We had them in the kitchen we're now tearing out. They were combined with butcherblock sections. They were durable and you could put hot things from the stove directly on them. I think the grout issues are overstated if you have dark grout. I think it is a great look in a vintage style kitchen. It is just out of favor right now. There is one kitchen on the Crown Point Recent Images page that shows a tile counter. You won't see many. The very fact that it is "out of fashion" seems to make it an interesting choice, if you have the right kind of tile in the right kind of kitchen.

I'm not sure its out of fashion because it was never really in mainstream fashion. I think its safe to say that MOST people don't find porcelain tiled counters attractive or very functional.

Usually the vertical edges of the counter is always a challenge and the tile must be installed with zero lippage. Thats doable but certainly not trivial.

And the grout is an issue if say you have a slab next to it but it would be less of an issue if that was all you've lived with cos you will just get used to it. I had plywood counters for 4 months and i'd tell you i could've kept it for 4 years cos I just found ways to work with it. So really nothing is unusable.

I am not sure exactly what counter tops you were looking for but one thing that i have learned from my kitchen reno is to never say "can't". I have very unique tastes and every time I thought well i'd never find what I love i always did. There $400 worth of backsplash samples in my house thats says so. There's so much out there that you've never heard of. My guess is porcelain tile wasn't your first choice cos you said you were looking for something. Just make sure every stone has been turned before turning to tile.

Good luck

@padola07, porcelain tile was definitely mainstream and very fashionable in its heyday---if you look at 1920s and early 1930s kitchens, you see a lot of gorgeous porcelain tile countertops. They make pieces designed to be used at the edges, so that's not an issue if it's installed properly.

Here's a pic from Rejuvenation's gallery---there are a bunch there:

{{!gwi}}

We looked into tile since it would fit our kitchen's style, and found that grout is an issue unless you get epoxy grout, which is expensive to install and negates the cost savings of doing tile over stone. It can also be a challenge if a tile cracks and you need to replace it. I still like the look, though.

The OP says that she was looking for something contemporary and organic. I kind of don't think porcelain tiled counter is contemporary or organic. Please take a look at sochi's kitchen ... just search "sochi" you'll find her beautiful kitchen.

She has luce di luna natural quartize. I do too. Its contemporary because the veining can be very straight and clean and obviously its organic because its natural. I was also looking for something contemporary because my kitchen is very contemporary but i wanted something organic to take the edge off. I can say i've been to every stone yard in NJ and considered every material there is and when i laid eyes on that slab i fell in love.

Here's a link to the tile tour my new kitchen's tile counters. I think they're contemporary, as in of the now, though not from the stylebook that people label "contemporary", and from an art point of view, definitely organic. Tile and glaze are also made out of earths.

Pillog, WOW!!!! Your countertops and backsplash are incredible & totally awesome.

Last year I checked out quite a few model homes in California, and many of them had tile counters as an option.

I think its safe to say that MOST people don't find porcelain tiled counters attractive or very functional.

I beg to differ.

Beautiful counters Bill!

"I beg to differ."

Me too! This was my first try at a kitchen countertop. This one is actually ceramic.

We used Laticrete SpectraLock grout and it was great. One morning I came out to find they my DH has spilled tea on the counter before he went fishing. It cleaned right up.

This was in a second house, and I was working on my inkjet printer (wasn't working). I gave up and when we came back up a couple weeks later with another printer, I found the magenta ink had leaked on the counter. OMG! I thought I was going to be in BIG trouble. But it also cleaned off with a little Soft Scrub. Phew!!

Our next project will have porcelain tiles. I purchased these at a tile auction.

And also these for the backsplash:

Plan on either using the mosaic's as the countertop edging or wood.

I have had 1 inch mosaic ceramic tile countertops/backsplash for 32 years now ... off whites with a brown grout and have never had a problem keeping them clean .... just use Dow Bathroom Cleaner on them.

Nice thing about ceramic is you can set ANYTHING hot, right out of the oven on it and it's OK to to do.

However, after 32 yrs. I am switching out to granite (hopefully soon); and I will miss being able to set all my *hot out of the oven* pans on my countertop.

Good luck with your choice!!

Kerlite (www.kerlite.it) is part ceramic part epoxy so it has some bounce -- which may be a little bit better in my view for the shocks of pot edges and things dropping onto a counter (or floor). It's expensive. It's thin. Less than 1/4 inch. (3mm). I bought some. It's very strong. Today I saw a video of it on YouTube, without English language narration but you can still get a good feel for it from watching it.

I've seen many porcelain and ceramic counters that are fine. This information about kerlite is just information, not a recommendation to reject porcelain and ceramic.

hth