not the greenest option, but a lot of the solid surface companies are now using products with pretty high percentages of recycled material, and look pretty good we just did our kitchen, and i couldnt find too many around here in Virginia that offered the recycled glass, let alone justify the price. granite was absolutely not an option(grew up in colorado springs, ive seen first hand what granite quarrying does to a mountain. the designer was boggled that i refused granite. i tried to explain, but here in this region, theyre about 10yrs behind the west regarding real sustainability or recycling). i didnt want the particle board/laminate countertops as theyre throw away. so we went with the corian. yeah its plasticish, it probably takes a ton of energy to make, but the transit to here was short(and put Americans to work) it can be repaired,(not many others can be), contained some industrial by product/recycled/reclaimed content, and it looked nice. install was fast and took little to no adhesives. will the next owners probably jsut throw it away? maybe. id like to hope that it would end up in someone elses kitchen though. i know laminate wont, and granite doesnt travel well. sure theres a lot of other options, but wheres it manufactured? hows it manufactured? and at the end of the day, whats it cost? i love the way granite looks, really, but i really find it less than functional, and tough to justify for me the stripping a mountain of million year old stone so my kitchen looks nice. thats prepostrous to me. nevermind what happens when it stains, or cracks? it ends up in the trash. thats wasteful. wasting some laminated/compressed paper, or particle board is one thing, but stone is something completely different. that crap cant just be grown again. apologize for the resurection of this topic

What about a piece of granite that has a lot of movement, and some burgundy tones in it? Honed finish, not polished. I know nothing about granites, but I looked under "burgundy granite" and found several that seemed interesting. Lambada was one, Maracana was another. Another alternative would be some kind of mosaic in a matte finish. Or, you could do a wood countertop. I am a big fan of zebrawood, so I could see something like that as a great accent on your pantry cabinet. Matte finish, very hard wood. Plus that is considered sustainable wood for harvesting, so eco-friendly. zebrawood counter

Tropic brown, tan brown are two others. There are very dark golds like Juparana Tobacco or Paradiso which might work. You might also consider something like teak wood. Etching leaves white marks. On a brown marble it will be very visible. For fun, I got a two buck pink marble tile from the box store and had "science" when I was trying to decide about counters. Science consisted of pouring a small qty of lemon-lime soda on a bit of the marble and seeing if I could get it off before it etched. The answer was NO! I would suggest you spend a couple bucks to get a tile similar to what you want to use and have your own science project.

Rosie- yes, I really do love the glazed white cabinets in my houzz ideabook and I had compromised with my husband by getting the maple cabinets. I really thought glazed white was entirely out of the question as far as he was concerned until his recent comment. But everything I was planning went with the stained look, so I am having a heck of a time changing gears and moving back to the white glaze. I also know I will have to deal with all of the silent "I told you so's" when every problem he predicted arises with the white lacquer. He really does want me to be happy with the kitchen, I think that is why he has had a change of heart... seosmp-I think we are probably looking at the same kitchen on Houzz, see below? LOVE LOVE LOVE that kitchen! I go back to it on a daily basis from multiple angles. This is part of my conflict, I want to re-create that kitchen as far as possible in my space...I even ordered corbels from Art for Everyday (but I ordered the wrong ones and they won't exchange) and my talented cabinet guy made a plain mantel the same basic shape (but it smacks my husband in the head when he is at the range, so there's no way I am putting it on now...we are cutting out an arch instead). [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/macgibbon-kitchen-4-contemporary-kitchen-dc-metro-phvw-vp~193088) [Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Falls Church Kitchen & Bath Designers Cameo Kitchens, Inc. I do not love the golden beach granite they used when I see it in person though. And I haven't had any lighter granites tickle me like the brown antique. Would that kitchen look good with brown antique granite? I must say the photos on Houzz I have found with brown antique do not do it justice. It is like silver iridescent milk chocolate and dark chocolate and the light catches it every which way...just gorgeous. Here's a pretty good image of the brown antique on glazed white cabinets: [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/leathered-antique-brown-granite-and-river-valley-granite-in-vienna-va-traditional-kitchen-dc-metro-phvw-vp~2473510) [Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Upper Marlboro Kitchen & Bath Designers Granite Grannies kksmama-I laid awake all night going over every possible combination of every counter material and cabinet I have considered thus far and I kept coming back to the brown antique granite. It's true, I do love it, I sigh every time I look at it. Since I am not in love with any stain at this point, it does seem like at least the granite is the one sure fire pick I would not regret. suzannesl- If I say anything in 8-10 months about making a change, DH would absolutely divorce me (maybe not divorce, but certainly might move into the garage for awhile to avoid me! LOL) That's why I am so stressed, I want to get it right the first time. I'm sure that is a common sentiment during remodels... -Deep breath- I feel resolved. I am going to go put a deposit on the brown antique granite that I know I love and I will have to figure out the stain/paint thing from there. One decision down...baby steps...baby steps.... This post was edited by ChantelN on Mon, Jun 3, 13 at 13:12