Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

| By | | 668 Comments

How To Compare Counter Options And Pick One

We’re inching right along in the kitchen (wish we could share kitchen updates every day but we’re doing this thing real-time). Which brings us to our latest decision: the new counters that we’ll be going with.

Cooktop 8 Removing Granite

We’ve been debating possibilities for weeks (there are a junkload of options out there with pros and cons to each one). And ten people would probably make ten different decisions, so it can feel especially hard to hone in on the “right” thing since there are so many variables. So here’s how we landed on the choice that we like best for our kitchen/family/life. But first the thing we’re sad about: although we had high hopes of DIYing concrete counters (I pinned about a million tutorials) they’re not a good choice for our kitchen. After talking to a few concrete experts (who actually make ’em for a living) we learned that in order to accommodate the double 12″ overhang (on two of the four sides of the giant 3 x 5′ peninsula that we’ll be adding) we would need to pour the slab extra thick, which is an issue because:

  • our cabinets can’t support that amount of weight (they’d need to be reinforced = $$$)
  • our floors aren’t built to support that load anyway (more on that here)

Cue the sad trombone sound effect. We debated doing some sort of concrete “slipcover” (for lack of a better word- some folks just coat another countertop material with a thin layer of concrete) but it ended up having more cons than solid concrete, so we decided to explore a few other options in hopes of finding The One. But we’re diabolically determined (picture me stroking my chin like an evil genius) to mess around with concrete one way or another. Maybe we’ll make a long concrete dining table for an outdoor deck area that we have yet to tell you about/build (it’s on the to-do list, so we’ll hopefully get there eventually). But back to the kitchen…

Cooktop 9 No More Granite

Once concrete was off the table (or the counters, har-har) we decided that hitting up a bunch of local kitchen shops as well as the usual home improvement guys (like Lowe’s and Home Depot) would be a good way to see what other counter materials were out there… and what they were going to do to our budget. Back when we did our first home’s kitchen we really splurged when it came to the counters (to the tune of $3,700 after a $300-off promotion), but they kind of made our kitchen and we had saved up the money to pay them off right away, so we didn’t regret that choice.

Final Kitchen After

Img 3365

But we definitely went into this kitchen makeover vowing to come in substantially under that number. Which is funny given that we have about twice as much square footage (since we’re adding a big peninsula and this kitchen is a lot larger than our last one). For example, to use the same “pashmina” granite from Home Depot that we used for our last kitchen would cost us over $7,000! Which is just not in the budget. At all.

At first we thought about butcher block (Ikea sells it so affordably and it can be stained to get a richer chocolate look). But with the dark wood counters in the adjoined office (just five steps from the stove and three from the fridge) we decided that would be too much wood. Plus we loved the slick and easy-to-wipe-down surface that granite offered us in our first kitchen. Call us spoiled. But this time we wanted to go with something different (and had heard good things about quartz, solid surface options like Corian, and even cool eco options like recycled glass). So after hitting up a bunch of places, here are all of the samples that we brought home to mull over:

Counters1

  1. Top left: LG Viatera quartz in “Geneva” found at Lowe’s (note: any of these options are probably available at a number of places)
  2. Bottom left: Caesarstone quartz in “Pebble” found at a local spot called Kitchen & Bath Solutions
  3. Right: Silestone quartz in “River Blanco” found at Kitchen & Bath Solutions

Counters2

  1. Top left: Cambria quartz in “Torquay” found at Kitchen & Bath Solutions
  2. Bottom left: Cambria quartz in “Sussex” found at Kitchen & Bath Solutions
  3. Top right: Allen & Roth quartz in “Alloy” found at Lowe’s
  4. Bottom right: Cambria quartz in “New Quay” found at Kitchen & Bath Solutions

Oh and here’s a pile of white solid surface options from Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Kitchen & Bath Solutions (the one on top is Glacier White by Corian, and there are other options by LG Hi-Macs and Allen & Roth under it).

