Help me choose countertop type and floor type for my new kitchen

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
We just finished remodeling our kitchen with granite countertops. Couldn't possibly be happier with them. :thumbsup:

We had ceramic tile before and hated it because of the grout, hard to keep clean and it is easy to stain, also tile is prone to chipping, especially on the corners and edges.

Pic

:thumbsup:

now you just need some under cabinet lighting

I've thought about it but it's kind of late to do that at this point. We did replace the flourescent lighting with 7 canned lights and 2 pendant lights over the island. There is plenty of light in this kitchen now. I just have to hook up the dimmer switches now.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: Rage187
We went with SileStone by Dupont for our Countertops. It was pricey but not having to seal it every year like granite and the fact that bacteria won't grow on it made the ideal choice for our family.

:thumbsup:

Tile's a bad idea - the grout takes too much maintenance for my taste. Natural stone has similar problems, imo - depending on the stone it can be vulnerable to chips, heat or stains or just plain requires maintenance. Of natural stone countertops, however, I believe granite is the toughest.

Concrete counters seem - to me - like a fad that will look VERY dated in a short amount of time.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
We just finished remodeling our kitchen with granite countertops. Couldn't possibly be happier with them. :thumbsup:

We had ceramic tile before and hated it because of the grout, hard to keep clean and it is easy to stain, also tile is prone to chipping, especially on the corners and edges.

Pic

:thumbsup:

Looks very nice.

 

[DBL]

Originally posted by: krotchy
It was mentioned before, but I second it. Granite Tiles are a great choice for counters, as its alot cheaper than slab granite, looks good and is very durable.

Plus, with decent granite tiles, you can get 1/16" grout joints, which should be almost invisible.

 

[richardycc]

dont get tile countertop, they will make your kitchen dated, check out the relatively new formica HD from Wilsonart, they look like granite, but cheaper.

 

[IGBT]

Originally posted by: Engraver
I've never really liked the look of ceramic tile. Look into Corian, which is also expensive I think. We got a deal on ours so I don't know how much it really is.

..:thumbsup: Corian is the way to go for a "working" kitchen. Ceramic or stone is a maintaince headache and no where near as functional and durable as Corian.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: IGBT

Originally posted by: Engraver
I've never really liked the look of ceramic tile. Look into Corian, which is also expensive I think. We got a deal on ours so I don't know how much it really is.

..:thumbsup: Corian is the way to go for a "working" kitchen. Ceramic or stone is a maintaince headache and no where near as functional and durable as Corian.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "working" kitchen. I bake in my kitchen and we prepare most our meals in the kitchen as well. I love to cook and love to try new things and dishes but I'm still usually only cooking for 3.

Granite doesn't seem to require much maintenance...of course we've only had it for about a week now. You just wipe it down same as any other counter. I have a granite cleaner to make it shiny and pretty but even that only takes a minute to wipe on and off.

 

[DBL]

Originally posted by: IGBT

Originally posted by: Engraver
I've never really liked the look of ceramic tile. Look into Corian, which is also expensive I think. We got a deal on ours so I don't know how much it really is.

..:thumbsup: Corian is the way to go for a "working" kitchen. Ceramic or stone is a maintaince headache and no where near as functional and durable as Corian.

..or so says the Corian mfgs.

Many types of granite require no maintenance (stay aways from the tropical swirly types) and harbors almost no bacteria. The only thing better for a working kitchen would be stainless (although you would probably have to contend with scratches). Corian is also more expensive than granite, so long as you purchase your stone and hire a fabricator yourself (IOW, don't go through Home Depot). It's also much better looking IMO.

 

[DBL]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: IGBT

Originally posted by: Engraver
I've never really liked the look of ceramic tile. Look into Corian, which is also expensive I think. We got a deal on ours so I don't know how much it really is.

..:thumbsup: Corian is the way to go for a "working" kitchen. Ceramic or stone is a maintaince headache and no where near as functional and durable as Corian.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "working" kitchen. I bake in my kitchen and we prepare most our meals in the kitchen as well. I love to cook and love to try new things and dishes but I'm still usually only cooking for 3.

