CEFreeman, my kitchen walls are actually Sag Harbor and never look bluish, and my range area cabinets are gray... BM Sabre Gray. DH actually made the mistake of referring to them as "the blue cabinets" one time and he almost got himself the job of repainting, because I did NOT want them to look blue. If you want a greenish gray you might also check out BM Sea Haze.

Wow...thanks so much everyone for all of the responses. This whole process has been overwhelming to say the least. I really am appreciative of you all taking the time to respond or give your words of encouragement.

Jackuvall...I did not know that you could put an undermount sink in with laminate countertops. I even asked about it at the big box store because I had already bought my undermount sink and the return period has expired. I thought I'd have to by a new sink. Are there only certain people who can do this? I would love to keep this sink.

Thanks for all the pictures. I think laminate has come a long way through the years and all of your kitchens are beautiful:) I hope i can make a good choice. There are sooo many colors to choose from. It makes me nervous.

Suzanne and CountryGirl, thanks for showing us the Dolce Vita Formica. I used it in a DAT and had a great wish to see it in real life usage.

It clearly has drama and a larger than life personality!
F

Christine, I absolutely love soapstone! Wish I could afford it, but it costs quite a bit more than the priciest granite where I live. I thought it would be too dark with the walnut but it really is beautiful. Good luck!

Breezy...I like your cousin's countertops. I wonder what the name of them is?

Countrygrl...that really is some of the coolest laminate I have ever seen. It looks like stone in the pics. Really pretty! Thanks!

I should also add that we are not "fancy" either and we have never had anything but laminate. I just see (on here )... people using all of these other materials for counters like solid surface and stone and marble and feel like no one uses laminate anymore. I know they do...but I needed a reminder and proof ;)

Thanks again to ALL of you!

We had formica until two weeks ago (currently in the middle of a remodel). We are going with granite only because my brother in law is a contractor and got us an amazing deal.....but....I have to say that I LOVED my formica! I rarely used hot pads and will admit I even sometimes cut on it (carefully)...it was spotless, easy to clean, super durable. I put hot cookie sheets down on it regularly without a problem. With the lovely new patterns that look like stone, I don't think I'd hesitate to use it again if budget was tight.

I have Formica 180FX Corbeau Montana in my kitchen. It's been in for roughly 2 years and we like it.

Cj

mistydatn some fabricators won't put in an undermount some will..the fab that the box stores here use will do it. In every case I know of you must get the sink from the fabricator. They use a system from Karran and have both solid surface and stainless sinks. It can only be done in hand built counters not in post format.

"Laminate was our only serious option and I'm not apologetic about it."

and posts here show there is no need to apologize for it either! There are great laminates out there to use.

I've also had laminate all of my life (1 rental house had tile counters) and i've not had a problem with it (except 1 that was so old the edges were popping off - I'm sure it was a 99 cent special laminate anyway).

I really like that Dolce Vita shown on here - I'll have to scan back up and look again... thx to those who posted it for sending me into indecision again! oh well, I have time to toss it around.

One of my old faves was MaryLynnNC's kitchen, and she used Pionite, I think? I remember she has a loooong island and it looked like marble--really beautiful! I've had it on my list for a long time, for when the time comes for me...

suzannes1, it looks like your island has a bevel edge. Can you see the dark line between the top and edge? I can't see it in your pic but my eyes aren't what they used to be lol.

thanks!

We did our own Arborite laminate counters in the color "Black Grit". Since we did them ourselves, we used plywood as the substrate, instead of MDF. We also used silicon seal around the edges that could be exposed to water (by the sink) and elevated the sink 1/8".

Here is a link that might be useful: Laminate DIY

My Mom did hers in Iron Rust from Formica in a Riverwash finish (discontinued) and a Geneva Edge. She isn't a fancy cook but she cooks most of her meals at home and the counters look the same as the day they went in (I think it's about 3 years now). I really pushed her towards stone and now that I'm about to start my own I'm doing laminate for the exact reason laughable mentioned: I'm not fancy and I didn't want a fancy counter material. It wouldn't be in keeping with the style of kitchen I want. I'm planning on the Brushed Pewter from Arborite.

mtnfever-those photos are Country Girl's, I just posted them so they showed up in the thread - more people look that way. As far as her beveled edge goes, I've seen beveled edges that are wrapped with the laminate with no cut edges showing. I think that's what CG has.

oops, and thank you suzannelsl for posting countrygl38's pics and mentioning the beveled edge counters that you saw.

countrygrl38, I love your Dolce Vita and hope you post more pics as your kitchen progresses!

cheers

We too are trying to decide between laminate or butcher block countertops. I know the butcher block will be more maintence but it sure is pretty!! I also like the look of formica too.