Counters3

We also admired a few awesome eco options like recycled glass but they sadly weren’t in the budget (at least we got cork floors and can reuse almost all of our cabinetry to keep things green).

The one we loved most? This Silestone guy (River Blanco):

Counters4

But after we learned that it would be over 5K for those counters alone (!!!), we knew it wasn’t meant to be. But don’t cry for me Argentina. It all worked out in the end and we found something that’ll be a great choice for our kitchen/family. The winner? Glacier White Corian:

Counters5

We’re in love and have all but forgotten the 5K option that we once called a favorite. That’s actually not a white Corian square pictured above, but that bigger white tile was the same color so it represents the new counter better than a tiny Chicklet-sized square sample. Oh and the stainless steel bottle represents our new stainless appliances and the paint swatch is the current wall color so you can see how those things layer in with other things like our backsplash tile and the mocha cork.

Why did it win? So many reasons:

  • It’s thousands cheaper than most other options we priced out ($38 a square foot at Lowe’s – compared to many other options shown above that were in the $80-100 per square foot range). We also have a 10% off “project coupon” that arrived in the mail from Lowe’s and will get 5% off on top of that when we use our Lowe’s credit card (you know we love a deal)
  • John’s sister has lived with Glacier White Corian in her kitchen for the past 5+ years and loves it and has had zero issues (seriously, she wants to marry it)
  • We are keeping our existing deep stainless sink and are not going with an integrated Corian sink (we have heard they can be harder to care for, and John’s sister has a stainless sink with the Corian tops and has loved that combo).
  • It’s easy care (Corian is nonporous, which means stains do not penetrate the surface). According to the company, it also resists the growth of mold, mildew, and bacteria (John’s sister has a teen, a tween, a toddler, and a big dog – and she has no scratches or stains to date)
  • We already use trivets and wood cutting boards to set down hot things (we’re paranoid) so following those steps with Corian should be no sweat (John’s sister hasn’t had any issues with that in five years of use either)
  • It’s lighter than granite, quartz, concrete, etc (so our cabinets and floor joists can handle it, no problem)
  • When installed, there are no seams, if done correctly (which is definitely appealing since the seams in our current granite tops drive us bonkers)
  • It reflects lots of light, so it’s great for dark windowless rooms (like our kitchen!)

I know it might sound really bland to do white cabinets with white counters, but many of the rooms that we love in our inspiration files have the white on white look. And given our recent backsplash choice it’ll all hopefully make sense (the gray-green penny tiles will stand out along with colorful items on our open shelves while the counters and cabinets are classic & clean).

We’re also toying with the idea of some sort of subtle color on the cabinets (maybe a soft taupe-gray like this kitchen that we crashed a while back). Not sure where we’ll end up, but we’ll definitely keep ya posted! What about you guys? Has anyone else decided to go with Corian? Or concrete? Or quartz? Or granite? Or butcher block? We’d love to hear which counter you picked for your kitchen! There are so many delicious options out there…

Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner. Click here to see if it’s you.

Comments

  1. Mir says

    Love our Corian counters!! We’ve had them for over 4 years. A few tips – 1, they can make you additional squares for hot surfaces. We had two squares and used those and a trivet just to be sure the heat didn’t damage the counters. 2, the only issue we had with ours was the caulking. I’m not up on the lingo, but they used a squishy caulk that was the same pattern as our counters between the counter and the back splash. It was not the most sturdy of caulking, so I’d suggest getting spare tubes of that for replacement down the road. We need to hunt some in our pattern!

    Reply

  2. Kristen says

    Honestly, for a decision as big as countertops I think you should go with your first choice. I know you’re all perky and sold on the Corian now that you’ve decided, but have you noticed that a huge number of the references to corian start with, “my [b]parents[/b] put in corian [b]ten years[/b] ago?”

