Maple with butter rum sounds reallllly yummmmy...poured on ice cream? :)
Seriously, I will almost always prefer natural to engineered (man made), so I vote for granite, but that's just me.

Scratching granite - with what, your diamond rings :-). Granite is one of the hardest substances around and can only be scratched by other granite or diamonds - although because a lot of stone is called granite, some of it is harder than others.

Some of the dark dense granites like blue pearl are just about maintenance free, but even the others usually only require sealing every couple of years.

Granite! We had the same debate - my husband wanted Granite, I wanted Silesstone - got the cabinets installed, brought home a large tile of silesstone - very nice, but it wasn't right with our Kraftmaid Ginger Glaze (I LOVE KRAFTMAID) and we went on the great granite search. I was freaked out with maintance/care and I've had no problems. Sealing is no different than spraying on windex and you only do it at most a few times a year - we have a very soft stone so we've had a few chips but you can't see them and I'll fix them at some point when I care but real stone looks so much better and I have no regrets. If you are worried, pick a harder stone.

Our granite appears to be prone to scratching (maybe it's the type, the mica/pearling, the color?), but we love it and we're so glad we saw it and chose it. Very happy to see it in our kitchen every day!

Maybe it is the seal that scratches? I just know if I pay that kind of money for a countertop and it scratches I will probably pass out!

PCJS: Can you post a pics of your cabs with the ginger glaze? We were leaning toward those at one time.

Thanks!

My decision was solely based on maintenance...I went with Silestone.

I have talked to several people who dislike their granite. Of course, the TKOs here wouldn't be any of them. :)

A friend of mine had a housesitter who dropped a bagel upside down on her granite. It must have had butter on it and she didn't wipe it up fast so it left a ring. :0
She did say that nobody would probably notice it but her.

Love my granite and would never think of manmade stone instead....how about if you get honed granite if you don't want the shiny polished look?

When I did my research on-line I thought Cambria (engineered surface)...but when I looked in person I realized that nothing but granite would satisfy me. For those of us that love the look of the unique swirls and such, granite is it! My bank & library recently rebuilt and used the Cambria. It looks just like it was all baked in the same batch and sliced as a loaf. It's okay, but it's not that gorgeous one of a kind stone.

Hi Rocky08,

I think it's just a matter of personal preference. I originally wanted marble for my island counter but the maintenance issues, frankly, dissuaded me.

I just learned about quartz when I started researching last fall. Although it costs a little more than granite, I was very intrigued. However, when I looked at the actual samples I found I didn't really like their "man-made" look; their consistent patterns lack the natural beauty and natural swirls found in granite. So we chose granite.

Regarding maintenance issues, granite is one of the hardiest materials out there, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

Posted by PCJS
Granite! We had the same debate - my husband wanted Granite, I wanted Silesstone - got the cabinets installed, brought home a large tile of silesstone - very nice, but it wasn't right with our Kraftmaid Ginger Glaze (I LOVE KRAFTMAID) and we went on the great granite search.
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We are doing custom cabinets in an unglazed Ginger. It was long and hard trying to get the right mixture. We decided to go with Silestone and found a lovely color that goes exceptionally well with Ginger. What color did you bring home that just didn't look good?

I know how you feel, well, almost, cuz Silestone was never an option for us, cuz I just couldn't pay more for a counter that was trying to imitate the real thing. That said, at first, we were considering laminate, (they are getting really good), the new laminate is much better than what we had, but unfortunately once you start looking at stone, hard to go back...

I was pretty intimidated by all the horror stories well-meaning, and perhaps some not so well-meaning friends and relatives shared about staining, etching, streaking, dust showing, you name it. Basically was told, well you know your DH, not the most careful man... It's funny now, looking back, cuz yeah, he's not the most careful man... but he loves the look of the natural granite so much, he does wipe up a bit better (hey, nobody's perfect!). And, if I was going to go out of town, and leave him alone with the granite, I'd give specific instructions about wiping up spills as they occur- not as I'm about to return! :>)

But so far, and we've only had the counters 4 months, no calamaties (and I even dropped a whole sheet of slate tiles on it this morning-yikes). Microfibre cloths make wiping up and keeping streak free a breeze, and I guess the comparison would be to a nicely stamped concrete walkway- yup it could look pretty good, and probably easier to upkeep than a flagstone path, but really, would you pay MORE for it?

I paid less for my silestone than the granite. That's why I got it. It was only $6/sq.ft less but it made the difference and I love it. I can't say that next time I won't pick granite, but for now I'm very happy and not a scratch on it. I would go crazy if it got scratched!

It's pretty simple really. Definetly not worth agonizing over. If you like it very predictable and uniform, faux stone if fine. If you like it a little more natural and organic, go granite.

Either choice is perfectly valid.

I vote granite! That is what I am using and love it because no two slabs are the same so you have something no one else has. I see you are getting Kraftmaid cabinets, you might want to check out buycabinets.com they carry Kraftmaid and you can save big bucks with them. I saved over $3000 on Thomasville. Call Jason and he can price them same day, 949-546-8605. Give the code LMSB and you will get $100 off of your order. Good luck

BUYER BEWARE I had Cambria's Oxford installed from the quarry collection. I am extremely unhappy with it and we're having it replaced with granite from Lowe's. I highly recommend the big box stores because they will guarantee your happiness.

I have NVG in my master bath. I love it! If there are any scratches, I sure can't see them. There is enough pattern in the stone that would probably camouflage a scratch anyway.

I have had granite in my kitchen for 9 years and have not one scratch or chip. Granite is tuff and will withstand a lot of abuse. I love the NVG color. My new granite is Dusty pearl, has the same colors as NVG but the pattern is not consistant it has more veining and movement.