Last year I had plywood installed in a small area (36"). I stained it and sealed it with a couple of coats of satin poly. It looks fantastic and has held up well, but it hasn't been installed for very long. The reason I chose plywood was that I couldn't make a decision about what countertop material to use. As it turns out, I love the plywood and if doing a new kitchen, that's probably what I would use. It can be painted any color or design and is cheap and easy to change if desired. You may want to consider it for some, or all, of your countertops, rather than a laminate.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

I love formica. My old kitchen's formica was installed during the 1950s, and it still didn't look bad when I removed it.

When I was remodeling, I spent inordinate amount of time in the bathrooms of restaurants, looking at their sinks' countertops. I figured that the restaurants had chosen their bathroom's countertops to withstand everything. (I also looked there for inspiration for my backsplash, BTW.) Some of them had the most beautiful laminate countertops.

One thing that I like about formica is that it can be odd without a huge investment of money. My parents have a lake home with a little kitchen and island. They have this really funky green formica with a tiny beige wavy diamond print. I know it sounds hideous, but it is really cool when you see it. And when they tire of it, they can replace it without worrying about depleting their savings account.

I went with granite, and I like it, but one thing that I miss about the laminate is that I no longer feel free to beat the crap out of round steak on it. I felt free to whale on it indiscriminately with my formica. I don't feel as free with my granite, even when I use a cutting board. For all the talk about how easy granite is, I actually was much less worried about my laminate countertops.

So, go with it!

Oh, that's true! If I have a store bought glass jar with a metal lid, I think nothing of banging it on the counter to break the seal. Then it twists open easily. It doesn't hurt the laminate one iota, but if it was stone.....?

Thanks again everyone! My dissapointment has definitely lessened now :) Thanks for the pictures, also. That helps A LOT! Your laminate counters all look great. I am sure I will be more than happy with mine too. If I could just make a decision on which one....decisions, decisions...;)

laughable, I'm having to learn a whole new way to open jars now that I have granite. I whacked at the jar against the edge of the laminate countertops all the time to open jars. Now, I'm scared to. I still manage to get the jars open, but I miss being able to beat the crap out of them against the edge of my countertop.

That's no small thing, really.

Jar lids: I have a thingie like this:

Mine works well on jars like the one in the photo, but not on canning jar lids or others with deep sides. This one looks like it might even do those. It basically just bends the edge a bit and releases the vacuum seal without damaging the lid. This particular jar lid opener is on sale for $2.99 down from $4.99 - how can you beat that? I have no idea where mine came from, my mom gave it to me. Mine is also much better because it's red ;)

Those are some gorgeous countertops!

'If I have a store bought glass jar with a metal lid, I think nothing of banging it on the counter to break the seal.'

I do that also! I have lots of problems with my hands, fingers, wrists and I drop things - a lot. granite (or other stone type surface) would be very dangerous for me.

I will add here that I still love my laminate counters. They have to be from the mid 90's according to our neighbors (we moved in about 5 years ago.) They are light gray, with small blue speckles, and they still look pristine. Even kool-aid stains, etc, disappear after a short time. I have no issues with it whatsoever, aside from it is dated and the cabinets underneath are falling apart. I wouldn't necessarily get this same pattern again, but I'd certainly get laminate over granite, if those were my only 2 choices. Granite is just too hard and cold my my liking. I don't want to live in fear that every glass will break when my enthusiastic children "set" them on the counter.

Jrsmrs - how did you go about w/ the DIY of your undermount? I've googled different instructions, but would like to hear your thoughts on the process. Do you have any pics of your steps doing it??

I hope it's ok if throw in a question for all you dark laminate owners out there... If you have square edges, is there a white/off-color line showing along the edge? My current 40-yr-old white laminate counters have a sizable dark brown edge showing, but I hear that there's a white-ish under-layer on laminates these days.

Gee, my dark counters have a rolled edge, so I'm no help at all. I do like it for the fact that spills (usually) stay on the counter rather than cascading to the floor, since the laminate is raised just a teensy bit before descending down the front of the counter. It doesn't show when you look at it, but it sure makes a difference.