    I’m sure you’ve thought it through, but I’ve never regretted a splurge when it comes to these things. I am 95% super-frugal, but when I splurge I go for it and am always glad.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      If we still pined after our first choice we’d definitely still have it on the table (er, counters) -but we’re over it! White counters are a classic and timeless choice- but maybe the Silestone we love will be “so 2011” someday! Haha. John’s sister is the most fashionable gal I know, and the fact that she got white Corian five years ago and is still hopelessly in love makes us even more excited!

      xo,
      s

    • Lisa says

      I agree, I know in my neighborhood most people have ripped out the standard white corian for granite to compete with the new homes in the market. I guess it depends on the house market in your particular area.

      I’m ready to replace mine for a change and for resale purposes.

  3. Judy says

    Yep, Glacier White Corian here too with stainless steel sink. Still look good after about 20 years and still love it. Soft Scrub for stains, a little emery cloth for minor scratches or knife cuts if needed. Be sure to have a big wooden cutting board right next to the cooktop/stove for hot things though. And get them to make your sink cut-out into a big cutting board (or two) for food prep/presentation.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Love to hear that! And the big thick cutting board is how we do things now (even with granite we’re so paranoid) so hopefully that’ll be a seamless transition!

      xo,
      s

  4. Pat says

    I think you made a great choice.

    My mom installed Corian (also white) in her kitchen in 1979, and believe it or not, it still looks terrific. Just once she has had to sand out a scratch, and you can’t tell where it was. Really great product.

    Reply

  5. Karen L. says

    We put Glacier White Corian in our kitchen in Midlothian years ago—–we’ve since moved to WV, Pa, and now to Williamsburg—and it truly “made” the kitchen! It was a new kitchen but the builder had installed almond laminate counters. So we decided to change to the extremely white Corian (my husband’s career was with DuPont) and it was fantastic! It was an “interior” kitchen as your is and I can’t overemphasis how much it lightened and brightened the kitchen every day; it actually made me like my kitchen better. Also, it was a pleaser when we sold it a few years later. Any staining I had was easy to buff out and we had teens then, with plenty of teens over all the time. Since the color goes all the way through it’s a great feature. It also feels so good when one runs their hand over it.
    Also, we have friends in Memphis who built their second house using all white cabinets and glacier white Corian counters and they alway look pristine and clean and modern. They must have loved them as they did two houses in it! Timeless idea, too! You’ll love it.

    Reply

  6. Charlotte says

    I hate to burst your bubble about the 5% off but I was just pricing counters at Lowes the other day and they said no 5% off discount since it’s installed but you can qualify for 6mo financing. Love your choice though!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks for the tip! Never heard that at ours (we got a fridge installed and other appliances delivered and they honored it). Might differ from store to store though, so I better ask!

      xo,
      s

  8. Caroline says

    We recently installed Affinity solid surface countertops- same as Corian, just another brand – and we couldn’t be happier. http://www.affinitysurfaces.com/

    We were sold on the same features + the fact that chips and breaks can be replaced seamlessly (unlike granite). Our seams are invisible and we haven’t had any issues with stains (tomato sauce, etc). We’re also thrilled with our Blanco Silgranit sink – check out the truffle colour – it looks like concrete and we’re over the moon with ours.
    http://www.blancoamerica.com/c3/blanco_usa/_www/en/pub/products/new_products/truffle.cfm
    Silgranit is a composite material made of 80% granite. We were attracted because it resists scratches, stains and heat.

    Reply

  9. Sheela says

    When we re-did our kitchen counters 2 years ago, we chose LG Hi-Macs (just like Corian). it’s a cafe au lait type color with flecks in it, and we got it for a great price from an independent counter/cabinet shop (they are actually subcontractors to Lowe’s here, but by going through them directly we saved a bunch of money.)

