old house. I have corian at this house. I like the silestone better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 We put in Corian last year (my husband jokes about updating the house all the way to 1992), and I really like it. Granted, we were replacing 30-year-old yellow laminate with unidentifiable and intractable stains, so a roll of brown paper would have been an improvement, but I'm still really pleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbeth Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I would look at silestone or corian as well. Our new home came with granite. I like it, but it water marks something terrible. I find myself constantly polishing it. If you do go with natural stone I'd avoid darker shades. I think that's part of my problem here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 We just did butcher block (from Ikea). I love it. Much cheaper than granite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom25girls Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 We have soapstone in our kitchen and it's been wonderful! Low maintenance, looks great (we have a 220 year old farmhouse) and virtually indestructible! I LOVE having a surface that can withstand hot pots and children just learning to navigate the kitchen terrain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in IL Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 watch Craigslist. Occasionally you can find distributors post incredible prices. That is where we got ours. We have an immense kitchen with lots of counter space with a giant center island and separate buffet area in the dining room. We did granite, installation, and new high end kitchen sink for $2000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 absolutely, under NO circumstances consider doing granite from home depot or any other big box store. talk about price inflation . . . . look at stone yards (call around, prices vary greatly), look at pre-formed granite pieces where you tailor/assemble for your layout. tile for less (or similar where you are) has 18" x 24" slabs of granite tile, so yu can have an "almost" slab for ALOT less. I'd also suggest regular type tile for the backsplash - much cheaper, and offers a nice esthetic contrast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venia Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I like our Corian. A good friend of mine has stained concrete and it is amazing. Much nicer than I ever imagined and has a very modern look to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I love our granite. It doesn't show anything, and is super easy to clean. I went through a local person and was able to go to the granite yard in the big city near us to find the perfect color. And it was only $32/sq ft installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Try local places. We saw the same prices at Lowes and Home depot, but found gorgeous granite at a local mom and pop place for $25.99 a square foot, including installation. We found them by word of mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwallowTail Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I have granite in this house, which I like. But, I had Silestone engineered quartz at my previous house, and I *much* prefer it for durability and easeof cleaning. Fabulous stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 absolutely, under NO circumstances consider doing granite from home depot or any other big box store. talk about price inflation . . . . look at stone yards (call around, prices vary greatly), look at pre-formed granite pieces where you tailor/assemble for your layout. tile for less (or similar where you are) has 18" x 24" slabs of granite tile, so yu can have an "almost" slab for ALOT less. I'd also suggest regular type tile for the backsplash - much cheaper, and offers a nice esthetic contrast. Agreed. Homedepot was twice the price of the local place. And the local place didn't try to upsell us. In fact, they talked my husband OUT of doing a granite backsplash...for the look we were going for the tile will look better and be cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchel210 Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I would only buy granite from a private place you go and pick it and have them install it. I wouldnt go to home depot. Too expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 There is a place not too far that I know sells granite. They have a large slab of something in the front where they write messages. Once they wrote, 'The 80's called. They want their laminate back.' :tongue_smilie: I'll check them out. We did check at Home Depot. The granite color we liked was $39/sq ft installed. The Silestone color I liked was $42/sq ft installed. The backsplash would be additional $ per linear square foot. I don't know if i like the idea of a tile backsplash. I'm used to the backsplash matching the countertop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 I don't know if i like the idea of a tile backsplash. I'm used to the backsplash matching the countertop. In my kitchen I have travertine tile going to the bottom of the cupboards - the wall is very easy to clean and has a smooth finish. there are so many options, and most people aren't doing slab granite backsplashes these days - they are going for really nice tile for contrast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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