Merry Countermas to us!
They’re here. And they’re spectacular.
Just as a reminder, the cave room looked like this back when we moved in last December:
But back to our brand-spanking-new Corian counters. I didn’t expect them to feel as chunky, heavy, and stone-like as they do. They’re like marble without the veins. Seriously. Nothing plastic-y about them. And they’re sleek but sort of matte too if that makes sense, which looks/feels really chic and sort of honed-marble-ish (according to our installer the white matte ones are the only ones that don’t show scratches, which will definitely come in handy). So yeah, it’s safe to say that we’re completely smitten.
Of course things were looking a bit rough when they went in, but we’re used to the room looking like crazytown by now:
One of the coolest things to watch was how they made them completely seamless by filling the cracks where the slabs met with some sort of glue-caulk and getting it suuuuuper hot with these defibrillator-looking pieces:
Then they were flash cooled and the installer polished them until the seams were completely gone. Seriously, I’ll give anyone who can tell where they were a hundred bucks because it’s impossible. Oh but for this step of the project Burger, Clara, and I went for a nice long walk and John shut himself up in our bedroom because it was a little fumey while the glue-caulk was heated up and cooled and smoothed down (but it thankfully wasn’t a dusty or messy process, which was nice). So I didn’t come back to chaos, just beautiful white amazingness with the fan going and the windows open.
Here’s where one of the seams ran (right up this corner) before he worked his installer magic. No evidence of it at all, right? Three cheers for shape-shifting counters. And yes, that is a baguette. We’re fancy like that.
The guy was awesome about talking us through maintenance stuff. Here are a few of the fun things that I stood there and actually took notes about because I’m ridiculous (in my defense, the guy seemed to be entertained by my furious scribbling):
- Corian is nonporous, which means stains can’t penetrate it (and most of them can simply be scrubbed off, even if you don’t catch them right away)
- If stubborn stains (like red wine that somehow sits for a few days) do discolor the top layer of the Corian, a spray bottle full of 10 ounces of water and 1 ounce of bleach should strip the stain right out.
- The white color runs all the way through the counter, so if some insane spot refuses to come out, it can be lightly sanded in a circular motion with extremely high grit sandpaper (400 grit) and then followed with a very fine buffing pad (which was provided to us by the installer along with the sandpaper). It’s like they knew we were DIYers. So we don’t have to call anyone in to “resurface” things in a decade or two if we feel like polishing them up because they essentially taught us how to do it ourselves.
- Our counters are warranteed for 10 years, so if anything ever cracks or otherwise has issues they can come fix it for free (holla!) using the same method they used to fill the seams, which makes any prior damage completely undetectable.
So that combined with the fact that John’s sister has had the same exact counters for five years with three kids and a big dog (and zero repairs/stains) makes us deliriously excited. And I’m happy to report that we’re not being nearly as anal as we were with our first kitchen’s granite counters (the light color of them really freaked us out in the beginning). We’ve jumped right into using our kitchen even more – so things like spaghetti sauce have already made an appearance without any disastrous results.
Oh but there is one problem. Our sleek new counters make our old cabinets look like crapola by comparison…
… but once we sand, prime, and paint them (along with fiiiinally replacing the eyeball hardware) they should be worthy of such pretty countertop company. Can’t wait to rebuild/cut down some matching doors and get to the whole priming & painting step.
You can read all about why we chose white Corian and how much it costs here, and how the templating process went here. This post is just really about photos. Glorious, glorious photos of the counter that we waited 20 sinkless days for (read more about removing the old counters and sink here).
See that hulking 3 foot by 5 foot peninsula? Pictures don’t capture how big it really is (it’s larger than the wood dining table that we used to have in here). That baby is pure joy. So much space to spread out and bake/craft/eat/serve up appetizers, etc. The kitchen is pretty much 100% more functional and there aren’t even stools there yet (or any wood trim pieces on the back and side of the peninsula to hide those ugly brackets)…
Oh yeah and see those counter edges on the peninsula above? They’re gently curved, so there’s no pokey part to stab Clara in the eye or John in the hip or me in the belly (yes, we’re all dramatically different heights around here).
And for those wondering how we’ve been dealing with an in-progress kitchen and asking if we’ve been eating out every night, we’ve actually been really lucky to have a fully functional fridge, stove, and dishwasher this time around (which was not the case during our first kitchen gut job). So we’ve still been eating/cooking at home without counters and a sink (we just used a piece of plywood leaned on top of the cabinets as prep space with a cutting board and other platters and plates to keep us from actually prepping food on the plywood). But the whole washing-pots-and-pans-in-the-tub thing was getting old. So happy to have this guy back in action:
Our counter fabricators even left us a handy little cutting board that they made out of the sink hole for us, which can also be used as a trivet (super hot things shouldn’t be placed directly on Corian counters, but we never put hot stuff on our old granite counters without a cutting board or trivet, so we should be cool). Oh and for anyone local wondering who we used for installation, we were beyond thrilled with Five Star (our installers) who were hired through Home Depot (where we ordered our Corian). More on that here.