    I definitely love those counters – they clean up so well, and do not stain (and on the off chance it does, some cleaner or magic eraser work great to get the stain out). I treat them nicely (no hot pots, etc.), but certainly don’t baby them, especially considering I have a husband who doesn’t remember to wipe juice spills and kids who haphazardly put dishes on the counter. So I think you’ll be happy with your decision. And I don’t have an integrated sink either – I have an extra deep, double-wide single bowl stainless steel sink (undermount) and I love it!

    Reply

  10. Ashley says

    I just love how thoroughly you research things! Everything looks so gorgeous together! My parents put in white Corian in the kitchen of their old house. It definitely reflects a lot of light and looks awesome (so fresh and so clean clean!)…but just to warn you, you’ll need to clean up “stainable” spills RIGHT away. Also, be careful of leaving newspapers/magazines on the counter…my dad’s habit is to read the newspaper standing at the island counter every morning, but with the white Corian, he would lay down an old bath towel–sounds crazy, but it kept the ink from the newspaper from rubbing off on the Corian. Just a little tip! I second the comments above about using Soft Scrub–it works wonders! :) Can’t wait to see your finished kitchen! It’s going to be so beautiful!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Ashley! Emily has already waxed poetic about Soft Scrub and just like our old light granite counters we’ll be vigilant about wiping up stains as soon as they occur!

      xo,
      s

  13. Gracie says

    I was surprised to see y’all didn’t choose choice #2. From the pics it looks so much like concrete that I kept thinking you were going to say you found your concrete alternative. Maybe it looks different in real life though? The Corian looks like it will be really pretty. Can’t wait to see the finished kitchen.

    Reply

  14. Sarah says

    Great choice guys. Although, oddly, corian is WAY more expensive the stone here in Australia. I just put in Nougart Ceaserstone and LOVE it. I’m a BIG BIG fan of pale benchtops after taking out a near black granite top – it was like a mirror and showed every fleck of dust/water.
    Exciting times!!

    Reply

  15. esther says

    Interesting! We’re working on designing the kitchen for our new house as well, and I’d never have considered white/light counter to go with white/light cabinets! But the pics you show do look good! Something else to add to the ‘to ponder about’ list — there’s just so many options!

    Reply

  16. Michelle Shonce says

    I was SOOO giddy to see that you guys chose Corian. I feel like it is the ‘underdog’, so-to-speak, of counters. But, it is FABULOUS! We put it in our kitchen (along with the integrated sink–more on that in a sec) and I am SOOOOO happy with it. It isn’t the “star” of the show and flows nicely with everything else in the kitchen.

    That said—-PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reconsider the integrated sink. We went with it only bc you can’t go back on your decision once the counters are in. Seriously, it is AWESOME. You just swipe the crumbs right in from the surface, no caulking and mold to deal with, water doesn’t puddle behind the faucet area AND no scratches in the since to scour out. I literally can go on and on about the sink—I <3 it. A LOT.

    I love watching your kitchen revamp—keep up the great work!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks so much for the recommendation Michelle! We’ve actually heard from a ton of folks with the integrated sink right on this post who have issues with it- so we’re going to just stick with the stainless sink we already have! You know we like to work with what we got anyway. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  17. PatC says

    I have a mocha colored corian with an undermount deep stainless sink = lovely. Love corian, so easy to maintain and very forgiving.

    Reply

  18. Jessica Z. says

    Looks like we have similar taste in countertops — we looked at basically the same options you did when we re-did our kitchen almost 2 years ago. We were set to splurge on the Silestone River Blanco, but discovered that Cambria Waverton was substantially cheaper. And it looks basically identical. Just thought I’d throw that out there …

    We LOVE the Cambria Waverton — the countertops are my favorite part of the kitchen …

    Reply

  19. Amy Jackson says

    We got LG Hi Mac counters with an integrated sink. Love the counters, we got white too and they brightened up our dark kitchen substantially. Hate the sink though, impossible to keep clean. So I was glad for you that you’re keeping your stainless. That’s definitely the way I’ll go next time.

