What about porcelain tile.
Inexpensive, and durable.
Heat resistant, water resistant, and stain resistant.

I think for a cottage soapstone would be nice. I love mine, it is carefree for me. Or some on GW have talked about slate. The appliances and sink are black I see and maybe soapstone would be too much black.

Concrete I hear is difficult because it isn't very durable.

My DS & DDL have Ikea butcher block and I always worry about water. They treat it with something frequently, but there is some water damage. I think it would be too much wood too.

What about stainless steel?

Julie, even tho I wouldn't be using it often, I think I would be unhappy with tile's grout lines. Good properties otherwise...

Slate could be interesting....good thought!

but Stainless intrigues me very much. Hmmmmmmm.....

is the rest of the cottage going to stay cabinish with the wood walls, etc?

What about something with some red for some real pop of color? Or something with blue?

Then, I found these pictures of concrete in a similar setting to yours (white cabs, wood walls) and I sort of like that look a LOT.

Here is a link that might be useful: concrete in a cabin

Another case for the Brickmanhouse dyed wood countertops!

Here is a link that might be useful: India-ink-dyed countertops

The walls, ceilings, etc will stay stained throughout the cottage. There's a fireplace in the adjoining LR which will likely be refaced w stone.

Good to see concrete with similar cabs and walls. Thank you!

Are you thinking quartz in a solid red or blue?

we are doing tile on our countertops- they are 24" by 24"- so there will not be a lot of grout lines. Great way to get granite at lower cost- assuming you can do the DIY

A while back there was a thread with a wonderful copper counter that the owners had installed themselves. I wonder if that wouldn't be a good fit with the other elements in this kitchen. I don't remember who it was.

Your guests are lucky - what a great space.

Circuspeanut among others DIYd copper counters, which are gorgeous.

I do think a rectified tile with thin grout lines wouldn't be such a bad thing. Somewhere on here a poster used very large tiles, 18"x24" I think, which left hardly any grout. Use an epoxy grout and it will look great for years. I have a small area of granite tile with thin lines and epoxy grout. I sealed it once maybe 9-10 years ago and it still looks great.

I wonder about a nice dark red shade, or a blue gray to compliment the floors. Un-oiled soapstone maybe, but it might be awfully dark.

Here is a link that might be useful: copper countertops

What about repeating the floor material...i.e., blue-gray slate countertops? Or stainless. Or zinc? Zinc is DIY friendly so wouldn't be a budget buster.

Virginia jet mist for the counters.
Ceramic tiles that look like wood for the floor.

Wow - what a neat space! I like the thought of soapstone, because it seems more rustic than some choices. Maybe if you don't oil it, it would be a lighter gray color, almost like concrete. Ikea would be economical, but i think too much wood. Whatever you choose, I'd like to go ahead and reserve it for a weekend :)

CORIAN. There are a million color and pattern choices from subdued to "fun" ... it is seamless ... it can be cleaned with bleach ... it is durable and repairable.

The walls, ceilings, etc will stay stained throughout the cottage. There's a fireplace in the adjoining LR which will likely be refaced w stone.Good to see concrete with similar cabs and walls. Thank you!
Are you thinking quartz in a solid red or blue?

I guess I was thinking of something with a lot of color and movement just to brighten it up, pulling out the blue green from the slate or contrasting it with something red.

Me personally, I would really love to see something that looks it was just there forever - something rocklike, in grey. Maybe with an unfinished edge?? But I'm really still liking the concrete.

Silestone Stellar Marine. They used it in one of the HGTV dream houses with a lot of brown wood and it was just the punch that the space needed. It will echo the bluish tones of the rustic floor but bring it up a notch. Like a string of pearls with your jeans and white T shirt.

{{!gwi}}

Hi-I would think you would want something tough with zero maintenance. My two suggestions are porcelain tile-I used 16" 'slate look' floor tile on my island and everyone thinks it is real and the grout lines are almost non-existent(I hate grout)since my tile guy set it that way. Or ceasarstone. Ihave it on my countertops and love the ease and the look. I used Italian wood look porcelain tile at my beach house-also gorgeous and low maintenance with the the zero grout lines. Lovely kitchen!

I'll third the recommendation for quartz. But I was thinking of a much warmer color with more personality to befit a cabin in the woods. Indus Red by Zodiaq.

{{!gwi}}

Or if you didn't want to go that bold, one of the greens to harmonize with the other natural tones around the cabin.

My personal favorite is Ceasarstone Apple Martini for a whole lot of casual fun vibe, but you might like a bit a more subdued green.

Silestone Amazon Green

Of course, Uba Tuba granite would be a lot cheaper and be just as bulletproof.
{{!gwi}}

If you wanted to keep in the blue family, there's always Blue Pearl, which is about as bulletproof as you can get in a counter.

Does anyone have a cross between UbaTuba and Blue Pearl? Because that would be striking with the slate floors. (blue tuba?? LOL)

(But I love the blue pearl a LOT)

How zinc plays with white & blue:

Wow! These are great ideas!!!

Are there any counter types I shouldn't consider because the cottage will be shut down in winter? Temps will be below freezing...

Even though there are three windows in the kitchen and has a cathedral ceiling, it's northeast facing. It can look dark with all that wood.

I'm not really a shiny granite gal, but the bright quartz is appealing. As it's not a full time space I think can make a "riskier" choice than a safe neutral. A local store's ruby red blue star range had called to me but I couldn't justify for the little use the showpiece would have. Maybe

Concrete, stainless, zinc are all more muted but I like the textures of each of these.

I need to photoshop some counters into the kitchen.....

Emerald Pearl is a deep green granite that "flashes" blue.

If it were me, and it's not, it's YOU, I would go light on the countertop material. Have it blend with the cabinets but contrast with the stove, sink and the wood backsplash.

Please do this, get big pieces of paper or cardboard or something in a dark color and a light color...something to simulate the choices you are considering. Put them on your top and see which one you like. It looks like you have something? light on it now, but maybe not as light as you might eventually go. Anyway, I would figure the light versus dark thing out and then hone in on a specific material.

Great suggestion. Right now there's scrap thin paneling sitting on top.