Oh but wait, before the counters went in we hid a little time capsule behind one of the cabinets (which will only be found when our counters are someday removed).
John sweetly wrote it. It reads:
Today our new countertops are being installed. We are a family of three (well, four if you count our chihuahua Hamburger). I’m John Petersik (age 30), my wife Sherry (age 29) and I moved here 11 months ago in December of 2010 with our daughter Clara (age 1.5). We write a blog about our home improvement adventures called Young House Love (www.younghouselove.com). If you’re reading this it means you’re probably getting new counters too. Hope you enjoy them!
Here’s how we hid it behind the corner cabinet by the window (stapled to the back of the cabinet in a ziplock bag).
Ah memories. We can hardly picture the top of the cabinets anymore. Isn’t it weird how your eyes adjust so fast? So next up we have to cut down and hang a cabinet for the built-in microwave next to the pantry, start trying to retrofit/build matching doors for the secondhand cabinets that we added to the room, prime and paint the cabinets, tackle the backsplash, hang our built-in range hood and floating shelves, redo all the lighting, lay the cork floors, install our new stainless dishwasher, add crown molding, etc. Whew. Might not be done until late January (we originally were aiming for early Jan) but we’re inching slowly towards the finish line. Just taking things one day at a time seems to be the secret to sanity. That and washing things in the sink again. Oh man, it’s good to have that guy back.
UPDATE: We’re officially in love with our new counters. Check out the update post about them here.
Rocky Mountain Mama says
Love, love, love the counters! We are hoping to replace our counter tops sooner rather than later. We keep going back and forth between Corian and granite. It seems like granite is really “in” now but we do like the look of Corian as well.
And the bag you left behind? Awesome idea!
Suzanne says
Looks great! I can’t wait for the “big” reveal, when it comes! I see the vision you guys have and it’s going to look awesome! Well done!
Love the living room too!
Kara says
Okay, now I want Corian counters. We have horrible dark green laminate, and really really want new counters (but we also need new cabinets, so it will be $$$). They look fabulous, and I think the grellow looks better with every new improvement in the kitchen.
ColleenwithMurals&More says
Lovely! Or gorgeous. Or . . . _____fillintheblankwithgoodness. And the time capsule? So great. Only you guys would think of this (unless I’m just gettin’ old)
Coffee-spittin’ on the ‘furious notes’ though. No store is safe from my camera phone and notebook. Used to embarrass Hubs until I told him about John and YHL (He thought it was a girl thing). He may actually get on the bloggie bus fairly soon ;)
Harinee says
It looks great – you’re right, the cabs look older now that you have sparkling counters!
I have a question about your pantry placement though, it looks like the pantry cupboard still covers up the doorway(into the living room) trim. I thought you planned to move it in a bit so the trim is visible.. did you decide not to do that so you have more place on the other side of the cupboard?
Sorry if this has already been answered, I did check the comments but I may have missed it!
YoungHouseLove says
We moved it as much as we could and will use trim and paint to hopefully make it look nice and finished when we get to the painting phase!
xo,
s
Janine says
Beautiful! Darn, darn, darn, though. I refrain from telling you what to do (I am sure you have enough of that every day!!), but I do regret big time not suggesting you round the corners of the corian around the peninsula so toddler heads don’t get hurt! But I guess if you put a chair or a stool there, this will avoid the problem. Is it too late to get them rounded? PS I LOVE my peninsula for both adults and children, and I hope it brings you as much joy as mine has.
YoungHouseLove says
Done! We actually got those corners rounded so they’re not sharp at all! They actually have the radius of a penny!
xo,
s
Sandi says
Amazing! The Corian looks absolutely INCREDIBLE!
There is seriously nothing better than a beautiful white kitchen! They totally have my heart. I was wondering when the cork flooring is going in?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s going to be one of the last steps. Maybe in the end of January? Can’t wait?
xo,
s
Jen @ The Decor Scene says
GORGEOUS! GORGEOUS! GORGEOUS!!! The kitchen is really coming together. Love the new counters and I love that you put the note and picture under the countertop. What a sweet idea. When we redid our Family Room and all the walls were down to the studs I wrote on one of the studs when we did the work and signed our names. Hopefully some day down the road…a long time from now, someone will find our note too. :)
Christin says
Those counters are GORGEOUS!!! The room is really coming together. :)
Celise says
I’m so excited for you! And guess what- I’m getting white silestone countertops installed at my new house (we’ve been building) tomorrow! Husband made the cabinets out of oak.