    Reply

  20. Jess says

    We have had Corian counters for 10 years and I LOVE them! :) Never had any trouble with anything hot or with stains. We have white with a ribbon of color running along the edge near the front edge. I love how that little bit of color breaks things up. Just throwing that out there as another option for you.

    Reply

  21. Meredith says

    My parents have Corian counters. My mom asked the people who came to measure her kitchen what they did with the part of the counter they cut away to make the hole for the sink. Turns out, it is basically scrapped, but one of the guys mentioned that they would let my mom have the piece they cut away. She’s used it as a trivet and a cutting board, and it is still in super condition. Y’all might want to ask about that, too!

    Reply

  23. Misty says

    I have Cambria Sussex countertops! Though I do love them, I think you made a wise choice. Like your first house, I splurged on these and sometimes I wished I’d gone for the less expensive Corian. They would look awesome in your kitchen, though!

    Reply

  24. LaVerna DuBois says

    I love tracking your progress, but (why is there always a BUT?)since you wrote about the weird Gonzo-ish knobs, I can’t get those suckers off my mind. I look at your (now) kitchen pictures and all I see are eyeballs looking back at me. If you’re taking requests…removing the eyeball pulls definitely needs to be shifted to near the top of the list. Those suckers are C-r-eepy!!! :)

    Reply

  25. Mary says

    Oh my goodness, that’s what we had in the last kitchen and I loved it! I had it for 10 years and the best part is that it was always clean and bright. I had the seamless sink which I would highly recommend. A light buffing was done twice with minor chip repair, the second time right before we sold. I have uba tuba granite in this kitchen and don’t really like it as well. Great choice!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      So glad you loved yours for ten years! And wow- loving it over granite. That’s an endorsement. We’ll have to see if we love ours more than our old spendy granite counters and report back to everyone!

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes, we love that stuff! Unfortunately it wouldn’t be strong enough for two 12″ overhangs on our giant peninsula (we talked to two concrete pros who worried it would crack or break off in those areas- even with the lightweight stuff).

      xo,
      s

  27. Mendy says

    DON’T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I HATE,HATE,HATE my corian countertops. I have sandstone and love the color but the material scratches so easily. Not deep scratches but small surface scratches. That will be a lot of solid white too. Did they not have a white with any thread of color? White on white kitchens typically have some bit of graining in the countertop and not solid bathroom white.

    Aside from the color choice, I would not pick Corian again. I would get the engineered quartz. Just a much better product. If you are spending big money on the counters I would opt to spend a bit more to get a nicer product.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      So sorry about your experience Mendy! We have heard from hundreds of folks who have and love Corian (some who have the same Glacier White and have had it for decades and even someone for over 20 years!). We have learned that white seems to be the best at hiding scratches (since colored ones scratch “white” so they show more). Especially since John’s sister has had them for five years and couldn’t love them more, we’re sold! And it’s not a difference of a bit more, it’s more like quadruple the cost if we go with the quartz options that we love ($1500 vs $6000!).

      xo,
      s

  28. Jesse Rader says

    In our bathroom we went with Ceasarstone Nougat.Needed something to break up the white walls, white tile and white sinks and bath but awesome light greyish tile and yellow showercurtain. I would shop around for price quotes because Our prices ranged from 1200-1600 for the same thing. Ikea also has all of those products as well and they use the same distributor but has something worked out with them for the cost savings. You can submit your information via online or fax so you don’t have to travel to the store. Our kitchen is our next big project, so keep up with the inspiration. You guys are making us motivated.

    Reply

  29. Allison says

    I posted my concrete countertops tutorial a few days ago on your facebook wall. We did a 12″ overhang (1.5″ thick) on two sides of our bar without consulting a professional. Not sure if it was “wise”, but we doubly reinforced it with metal mesh AND rebar.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yeah I think one overhang was ok reinforced, but two (out of four sides) with a 12″ overhang made the pros nervous- so they said it probably wasn’t the right choice for our kitchen…

      xo,
      s

  30. Rachel Huddleston says

    I live in chicago, and I had granite installed for ~$27/sqft. Maybe granite is a bit cheaper in chi-town because there’s more demand? I have a similar granite to what you had in your old house, and I love it, but my 34 sqft of granite only came out to ~$1700 installed! Way cheaper.