I have dark edges, no matter the color or any of the 3 brands we used. Our house is about 4 years old, so unless they've changed since then, you'll get that same ol' dark brown...Although I don't consider mine 'sizable,' but that'd be a matter of personal opinion, I guess.

Here's the edge in my kitchen:

Thanks, that's very helpful! The rolled edge sounds handy, laughable. Rhome410, your counters look great. I wonder if laminate was thicker in the past. My current brown exposed edges are 1/16" thick, which is thicker than the samples we've gotten. We're considering brown and black laminates, so brown would blend in very well.

I have formica and I'd be tempted to get it again, if I could find the right shade of blue. Instead, I'm planning to get ceramic tile, which has the added advantage of being more heat resistant.

If you have a few different surfaces...one might be soft enough for the jar lids. I'm leaning towards wood, for one area :)

The square edge of my dark (Mineral Jet) laminate has a *very* faint white line, almost imperceptible. I know some people have colored in the line with a matching sharpie.

I tried it on a small spot and it works! However I hesitated to do all the counter edges in case the pen's solvent did something funky to the laminate glue...

My Mom's are postformed except on an angled cabinet where she had to have two applied edges. Slightly brown but with the rust colour it doesn't stand out that much. Careful of the no drip edges because he laminate doesn't wrap around he bottom you can catch the laminate and pull it off. The no drip edge is also very 80's. I have this edge and it also drops everything that does spill over onto the cabinet fronts.

All the high end euro cabinetry now are laminate so that must mean something.

Coming in late to this thread, but we just put in Formica (Lime Stone-"honed") and I am truly surprised at just how much I love it! It is so easy to clean up and I think it looks really nice, too. I really never intended to go with any faux stone, but after looking at over 100 samples, I kept coming back to this one. I do even cut on it...things like fruit, so no pressing hard, and it's no problem. But I have a stainless prep table for all the main prep, so it works for us.

This is the only close-up pic I have...I don't love the seams, but didn't want a rolled edge, either. Standing above it, it looks fantastic.

Tip: Typewriter correction fluid works great for coloring chips in white formica and lasts a long time.

I would think that you could use acrylic craft paint & a fine tipped brush to color the seams for lighter colored laminates. By mixing colors you can get a dead-on match & even create two or three custom colors for multi-colored micas.

I have the no-drip edge (old kitchen) & ended up not liking that bump at the front edge. The raised area showed wear a lot sooner than the rest of the countertop and creates problems if you want to clamp a meat grinder/ apple peeler, etc. to the edge of the counter.

I'll definitely be using laminate for countertops here in the new kitchen. Only problem (and a Big One for me) is choosing the pattern! Just too, too many options for the decoratively insecure!

Thanks!!

New Question, for all you DIY's......how hard is it to install your own laminate countertops? Even for the not so handy? We are seriously considering trying. Is it easy to mess up? Can you tell that the budget is really suffering? Also thinking of tackling finishing the hardwood ourselves. Lord help us, I think we have lost our minds ;)

We did them in my parent's build and love them. She decided to put the money into the cabinets themselves and save some on the counters. She loves the built in backsplash without a seam and we went with a decorative edge.

Maybe some of these pictures will show it, even though only in one of them was I actually trying to take a pic of the counter top.

This one is of the counter top, but it was a bit dirty.

For some reason this one picture does not want to show up:

As an FYI - the kitchen counter tops were purchased from and installed by the cabinet maker. (Girona Cliff Laminate from Wilsonart.)

For the laundry room, they went with what was available at Home Depot or Lowes as preformed. The builder installed it himself since it only involved joining a corner and adding the side trim pieces. One tip he told us - we needed about a 4' section, and we purchased a 10' section instead. Added two more side trim pieces and we now had a 6'counter top for the garage cabinets the building was doing. (Saved about $25.00) My mother insists on the built in backsplash, so she did not consider buying the sheets to do it more DIY style in either area.

Sorry, I don't have any good photos of it, but here is what I do have.

Early pic of leftover coutertop sitting on cabinets in garage.

For DIYing... The preformed stuff as shown above is pretty easy to install... But you'd probably need a good saw to cut the ends, and especially the corners.