Granite doesn't seem to require much maintenance...of course we've only had it for about a week now. You just wipe it down same as any other counter. I have a granite cleaner to make it shiny and pretty but even that only takes a minute to wipe on and off.

You're right. There is a huge amount of misinformation spread by synthetic mfgs in order to line their pockets. They get away with it b/c the term "granite" as used encompasses a whole range of different types of stone. A lot is not actually granite and some granite (tropical types) are much more delicate than others.

In general, if you pick a darker granite with a tight grain pattern and have the fabricator apply a lifetime seal, you should never have any issues.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: DBL

Originally posted by: IGBT

Originally posted by: Engraver
I've never really liked the look of ceramic tile. Look into Corian, which is also expensive I think. We got a deal on ours so I don't know how much it really is.

..:thumbsup: Corian is the way to go for a "working" kitchen. Ceramic or stone is a maintaince headache and no where near as functional and durable as Corian.

..or so says the Corian mfgs.

Many types of granite require no maintenance (stay aways from the tropical swirly types) and harbors almost no bacteria. The only thing better for a working kitchen would be stainless (although you would probably have to contend with scratches). Corian is also more expensive than granite, so long as you purchase your stone and hire a fabricator yourself (IOW, don't go through Home Depot). It's also much better looking IMO.

:thumbsup: We chose a local guy who owns his own company, they warehouse the granite, cut the granite and they have their own installers. He took the time to show my wife and I around his facility, even out to where they cut the countertops. Cost us $4,600 for our countertops, installed and that included a new Blanco stainless steel sink. They did the template on a Friday and installed the next Wednesday. They did very very nice work and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone considering granite countertops.

I'm going to do a tile backsplash in the coming weeks that will extend from the countertop to the bottom of the cabinets. Probably a lighter color tile in a diagonal pattern with a darker or patterned tile in the center every few tiles.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: DBL

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: IGBT

Originally posted by: Engraver
I've never really liked the look of ceramic tile. Look into Corian, which is also expensive I think. We got a deal on ours so I don't know how much it really is.

..:thumbsup: Corian is the way to go for a "working" kitchen. Ceramic or stone is a maintaince headache and no where near as functional and durable as Corian.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "working" kitchen. I bake in my kitchen and we prepare most our meals in the kitchen as well. I love to cook and love to try new things and dishes but I'm still usually only cooking for 3.

Granite doesn't seem to require much maintenance...of course we've only had it for about a week now. You just wipe it down same as any other counter. I have a granite cleaner to make it shiny and pretty but even that only takes a minute to wipe on and off.

You're right. There is a huge amount of misinformation spread by synthetic mfgs in order to line their pockets. They get away with it b/c the term "granite" as used encompasses a whole range of different types of stone. A lot is not actually granite and some granite (tropical types) are much more delicate than others.

In general, if you pick a darker granite with a tight grain pattern and have the fabricator apply a lifetime seal, you should never have any issues.

Our countertop is maintenance free with a 15 year warranty. They did apply a sealer.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: Rage187
We went with SileStone by Dupont for our Countertops. It was pricey but not having to seal it every year like granite and the fact that bacteria won't grow on it made the ideal choice for our family.

:thumbsup:

Tile's a bad idea - the grout takes too much maintenance for my taste. Natural stone has similar problems, imo - depending on the stone it can be vulnerable to chips, heat or stains or just plain requires maintenance. Of natural stone countertops, however, I believe granite is the toughest.

Concrete counters seem - to me - like a fad that will look VERY dated in a short amount of time.

The bathroom in where I previously lived had a quartz counter that was pretty good.

I've seen some really terrible usage of concrete counters and some very good usage/design, the former being a lot more common. Some places it can look fantastic if it is incorporated into the design well.

 

[mattpegher]

The vast majority of granite is damn near indestructable. Sure a few places will sell you quartz, marble or onyx and not warn you that you cannot treat it like granite. I have granite on the island in my kitchen and you can't burn it, cant scratch it and clean up is a breeze even when we use it to spread out dough. The rest is corian because of some decorative shapes on a large L shape and the sink is included as a single no edge piece. Problem is that it is plastic and can burn. Sure you can sand out scratches and burns but I'm not sure that it will look the same afterwards.