    I’m loving the way your kitchen is coming together, I’m going to be so JELLY of your vent hood and penny tile. Can’t wait to see the rest!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah, I definitely think some types of granite are cheaper- we just always seem to pick the ones that say “Group D” or whatever the highest level is. haha. Such bad luck. But happily Corian can get super expensive but we loved the cheap white stuff!

      xo,
      s

  31. HeatherM says

    We did DIY granite countertops like these:http://www.tileshop.com/naturalstone/granite.aspx. I decided I could not live without that beautiful glassy sheen of natural stone countertops. At $15/square foot, the price was right too. We made our grout lines so narrow you don’t even really notice them, and they are full 24″x24″ (counter depth) tiles, so we only have maybe one or two seams more than a normal granite slab kitchen. We got almost all of our materials at the tile shop, but Lowes had a much better variety of color choices for grout, so we used their grout. We have two huge “L” shaped areas of countertop (each the size of your “L” with the peninsula you plan to build) and we had to be budget conscious. We were able to use a special blade on our existing table saw and had nice clean cuts, but the DIY project as a whole was still a lot of work. I think our counters came in at around $2,000 after tax and such (I found your 10% off coupon after the project, and we have 10% tax in cook county in IL).

    Reply

  32. Emily says

    Exciting!! What color grout are you going to use on your backsplash? That can be an interesting place to add contrast.

    It’s really fun seeing this come together! Keep soldiering through!! :D

    Reply

  33. Dominique Christoffersen says

    We installed quartzite and LOVE it. We were a hair’s breath away from going with Corian when my mom reminded me that we would be careful but what about babysitters, visitors, and other people helping in your home that maybe wouldn’t be as conscientious. I didn’t want to be the psycho demanding that all my sitters and everyone coming through the door be trivet users so we went with the quartzite. Plus I didn’t want to make anyone feel bad if they were to inadvertently mess up our counters. Anywho. It was a budget buster but we LOVE the sparkling results.

    Reply

  34. KH says

    We used Corian Rain Cloud in our kitchen and while it looks fabulous and is incredibly stain resistant, we have had two problems: 1. Tomato-based anything WILL stain it if overlooked for any length of time. Soft Scrub with Bleach will take this out, but it’s pretty caustic stuff and I know you guys have a little one. 2. Above the dishwasher, the humidity and steam have caused major damage to the underlayment or whatever it is that they put the resin on. It’s warped and swollen after only a year. Luckily there is a ten-year warranty, so I’ll let you know how it turns out after I talk to Dupont.

    Overall, though, I love these countertops.

    Reply

  35. blair says

    so glad y’all went with the corian—love it! i work in new home construction and down here in NC granite is all the rage. which is kind of sad since its so difficult/nearly impossible to repair if/when it chips or cracks.
    kudos for another great pick. love the blog!

    Reply

  36. Susie says

    So excited about your choice. We just bought a house with a 1996 redone kitchen with white corian. We’re excited to see how it turns out for you since we plan on doing a reno and just assumed that we had to replace the countertops with something fancy. But, we do love the undestructable nature of the Corian, especially compared to the limestone that we used to have. Can’t wait to see it.

    Reply

  37. Melynda says

    Corian scratches can come out with sandpaper. Just an fyi. If anyone needs an awesome looking but inexpensive solution, check out Formica’s 180fx collection. It is amazing with large scale repeats.

    Reply

  39. JAB says

    I have corian also…they are a chocolate color called earth, but they are great! Unlike all other countertops the color runs through so if you ever scratch them or anything they can easily just be sanded to make look like brand new. And they are sooo cheap, ummm I mean affordable. Thay are great! I’v put them in our bathrooms too and I love them!

