Always good lookin', never out of style, rustic or contemporary options (rustic gets better looking with wear!)â¦

WOOD! You can always have a glass top sealed over it for added protection.

Lovely choices! I would probably take a cue from the colors in the shower flooring and use either a granite or quartz countertop.

Yes I think I will draw from the stones. IâÂÂm thinking not granite because itâÂÂs too busy. What do you think of one of these shades? I always get confused on the manmade stuff using quartz or ground something. Hopefully someone here will have a picture of theirs that might work and share the brand. My mind is exhausted after picking all the other things.
Tib, I LOVE that countertop! IâÂÂm going to show husband but I think he would have it destroyed in no time.

It will look a tad darker than this after its sealed.

Also, maybe someone can refresh my memory. What countertop (non-granite) can I get without buying a whole slab of something? I will need roughly 79â X 22 ýâÂÂ.

Read link below.
I especailly liked the stone tile bathroom countertop.

Here is a link that might be useful: Check out these tile ideas

No way tjerrilyn. Wood countertops are back, and there are now great products for protecting them. A LOT of people have, say, their large island in their kitchen done in wood, and it holds up very well. And again, if you go with a rustic piece, i.e.: reclaimed wood, it doesn't matter if it gets marred. It only adds to the charm and character.

If you are concerned that granite is too busy, maybe a Silestone would work for you. I am in the midst of a bathroom re-do and went with Silestone for our countertops. There are many choices with regards to subtle shades and pattern.

Tib, I know of Waterlox but thatâÂÂs about it. I have to say that the wood is very tempting. I just did a brief look at some wood counters online and they are stunning. Husband should be home soon so IâÂÂll see what he thinks. My sinks are under-mount and I wonder how hard it would be to find an installer as I would not attempt a DIY after I do a wood protector. No way would I attempt wood counters in the kitchen with that man no matter how good the protector coat. However, I wouldnâÂÂt have to worry as much in the bathroom.

Butterfly, thank you for the link!

Homersmom, IâÂÂm off to look at Silestone. Did you have to buy a whole slab? Or, how does it work?

This post was edited by jterrilynn on Sun, Aug 31, 14 at 15:05

I would definitely have a pro install a counter. YOu want it cut right and installed correctly. Btw, wood is a lot easier to cut than stone!

If you decide you want the wood counters, just get as much info. as possible from professional counter installers AND woodworkers about how best to treat them to prevent damage.

I would match the Carmel color of the floor since you have white cabs...that will tie it all together. Caesarstone, Silestone, etc.

When we were getting counter quotes, one stone supplier up charged enormously for not needing a whole slab, and the other did not for Silestone and Cesearstone. Cambria did not charge a big mark-up for a part slab either. The supplier of Corian that we considered for the laundry room did tell us if we did not need a whole slab we would pay dearly for a part slab. So, I guess it depends on the stone supplier, how much business they do and maybe even how commonly that slab is sold. Checking repeatedly for remnants of course would be ideal.

I was intrigued by Tibbrix's statement: "You can always have a glass top sealed over it for added protection". What exactly would one ask for in this case. I was considering wood for my laundry room to warm it up a bit.

Carol

Carol, a laundry room can handle a plain wood top, sealed with polyurethane or Waterlox, I would think.

The floors in my master bathroom are wood and previously were finished with a tung oil/turpentine mix. They held up beautifully. And I rent my house out! This fall I'm going to put Waterlox on them. I was going to do it last spring, before the rental season, but the weather didn't cooperate.

What I meant about the glass top - which I take back now because I don't think it would be doable with the sinks, but just a piece of glass cut to the shape of the counter, like a piece on a table, only sealed on so water can't get underneath it.

I wouldn't bother, though. It's entirely unnecessary because of all the sealants out there now. If stone gets damaged, you're stuck. If wood gets damaged, you get your sander out, feather in some stain, poly, and voila, good as new.