I can’t wait!!
YoungHouseLove says
So exciting! Congrats!
xo,
s
Kacie says
Hooray! It looks great! How exciting!
Kacie
http://www.acollectionofpassions.com/
GreenInOC says
I just came back to admire the beauty!
I noticed in the picture with the white cabinet under the peninsula, it looks black. Are you going to put black toe kicks in under all the cabinetry?
Just curious, because my cabinets are white and I’ve wished since 2 weeks in that the toe kicks were black – they get so dirty and the I think the black would look so cool and modern!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s just unpainted wood- haha. But it’s not a bad idea! Something to think about (maybe we can add a dark color later if we don’t like the light cabinet color down there?).
xo,
s
Jill says
Can you post a picture of the underside of the counter where the brackets are? I’m just curious how that looks and what got drilled into what.
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll share some detailed bracket pics when we work on the paneling that we’ll add to hide them! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Carrie says
Wow! What a difference!! It looks great! My boyfriend wants to change all the counters to Corian, but I want granite. This may help his case, I love the way it looks and sounds like they will last forever from everyone’s comments.
Congrats!
Carrie
P.S. The defibrillator-looking pieces are actually a clamp. My bf explained the entire process to me once I showed him this post. He’d be happy to explain more in detail, but I don’t want to bore you! LOL!
YoungHouseLove says
So interesting!
xo,
s
Michelle says
I bet when you prime the cabinets you can get a better idea of how white cabinets would look in there — then you can decide whether to go white or top the primer with a tinted grey!
YoungHouseLove says
Great idea!
xo,
s
Kelly says
Never commented before…but love love love that you say “crap-ola.” Makes me laugh! So familiar – my family says it all the time! :)
H says
Aw, the time capsule. Melted.
Monique says
Congrats on your new counters. We (hubby & I) own a casework shop that makes cabinets and solid surface countertops so I just thought I’d let you know that the seam was not super heated by that contraption. That is a air powered vacuum clamp that holds the seam tightly together until the adhesive sets. The beauty of the solid surfacing is the adhesive basically becomes one with the counter and as long as the fabricator puts it together cleanly you should not notice the seam. The adhesive & the whole fabrication process can be stinky (think enclosed nail salon) but there should not be any residual smell after install (say a week later). I personally use a Corian cutting board – with knives *horrors* – but only since I sharpen my knives regularly. Also, they do sell a product that removes Sharpie from the counters but it is actually more stinky than the adhesive! Keep up the DIY!
YoungHouseLove says
So interesting! Thanks for all the info/tips!
xo,
s
esther says
Oh I love that white counter!! Somehow we’ve been looking into (dark) granite or wooden counters for our own kitchen for the new house.. but white is very very pretty as well. Something to keep in mind.
I love the fact you two left a note and photo under the counter, clever! It’s going to be so much fun for any future residents of your house who someday may be redoing the kitchen and for them to find this!!
Since our new house will be a newbuild one and we’re the first owners, I’m now playing with the idea of leaving a little note here or there for any future residents as well — that’d be so much fun to find, I know I’d love it. Thanks for the suggestion hhe.
Kate @ Stripes and Polka Dots says
That time capsule is SO cute! I’m sure whoever finds that we be so happy you left it :)
manyhatz! says
your counters are great, for sure, but I’m crazy about that faucet, and the placement of it is super cool. Whose idea was that?!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s actually how it originally was (our sink is so wide that it wouldn’t fit centered behind it, so diagonally on the side was the answer). Glad you like it!
xo,
s
Jeanne says
We do the same thing, write a note to the new owners. Although we write on the floors with our names and date, but I like the whole note idea!
Selden says
Just fabulous. Question Sherry: did you debate over the thickness? Yours has a nice chunkiness which makes a big difference…
YoungHouseLove says
We always love that chunky square edge and that’s just the standard thickness so it was a pretty easy call! Sometimes thinner can look less balanced with the bug cabinets under it to us. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Tracy H says
Love the counter and am loving the newly painted cabinets as well. But I have a question for you. We looked at a house that had white Corian and it was terribly scratched. Does that happen with normal wear or is a particular type of finish preferred to minimize scratching? When I asked the lady at Home Depot, she suggested a local fabricator that can “refinish” then for $300-$400.
YoungHouseLove says
What we’ve heard so far is that yes, Corian can scratch. Our fabricator actually gave us some sanding and buffing pads where we can actually sand out stains and scratches. He showed us how to do it and it was pretty awesome. But they did say we can have them into fix any major issues (like big cracks) – that’s one of the benefits of Corian, I guess: it can be repaired.
