Countertop Choices
When you’re remodeling your kitchen, the first stage is to get excited about it. You imagine all of the possibilities, and think about all the things you’ve loved in other kitchens you’ve seen. You can picture yourself working at your new kitchen island while your friends or family sit around, chatting with you and watching you prepare food. Maybe you take your imagination so far as to consider a vague color scheme, but odds are good that until you’re actually sitting down and looking at the specific options, you probably haven’t thought too much about exactly what type of counter you want. And that’s where things go from exciting, to overwhelming, because there are a lot of beautiful options out there. It’s our goal to break down some of the most popular and good looking options so you can have an idea of what you might want to incorporate into your remodel before you get started.
The majority of the most popular options are made to look like natural materials, or are actually made of natural materials. Each option has benefits and issues that a buyer should be aware of before having them installed in their home.
Right now, natural stone countertops, made of granite, quartzite, and marble, are very popular, and with good reason. They’re beautiful and sturdy, and because of their hefty price tags, they are also linked with success and luxury. Not much can beat the look of a natural stone countertop gleaming under the kitchen lights (and how many kitchen lights should you have? read on here), so it makes sense that they’d be a very popular option. They are long lasting and sturdy, and capable of handling some rough usage. You can put hot pots and pans directly on these natural stone counters, and they can be more or less impervious, especially granite. Marble, unfortunately, needs a little special care and will easily hold stains from highly acidic materials, like lemon juice and red wine. Marble is also softer than the other natural stone options and can be cut and scratched if you’re not careful. All natural stone counters will need to be sealed once or twice a year, so that is a consideration in addition to the price tag.
Because these stone slabs are heavy, you’ll want a professional to cut and install them. However, if you’re really set on them but equally set on doing your entire kitchen remodel yourself, you can make yourself a granite countertop out of granite tiles. It will take time and still be costly, and the resale value won’t be quite as high as it would be with a single slab counter, but it is manageable. This is also an option if you love marble counters but don’t want to pay a professional to install the single slabs.
If you love the look of the natural stone, but can’t quite justify the cost, there are other options. There are manmade options out there that look indistinguishable from real stone countertops. Manmade quartz counters are wonderful because they look and act almost exactly like a stone counter, but they’re a renewable resource. However, since they’re essentially a resin, you can’t put hot pots or pans directly on the surface without risking melting. Still, as most people by default remember to do so anyway, no matter what type of counter they have, that seems a small price to pay for the aesthetics on a slightly tighter budget! These countertops come in a variety of colors and styles, and provide your home with a high resale value. Because they come in large slabs, and are very heavy, these are not a good option for DIY and should always be carefully installed by a professional.
When you have a really tight budget, there’s still the option of Formica, which is manmade and often attempts to replicate the look of stone. Formica is technically a brand name but tends to be used as shorthand for laminate countertops. It’s durable and will definitely inflate your renovation budget less than the other options, but it also doesn’t look quite as good most of the time. It won’t be mistaken for natural stone. This potential for blandness can be counterbalanced by adding a really nice looking backsplash to bring a shine to the kitchen that way instead, and laminate is still a perfectly solid choice for a renovation. In fact, it still is the go-to choice in about 70% of kitchen renovations because of the price tag and the durability. There are plenty of options out there that will look really beautiful in your home, so don’t hesitate to consider it.
Finally, if the look of stone isn’t really your favorite, there’s the increasingly popular option of butcherblock, which is sturdy, useful, and beautiful. It’s absolutely striking and your friends and guests won’t be able to avoid commenting. However, it takes even more regular maintenance than the natural stone, needing to be conditioned once a month to keep it supple and prevent drying and cracking.
There are, of course, lots of other options out there, but these are some of the most popular and practical, with the highest home resale values. Additionally, you can consider wood, bamboo (which is incredibly eco friendly, while having most of the benefits of wood!), tile, recycled glass, which is a fascinating new option on the scene, laminate, stainless steel, or concrete, which we promise doesn’t look the way you imagine it will!
The options for kitchen countertops are so varied that we don’t even have a clear preference here at Third Generation Restoration. Our personal favorites are granite, because it’s so incredibly durable, and manmade quartz, because it’s renewable. However, we don’t think you can go wrong with any of the choices we’ve discussed above for your home.
This long list of options is also another great reason to work with a Project Designer (which we explain more about here) because they can help you select the best option for the look you want to achieve, within the budget you’re trying to keep.
Third Generation Restoration is a home remodeling company located in and serving the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio area. Our favorite thing to do is to bring our client’s dreams to life, putting them in the home of their dreams without having to go through the trouble of moving. We know remodeling can be a stressful and overwhelming process, especially when you’re redoing an entire room, so it’s our goal to make the process as smooth and painless as possible. It’s important to us to earn your trust, because you’re not just our clients, but our neighbors too. We’re happy to provide useful tips and information here on our blog, and if you have more specific questions, give us a call. And if you’re ready to take the leap and start planning out your new kitchen, get in touch and let us show you what we can do for you, helping your dream of the perfect home become a reality for this generation, and the rest to come.