I think you should pick up some of the floor color in a quiet, creamy granite with some caramel--something like Colonial Cream. I think speckled quartz is dated and the new swirly granite imitators Cambria has introduced will be too, so you're left with solid looks. Love them, but you do need some pattern somewhere with the plain cabs and floor and cream tile.

Tibbrix,

Thanks for the clarification. Would treated wood be able to withstand soaps, Spray and Wash and other products found in a bath or laundry room.?

OP. So far, I think you have made beautiful choices. I think I would vote for a quiet swirly quartz for you to with lots of cream in it. Our kitchen quartz has lots of cream, but I am not sure it is available in the US yet (strangely it was released in Canada around a year ago before the States). It is called Cesearstone Bianco Drift.

Carol

The swirly slab in this picture is Bianco Drift. If might be worth seeing if it matched your other choices. It is a very popular quartz.

Carol, remember, it's not the wood that would be affected but the sealants, so I wouldn't leave soaps and detergents on any countertop that has a sealant, i.e.: granite, etc. I'd get wood counters for a bath or laundry room or kitchen in a heartbeat.

I'd wipe up any spills as they happen anyway, with a piece of dirty laundry that's going in, whether it was wood, granite, soapstone, or anything.

One thing you don't want to put on a wood counter is anything really hot, like an iron. For that, I'd either keep it on an ironing board, or I'd have a piece of stone on the wood counter on which the iron would sit while it warms up and cools down.

I think wood is so beautiful, and it's renewable and a pretty forgiving material.

Well I have been looking and nothing is jumping out and saying buy me. So far what I like the most is wood and I also like the Caesarstone âÂÂConcreteâ honed.
What do you all think of thatâ¦honed concrete caesar?

Mayflowers and Ontariomom, you mentioned swirly, I sort of like the Silestone Pulsar but do you think it would be to wishy washy?

Not sure I would vote for the Silestone Pulsar -- looks too much like bacteria growth to me. Have you seen Silestone Lagoon? That is very nice. If you search GW for Lagoon you will see one member posted her finished kitchen that used Lagoon. Would that match with your cream subway tiles? Wood would be nice too. The concrete might work, but I prefer less uniform look than an all grey counter given you don't have pattern elsewhere in your bath (except the shower floor). Zero pattern tends to look more contemporary. If you do all grey and are looking for a blue grey (not sure if you would be) than Cambria Greystone is a very nice solid grey with slight blue undertones instead of a grey with green undertones which I think concrete has. Will the shower have glass or a curtain? If curtain, you can introduce pattern there.

Carol

In my area, quartz is the most expensive countertop because you do have the buy the whole stone. Most granite guys have certain stones in stock and those are the ones that will be the most reasonable - like half the price of something similar that they have to order. So if they buy a "bundle" (say 6 slabs) they can use the leftovers on the next customer and you only pay for what you use. The big box stores here do not charge you for the whole slab in quartz but there were sooo many upcharges I think it made up for it!

I looked through four quartz companies and the solid/little movement colors tend to be gray or white, which I don't think can work with your warm floor. Or they are a kind of murky and gloomy color that's very contemporary. Your floor is a strong, solid caramel, so I think you have to design around it. It will help to see a pic of it installed in the room to see how strong the color is. It could be the lighting in the pic you posted.

You have two sink cutouts and a counter cabinet, so I think you can get away with more movement. You don't want a solid counter with a solid floor with solid tile. I would look for a granite with visible crystalline structure--pretty with your glass towel bars and shiny chrome. Also, a splotchy granite can have the clusters templated around. Also ask to see slabs of quartz--the colors on their websites are not the same in real life. Oh, and I was just reading on Kitchens that honed quartz shows fingerprints, not good in a bath where we apply a lot of oil-based products to hair and skin.

This is Colonial Cream. It gives you just a touch of that warm color.

[Contemporary Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2103) by Lafayette Kitchen & Bath Remodelers A Kitchen By Design

Maybe something along these lines but with a bit more warmth here and there.