-John
Bonnie says
I love everything! The corian cabinets are beautiful. I’m wondering why you picked corian this time. I’m trying to decide between granite, or corian after your post. Any hints would be helpful and so appreciated. Thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
We just wanted to go with something different since we did granite and really liked it but Corian was about 2-4 times less expensive and pretty easy to care for. Oh and the seamless thing is amazing. We love not having seams!
xo,
s
Bonnie says
Thank you for your reply it’s so much appreciated. I love and learn so much from your blog and I don’t know how you do everything that you do and still have time to reply to readers. You both inspire me!!! Thank you. Bonnie
YoungHouseLove says
Aw you’re welcome Bonnie!
xo,
s
Keri says
You might have already answered this question somewhere, but I thought one of your posts said you were getting your Corian from Lowe’s and then another stated you ordered it from Home Depot. Could you clarify that? We are thinking about Corian and I’d love to know who you used!
YoungHouseLove says
I think we mentioned we were looking at it at Lowe’s originally but ended up purchasing it from Home Depot. They gave us the better price (we had them both price it out and went with HD). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Amber says
Now that it’s been several months, I’m was wondering how the white countertops are holding up? I’ve been planning on white countertops for my kitchen but I’m concerned about stains and marks.
YoungHouseLove says
We love them! No stains or marks yet. We just wipe them down every night before bed and they look so clean and white.
xo,
s
meg o says
I was wondering how you are keeping your Corian white sink clean and sparkly white? I know you guys try to use all green-friendly cleaners, and so do I, but I have used a variety of things and nothing is getting it really crisp and clean looking. (Except bleach, which is not an option…) Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh, we actually didn’t get a Corian white sink – we had the existing stainless steel sink reinstalled with the white counters. So we haven’t had to deal with that particular challenge. And luckily we haven’t had any stains on the counter itself that a little bit of elbow grease wouldn’t get out. The guy who installed them did say with anything stubborn we could try lightly buffing it with a very high grit sandpaper. We haven’t tried it ourselves, but he did a demo when he was here that was very convincing!
-John
Ashlyn says
I love the corian. We are thinking of removing our granite and replacing with corian as well. Did you ever get rid of/sell your old granite? I remember reading you were going to craigslist it…wondering if you were able to get anything from it? Thank you!
YoungHouseLove says
Yep! We were able to sell it on craigslist for $350. Woot!
-John
Laura says
Hi S&J!
Your kitchen is fabO! I’ve just begun working on mine having just purchased a home. The kitchen is currently ALL WHITE; All of it, and I’m a “color” kind of girl. Recently I ordered some fun granite countertops; Paradiso Silver. It’s mostly black/dark grey with white swirls….HELP me decide if I need the 4″ backsplash plate, please??
I see that you went without. How did you decide? I’ve heard from some people that the 4″ plate can date a kitchen or I’ve heard that the 4″ plate is good if you want to show of the granite.
Any thoughts from you guys or anyone else?
Thanks!!
laura
YoungHouseLove says
From what we’ve heard, people generally think the 4″ backsplash can be a little dated and it’s a more “now” look to just get counters and then do a tile backsplash that goes from the tile up to the cabinets (ex: white subway tile, etc). If you check out inspiration rooms on places like Pinterest or House Beautiful, most of them don’t have the 4″ backsplash anymore, so for resale I think it would be better without. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Ellie says
I am in the richmond area and looking into getting corian counter tops. Did you use an installer instead of using loews to install the counter tops because the independent installer was less money? Would you mind sharing their contact information?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no, Lowe’s used an independent installer (they contract them) and going through Lowe’s and their installer was the cheapest we found! Going directly to independents was actually more than using Lowe’s! They must get some big bulk discount with those installers that single homeowners don’t get.
xo
s
Katie Jones says
Just wondering what the name is of the Corian you picked out? I love it!
YoungHouseLove says
It was their whitest variety. Was it called Snow White? Or just Bright White? Just look for the white square on the Corian wall at Home Depot or Lowe’s and that’s it :)
xo
s
Livvymom says
After about 18 months…how has the Coriander held up? Do you have any recommendations?
YoungHouseLove says
Still loving them! They have been very easy to wipe down and keep clean, don’t have any stains, and don’t have any scratches or dings. Still look like they did when they went in :)
xo
s
Erica says
Now the big question — did you love them enough to put in your new house? Would you use the Corian again???
YoungHouseLove says
We loved them, but we also loved the light colored granite we used in our first house! I think in general our first instinct isn’t to do the same thing over and over again, so we might try something new this time (we hear awesome things about quartz and silestone and butcher block and soapstone, so there’s lots out there tempting us, haha!).
xo
s
Nicole says
Hey! we are looking to replace our old rusty (eek!) counter tops and wonder- would you still consider using corian?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we really liked it!
xo
s