As for the floor, we have hard wood and havent had any water problems in the 8 years in the house. We use the kitchen continuously, cooking eating and gathering. As long as you don't leave water on the floor it is unlikely that it will damage a wood floor sealed with acrylic. Pergo is a bit more tough and again unless you let water sit on it should hold up to kitchen use. If you go with tile make it big ones at least 12 inch tiles and keep the grout lines tight so as not to have to clean them too much if food spills. Make sure they are textured not smooth or you'll break a hip. And tumble tiles tend to mean bigger grout lines.

 

[Descartes]

We have granite and hardwood. It looks great, and we haven't had any issues. We clean any spills immediately after it happens, so no worries there.

 

[NL5]

Originally posted by: Descartes
We have granite and hardwood. It looks great, and we haven't had any issues. We clean any spills immediately after it happens, so no worries there.

Yep, Hardwood and Pergo are fine for a kitchen, unless you leave spills on them for hours. I generally clean mine up right after they happen........

 

[WolverineGator]

I purchased my granite countertops from here: http://www.pandakitchen.com/and-index.asp. Have them give you a price quote. Granite counters and tile floors tend to hide dirt and stains, especially with the more dramatically speckled colors. I think most will agree that anything besides tile countertops will be fine.

Stainless appliances are easy to clean, just wipe down lightly with olive oil. No fancy cleaners needed.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I'm building a new place and going with granite countertops and bamboo flooring (6+ years old for hardness).

As other's have mentioned, granite tile is an option. For flooring, I would go with laminate or bamboo flooring.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: WolverineGator
I purchased my granite countertops from here: http://www.pandakitchen.com/and-index.asp. Have them give you a price quote. Granite counters and tile floors tend to hide dirt and stains, especially with the more dramatically speckled colors. I think most will agree that anything besides tile countertops will be fine.

Stainless appliances are easy to clean, just wipe down lightly with olive oil. No fancy cleaners needed.

Olive oil? WTF?

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
We just finished remodeling our kitchen with granite countertops. Couldn't possibly be happier with them. :thumbsup:

We had ceramic tile before and hated it because of the grout, hard to keep clean and it is easy to stain, also tile is prone to chipping, especially on the corners and edges.

Pic

Damn that looks like the exact layout of our kitchen and very similar cabinets too! Except our fridge is not there, just more cabinet/counterspace.

Edit: Just saw a later post, and I have already done the backsplash part, with exactly what you suggested. Lighter colored tile in a diag pattern. We also added 1 "fruit" tile every 4 feet or so to break it up. Looks nice, ill take pics for you if interested...

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: NL5

Originally posted by: Descartes
We have granite and hardwood. It looks great, and we haven't had any issues. We clean any spills immediately after it happens, so no worries there.

Yep, Hardwood and Pergo are fine for a kitchen, unless you leave spills on them for hours. I generally clean mine up right after they happen........

If you're going with laminate flooring, do yourself a favor and not get that Pergo crap.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: akshatp

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
We just finished remodeling our kitchen with granite countertops. Couldn't possibly be happier with them. :thumbsup:

We had ceramic tile before and hated it because of the grout, hard to keep clean and it is easy to stain, also tile is prone to chipping, especially on the corners and edges.

Pic

Damn that looks like the exact layout of our kitchen and very similar cabinets too! Except our fridge is not there, just more cabinet/counterspace.

Edit: Just saw a later post, and I have already done the backsplash part, with exactly what you suggested. Lighter colored tile in a diag pattern. We also added 1 "fruit" tile every 4 feet or so to break it up. Looks nice, ill take pics for you if interested...

Sure, I'd like to see it. I'll upload a pic with the recessed lighting and the pendant lights over the island. They weren't installed yet when I took that other pic.

 

[bctbct]

We have corian and really like it. I would love granite but it wasnt in the budget at the time. If you use tile in the kitchen I would suggest full body color porcelain. Ceramic will break and chip very easily.