Yes, that's good. A little bit of gray blue for your chrome, but still some caramel for the floor. There's some really nice quartzites out there with those beautiful flowing lines, and maybe that's one of them. The quartz manufacturers try to duplicate that and often charge more.

Yes, I think this is the answer! ItâÂÂs softly busy and I can deal with that. Now IâÂÂll have to kill myself trying to find something close. ItâÂÂs not fun looking at this time of year in Florida when itâÂÂs so HOT and humid.

THANK YOU ALL for the Journey into an answer! IâÂÂm feeling this or at least something close.

Yay! Congrats! Always feels good to have made a decision.

That is a beautiful selection. You say you have to find it now. Does that mean you just found the image on the net and don't know where to get the stone in real life? Good luck in your searches.

Carol

Tib, it does feel good!

Ontariomom, yes that is correct. Now that I have an image in my head and know I want a quartzite IâÂÂll have to go little more insane to find it. It doesnâÂÂt have to be exact though, just something close. After that IâÂÂll have to go further into madness trying to get a good price. I do have a good installer but will have to do some haggling there as well. Around here they try an start out getting a million off you. Well maybe IâÂÂm exaggerating a bit :)

This post was edited by jterrilynn on Mon, Sep 1, 14 at 14:24

It's going to be so pretty. Hope you don't have too many frustrations.

You should also read Karin's threads in Kitchens to make sure what you get is a quartzite and not marble. Here is her latest.

Here is a link that might be useful: countertop geology

Thanks Mayflowers! There is this close to my area, it is called Sea Pearl.

There are a few others to look for that are also very hardy and would work well depending on the individual stone: Madre Perla, and Taj Mahal are two more. I really like the Taj Mahal. However, all three quartziteâÂÂs come with or without the warm tones so the trick would be to find the right one.

This post was edited by jterrilynn on Mon, Sep 1, 14 at 15:17

Ah yes, Sea Pearl, beautiful. I think it has some green undertones. Peke in Kitchens went on an epic search for a backsplash called "Sea Pearl needs a backsplash" Parts 1, 2, and 3!

Here is a link that might be useful: Peke's first thread

Oh, don't want green so I'll take it off the list. That is a very pretty counter though.

Just a thought. Do you have to have some of the caramel in the counter? Once you choose a counter with caramel, your counter becomes less neutral and perhaps less timeless. I know you have caramel tones in your wood, but wood is supposed to be neutral so your are not required to repeat.it. Not saying the caramel is not nice and would not look great, but I just want to be sure you see that you could go with a counter with more neutral colours in it if that was what you find.

The bianco drift I posted does not have carmel in it, but aside from that is similar to your inspiration photo you posted above.

Carol

Yes IâÂÂm going to keep an open mind on that while looking. Some of my decision will be on cost as in maybe IâÂÂll find a remnant. My cabinets are only 21â deep with a 24â bump-out. So, even with the overhang they are not that deep. However, it is 79â long.

OM, the floor is tile, so it's not quite a neutral like a hardwood. When you have two stone/ stone-like materials so close to each other, it looks so much better if they're coordinated. Quartzite has such soft coloration that I wouldn't worry about it going out of style. Many people use it as a substitute for marble. I also think natural materials will always be more timeless than man-made.

Good point may_flowers. I did not realize the floor was tile -- it looks like wood.

Carol

I can see why you'd want to keep it calm and soft in there. The colors are soft and breezy. Personally, I'd want a little more (not a lot) contrast in the counter to balance the flooring materials (including shower floor). Do you not want granite PERIOD or are you open to it if you found one that is to your liking? It's going to be a beautiful space!

Hi Monicakm, I don't think I want granite. The house I bought has what seems like a mile of granite in the kitchen. I 'm granited out. I have always decorated with a lot of warm colors and still like warm but I want it softer and a bit more mello. However, one never knows about me , when I did the kitchen in my last house I wanted granite but nothing busy. I went to Italy and saw some beautiful stones and the rest is history lol. Still I'm thinking soft right now.