For DIYing with the sheets of laminate... You'd need to build the substrate, which means a good saw again, and you need to apply a wood front edge. Cutting the sheets is hard work, IMO, but it's doable. My dh has some tough kind of shears for doing that. To glue them, you use a strong (and strong smelling adhesive)... You roll it onto both the substrate and the laminate and let them dry, then carefully place the laminate over the substrate with some sort of spacers to keep them apart until you have it lined up just right. As soon as the glued surfaces touch, they're stuck. He has a hard roller to press them together, from the middle out, to make sure there are no bubbles and that there is good adhesion. Then a router is used to trim the edges and often a file to make them smooth. I forgot to say that you apply the laminate to the front edges first, and then the top.

This is all a quick overview to give you an idea of the process... You obviously need some tools, and some woodworking type of experience is helpful. It all depends on what you're willing and able to take on. It's not rocket science, but takes care.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lots of YouTube videos on installing laminate counters

I bookmarked the following article from when I was considering DIY laminate.

Here is a link that might be useful: Extreme How-to

One of my favorite kitchens, from Janie-k, from a couple of years ago, had laminate counters that mimiced soapstone. Another poster with more computer skills can post her pics.
lucia

Mine too, silvergirl!

Here are Janie-k's counters, DIY'd by her father using laminate sheets in Wilsonart's Oiled Soapstone pattern:

Here is a link that might be useful: Somewhat Finished, Somewhat Budget... White Vintage Kitchen

We put Formica in our rental condo. I can't remember the name of it. It resembled uba tuba. It had a beveled edge. The color is off a little in these pictures but here they are anyway:

Syllabus-
Husband and I sort of doctored it up a bit, using various ideas we found on the Internet. I was sure I'd seen a video that gave us a good nudge in the right direction, but I'll be damned if I can find it now! Isn't that always the way? Lol
Basically, the way we did it without any special tools or kits, you need to use the laminate sheets rather than the preformed countertops. Build the base of the counter with your plywood or whatever (we had existing countertops which we peeled the old laminate off of, thereby skipping this step). After you have your sink hole cut to size and you know the position of your sink, what you're basically doing is sandwiching the sink between the plywood and the laminate layer. We cut the sink hole in the laminate ahead of time, then epoxied the sink down to the counter, vey much like you would with a standard sink, just laying it in the hole with the edges overlapping. The video I had seen used automotive putty to taper out the edges of the sink itself, much like you putty drywall to smooth out imperfections.
We found the putty wasn't drying, and was instead cracking and shrinking. Plan b, plain old wall repair patch, the stuff I keep around for filling nail holes and dents in my walls. Let dry and sand til smooth so that the hard edge of the sink itself is tapered out a few inches in all directions. I painted over the putty just to ensure a nice smooth surface that wouldn't soften or crumble when we put the adhesive over it.
Then we used contact cement for the bulk of the laminate, however at the edges around the sink, we went back to the heavy duty marine epoxy, just to ensure it was a solid adhesion. Lay the laminate over the counter, positioning your precut sink hole over the sink (carefully! You only get one shot here!) and roll out to smooth and remove air bubbles. Lastly, I did a thin bead of silicone around the edge of the sink where it meets the Formica.
Clear as mud? This would be so much easier to explain with pics or video!

These pics are great! Thanks to all of you for all the info on installation. I must say that it makes me nervous. I am not handy at all and DH "thinks" he is handy but I am not convinced just yet ;) I have a lot to think about, that is for sure.

I will def. have to watch all those youtube videos more than once ;) I am exhausted from all of the decisions that have to be made. For those of you that pray...prayers would be greatly appreciated for this stranger that you have never met. lol This whole process has been stressful on my family. Thanks!

Hey, in todays ever growing and ever innovating kitchen floor industry, here comes the latest [url=http://www.livingstonesurfaces.com/]countertops[/url] which are easy to maintain and clean and have a seamless design and very elegant and beautiful to look at.

Many people post their relucatance to use laminate because they think it can't take heat.

A lame-o excuse, IMO. Ditto the "it scratches" and "it sucks up light" excuses.

I should have done formica. It's SO practical and fits perfectly in my middle-class house.

We just built a new MCM house and felt that a hard surface wasn't right with the style of the house. Went with formica and love it. And since it didn't cost that much - we can always change it if we want a different look. In fact - we already did after one year - changed it to a different color LOL and didn't think twice about it since it didn't cost of fortune