    Reply

  40. Meghan says

    Love Corian for it’s maintenance but we recently went with Ikea butcher block for our early 1900’s house to more fit the architecture. We sealed it with a food-grade sealant to minimize maintenance and improve its wipeability. If Lowe’s won’t honor the 10& coupon, usually a manager will just make the adjustment anyway for a large purchase. For our bathroom remodel, we just asked and the manager did that even without a coupon or anything.

    Reply

  42. adrian says

    We have white on white and LUUUUURVE it! I’d love to upgrade to corian. (We have white laminate, which actually fit out 1952 home really well, but they’re a lil’ harder to keep clean.)

    Reply

  43. Kelly says

    Hooray for Corian!! When I used to plan kitchens at IKEA, I was always a huge fan of Corian and people always had such great things to say about it (plus I always thought it was amazing how they can seamlessly repair it). I hope you guys love it!

    Reply

  44. Suzanne says

    Yea! Will look great!
    Our kitchen has white painted cabinets and white corian counters and we love it. Our wall colors are kind of an apple green and it looks great, I just love working in my kitchen.

    Also, when you have them cut the sink section out of the corian, save the cut out and have them put “feet” on it. Then you can use it to cover the sink or stove top when setting up a buffet in your kitchen. We just hosted my daughter’s Baptism and I was able to bust out the cutout (so happy the previous owners left it for us) and cover my sink for extra space to serve food. (Our daughters share the same birthday…5/14!)

    Can’t wait to see the results!!! Will look great! Especially excited to see the back-splash!

    Reply

  45. Valerie J. says

    I think the Corian is going to look great!!! We had Lowe’s install Granite almost 2 years ago…it was a special price because their installers had bought too much of certain kinds so we got it for $39 a sq. ft. I will say this…the installers ended up being complete knuckleheads. Hopefully your Lowe’s contracts with better installers. It’s a good thing the granite turned out beautifully for all the hassle it was. :) Make sure to buddy up to the Lowe’s employee that schedules everything for the install…they have alot of power over the installers.

    Reply

  47. Stephanie says

    Congrats on picking your countertops! When I first saw you guys mention the silestone/quartz I kept saying to myself “pick that, pick that, pick that”! Even though I 100% understand that it’s out of the budget (I used to sell countertops at Home Depot here in Canada and RARELY saw a basic, teeny kitchen under $5000) it’s easily my favorite.

    And as a tip for if you do end up scratching or badly staining your corian down the line, know that unless it’s a massive gouge in the countertop, it’s completely fixable! If you use a very fine sandpaper and lightly sand in the direction of the scratch, it will come right out and won’t ruin the finish!

    Looking forward to seeing the finished project!

    Reply

  48. Nadia Milagros says

    Ooooo! We just finished our kitchen reno and seriously, deciding on counters was maybe the hardest part! We finally went with Silestone,ostly because I’m lazy and a klutz and wanted the most maintenance free option. We had budgeted like 3k and after some HD promotions, plus our 10% credit card savings, we only spent like $1400. Woohoo! But a few days later, their promotion got even better and they totally we’re happy to giver us the difference back, another $400. So then, when the counters got delivered, they had the wrong edge on them…boooooo, BUT we actually didn’t mind it, and you really couldn’t even tell the difference and in the end, because it was their mistake, they compensated us another $200! Soooo what should have cost about 3k, we got for a little over $800!!! It seriously is one of my favorite stories to tell!!! And with the remodel problems we had, the good stories were few and far between! Haha!

    Reply

  49. Carissa says

    White corian sounds great! Just curious if you have any idea what type of edge you’ll do (if you get a choice)

    Reply

  50. Lauren Fraga says

    Great Choice! My parents have had white Corian counters for 20+ years and they still look as good as the day they were installed!

    I can’t wait to see your new kitchen when it is done! You guys are so inspiring!

    Reply

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *