I wanted to chime in regarding Corian and the seamless/integrated sink: I have it and clean up is wonderfully easy. My sink/counters are six months old. I have yet to stain the sink/counters BUT I don't leave dishes or messes in the kitchen more than a day b/c our kitchen is completely open to the rest of the house. Also, I am gentle in the kitchen and follow appropriate practices for the type of sink/counter we installed.

I do not have experience with granite except in a hotel, where my water glass left a ring that was dry by evening. That must be what sealing is all about. :-) I agree granite is very pretty.

I've only had granite counters for 9 months, and I DO regret dealing with the company/fabricator we chose. Won't bore you with my long sad story, but we now have a crack across the peninsula- have to decide soon whether we have it fixed or replace that piece. So, the granite itself is gorgeous, looks as good (other than the crack- which I blame on poor installation), as the day it was installed, and really sets the tone for our kitchen.

Yes, you have to place cups and dishes carefully onto the counter- we haven't broken anything yet- but I'm sure an accident will happen one day.

BTW, we had tile counters in our kitchen and bathrooms in our old house, and I never had a problem with those either- the worst counter/s I've had have been laminate. Once they're worn, you can't do anything. At least granite can be polished/repaired.

As far as I can see is that granite requires expert installation/fabrication and a certain mindset in daily care such as more delicate handling of dishes/etc. I wipe the counters with two hands- dish cloth in one- microfibre in the other to polish. Have three more bathrooms and another kitchen to do, would do them all in granite in a heartbeat!

I have had both granite and laminate, and each has its plusses and minuses. Yes, I did break a lot more glassware on the granite, especially around the undermounted sink lip while washing up. It was too cold and I really hated all the little imperfections (occlusions?) in the polished surface that made it look dirty all the time, even right after cleaning. I found the high polish to be inappropriate for my kitchen setting -- would be much better for a living-room coffee table, say. But on the other hand, I could put a hot pot straight on the granite, and did like that one aspect of it.

For my new counters, I've gone with something entirely different (copper). You might consider a metal like stainless steel, or alternately quartz, if neither laminate nor granite is your thing?

I think Formica is my first choice. In fact, you hit it on the head - I just don't think granite is right for my simple kitchen. I'm not going to change out any of the appliances, and they are all white, and I don't want to change out the flooring which is white tile. I just can't see granite with those.

I used to have a neighbor who's family owned a granite shop. They would flip houses on the side and use a lot of the reminants in the flips they did. You'd be surprised how well granite can look in a more simple setting.

We decided on Corian for our small kitchen. We just couldn't find a granite we loved that would be worth the price for a small kitchen. We chose Matterhorn.

I have the integrated sink as well and love it. Since then I have used granite tile in the master bath and a granite vanity top in the guest bath. It's is not that I don't like granite, it just wasn't right for our kitchen.

We have had the Corian for 3 1/2 years and I have had no problem with the sink or keeping it clean.

Every one has their own taste and needs, you just need to find what works best for you!

Laura

Our plates and glassware are almost all either glass or china and we haven't broken anything on the granite which has been in for over a year and a half. Maybe we were well trained as we had tile before that but I don't recall having breakage problems when we transitioned from laminate to tile.

Ours is really a quartzite and even harder than granite (though that probably doesn't make much difference to a glass - either one is hard enough). I've never before had a counter this easy to clean.

Perhaps you don't like the way granite looks or perhaps you prefer the cost point of Formica - both are valid reasons, but it seems like you are fishing for more reasons to convince your husband and they don't necessarily exist.

We knew we wanted granite, but we looked at a lot of slabs to find the ones that were right for us.

I always wanted corian as my old house had laminate. I was happy to move to a home with corian (avonite brand) and an integrated sink. I hate the sink. It stains continuously and no, I don't leave things in it. This is just from regular use. I have to bleach it daily.

Corian scratches, just moving dishes on the counters. Maybe some would call it a patina, but that is a euphanism for all torn up.

I can't figure out why Corian and the other SS manufacturers don't offer integrated sinks in colors other than white or cream. Our last house used a locally manufactured solid surface product and I could choose any of their colors for a sink. My countertop was speckled dark denim blue and the integrated sink a lighter blue, also with speckles. I always said that the best thing about the sink was that it didn't show dirt. That was also the worst thing about it! I had to remind myself to clean it. I loved it and hoped to repeat in this kitchen but can't get the product here. I'm probably going to quartz with an undermount sink. I sure don't want to mess around trying to keep a white solid surface sink clean!!

Actually, a fabricator here told me that they make the sinks by stretching a slab of material over a mold, which stretches out and re-distributes the particulates, so it then doesn't match the countertop. The manufacturer I used before actually poured the sink, just as they pour a countertop, so any color could be used. Wake up, SS makers!

Actually, I think it's gorgeous in new kitchens, and might want it in my next house even though I am concerned about chipping dishes on it. I've chipped a lot of dinner plates on the center divider on my sink and can just imagine if I had a hard surface like that all over the kitchen. I've had many regrets about having to have a porcelin sink just because I thought it looked better than a SS.

I had a neighbor who put in Corian and ended up moving a year later. She said if she had known she was moving, she wouldn't have spent that much on her kitchen.

I am looking at the cost, but even more at how it would look in our existing kitchen. This pic was taken when we finished 13 years ago and barely shows the gray tile backsplash with a strip gray & white accent tile. Definitely not what is going in new kitchens today, and neither are our white appliances, all of which stay. I just think granite is too pretty for this old kitchen.

I guess I wanted to see if there was any basis for seeing if I would regret spending the $$ on something that was popular even if I thought formica would do the job just fine.

What's funny is that I am usually the one who wants to spend more money & dh is the practical one.
{{!gwi}}

marti8a - when I was looking at laminate I was amazed at how many choices there are and what a great value it is - something that might give you the feeling you're not investing in counters you'll need to keep for the rest of your life.

I agree with gibby3000 on this one.

I lived many moons ago with an all granite kitchen, and when we built our new kitchen 13 years ago we went instead with a mix: granite on the cooktop/island but Corian on the prep and cleanup area counters.

WHY? Granite looks great as a highlight material, even when dirty, but has some drawbacks.

1) THE NOISE: I can't stand the sound that echos through the house when dishes and glasses hit granite. The sound of emptying a dishwasher onto granite countertops can wake the kids and drown out the TV in the next room. Forget doing it when people are trying to sleep.

2) THE ANXIETY: Granite is supposed to give you piece of mind because it's durable, but to me it has the opposite effect. Because granite is so hard, I feel like I have to use kid gloves when placing fragile items such as crystal down on a granite countertop.

3) THE FRAGILITY: That's right, granite can actually be quite brittle. I was leaning (that's right, just leaning) on our granite-topped island and the weight of my arm leaning on the countertop caused the entire corner of the granite counter to break off. Thank goodness is was a clean break -- we were able to have it repaired (the repair line is there but hardly noticeable), but you can be sure I don't lean on granite counters anymore. Others have noted here that their countertops have chipped. Granite's indestructibility is a myth.

WHY Corian?

1) DURABLE: Have had solid off-white Corian for 13+ years and it looks like new.

2) EASY, EASY, EASY: Easy on the eyes, the dishes, and on maintenance. Yes, it can stain, but a little soft cleanser takes care of any stain in short order. I WOULD NOT get an integrated Corian sink. My in-laws had those and they were a pain. Everything stuck to the sink. We went instead with undermount stainless. You get a clean look with no visible edges, and a far greater range of size and depth options.

3) THE LOOK: Depends on your kitchen and your taste, but I find a sleek, solid Corian counter to be very tasteful. Depends on what else you have in your kitchen design, but you can't have everything be the focal point.

4) SOFT/QUIET/WARM: In other words, those things that granite is not.

Eeek sableman, that would keep me from even touching the edges of granite. I think I am convinced that granite is not the right choice. And now that you mention it, I do remember how loud it was when dishes were set on it. I've noticed since the carpet is out of the adjoining room now, that everything echoes a bit anyway.

OK, I'm chuckling to myself reading some of these comments. What is the obsession with china or glass breakage? How hard do you set these things down??? And yes, more than likely a glass will break, if it's dropped from any distance onto pretty much any surface...hmmm, padded countertops?

Now let's be real sableman. Emptying the DW onto stone drowns out the TV in the next room, lol? Stone, if properly supported will not just break - perhaps the corner, in your case, was not properly supported? Yes, a good fabricator and installer is important with stone, or really, any material.

Why the scorn, pauline? Sounds like Sableman is speaking from her (his?) own real-life experience with granite, and has found an alternative that works better. Not an "obsession with glass breakage" but a "been there, done that, didn't like it, made a change".

I have had solid surface for years. It is durable and dependable, but I am tired of the mat finish and the "plastic" look and feel. My kids are grown and gone, so a "bullet-proof" countertop is not a necessity anymore. My new house will have granite. The one I am probably getting is one of the fragile ones...lots of interesting inclusions and veining. I know chips are in my future, but they are easily dealt with. The movement, the interest, the gloss, ALL worth it to me.

Not in any way, shape or form! Best countertops I've ever had.

idrive - I think the scorn was because sableman's description was so over the top that it wasn't believable. Granite so noisy that you can't watch TV in the next room or can't sleep elsewhere in the house? If people are slamming plates and glasses on the counter so hard, no wonder things break!

And I notice he registered just yesterday. There have been Corian promoters on this board who register under different names to bash granite and push their product so something so excessive from a just registered person raises suspicions.

And he starts out the post "I agree with gibby" and goes on to push Corian which isn't what gibby said.

BTW, while I love my granite, I agree with gibby that laminate is a good way to go if you want to keep investment down. And there are a lot of laminates to choose from. Another lower cost possibility for DIY folks is large granite tiles.

As a postscript to explain the breakage perspective: for me, it wasn't slamming glass down hard onto the stone that was the problem -- it was catching the edge of a glass or plate on the perimeter of the granite around the sink, or occasionally on the counter's edge above the dishwasher. Just one little touch at the wrong angle and "ching!" it's a goner. The one really expensive incident was when cleaning a safety glass shelf from the fridge; I touched it the wrong way to the granite, it shattered everywhere and proved very $$ to replace.

Caveat: this issue may possibly be limited to clumsy types like myself. :)

In terms of appropriateness, I agree with you, Marti -- granite isn't the thing for every single kitchen. I've seen a bunch of lovely solid surfaces, or what about ceramic tile, which might fit with the more casual country-look florals you have in there?

I have been going back and forth about this decision as well. I have two loves. I absolutely LOVE the Hi Macs Azure Quartz, but I am very, very drawn to Blue Pearl granite. I saw it recently in a stone yard, and the Blue Pearl was the most eye-catching slab--I almost drooled.

The issue I have is that my husband who proudly calls himself "the loudest man in the world" (seriously, he even has a very loud song he sings, as he proclaims this) is just not the most gentle creature with glasses, plates, pots and pans (bull in a china shop is only a slight exaggeration). Anything in the kitchen actually. I have a friend that had granite couters installed two years ago, and I was at her house recently admiring her gorgeous granite and ran my hands over the smooth, polished top to discover little pits or chips. She told me that happens, and eventually she'll have it taken care of. If she has little dings, I can only IMAGINE what my lovable little man would do to ours.

I really am torn about this. I have a sample of the Hi Macs that I have totally abused, and it still looks good. I do not have a sample of the Blue Pearl to abuse, and I don't know how it rates in terms of "bulletproofness".

Oh, the agony of indecision! ;^)

I hate hate hate the combination of our absolute black granite with east and south facing windows. I could dust 25 times a day and there would still be visible dust on the surface. I would not do absolute black again....but it does look wonderful for about 2 seconds right after I clean it.

I've had my granite counter tops & backsplash now for about 5 years. Love my granite! I roll out pie dough on it and make messes that don't get cleaned up right away. It never stains. (I have juperana royalton, a movement granite). You can't tell if it's dirty, which is a plus for me. I had laminate. I also had a carpeted kitchen floor, speaking of padding your kitchen.....lol Yuck! :0)

Marti, I understand all your reasons, and granite might not be right for you, but before you write off granite entirely, check out Neesie's kitchen. She has a relatively small and simple kitchen (oak cabinets IIRC), made two changes -- granite countertop and silgranit sink -- and it looks fabulous, without busting a budget. There are other examples here, and I'm not trying to slight them, but whenever I think of one small change making an enormous difference (and looking like a million dollars) I think of hers. I think a lot of us get lost drooling over the $100K + kitchens that could never fit in our houses or our budgets, so we think "that's not for me."

Yes, granite is "noisy," but within a day or so I got used to not slamming things down -- which one probably shouldn't be doing anyway, right? So far no issues with chipping, it doesn't stain, and it cleans up wonderfully well.

I do not regret our granite one bit. It's absolutely beautiful, and I love being able to set hot stuff on it without a trivet or a pot-holder. Clean up is a breeze. It's a show stopper; everyone who enters our home comments on it's beauty. Yes, it's hard - but that's part of it's allure to me.

The only suggestion I'd have for anyone who gets granite, go to the granite yard and look at it after they cut it up for your kitchen. We couldn't do that, and I regret it. Long story.

The bottom line is that if I had to do it all over again, I would, in a heartbeat.

Here's a pic of ours, obviously before we were done with the remodel - but I don't have my 'finished kitchen' pics yet because of a flooring issue. However, we've been living with our granite for about 4 months or so now.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I don't think anyone has mentioned my biggest reason for not getting granite: glare.

bluekitobsessed, where would I find Neesie's kitchen? I just looked at the blog of kitchens & didn't see that name.

livingthedream, glare isn't a problem in my kitchen which is rather dark.

We removed laminated from our home 2 houses ago and replaced it with granite. We were going for a "wow factor" since we knew we'd be reselling it. Candidly, I was so sad to leave that granite when the home we bought had Corian. But, I really didn't mind the Corian. It didn't have as much of the 'wow' factor, but it was easy to clean & maintain. We had a knock-off cast iron sink in that house that was a pain to keep clean, and switched it out for stainless. We just bought a new home that came with granite and and undermount ss sink, and I'm happy, so honestly, I don't think either Corian or granite would be a bad move. BUT, I certainly would not recommend the integrated sink if you go with Corian. We have some friends that have one and their sink is in really bad shape and looks awful. They're going to end up replacing the entire countertop (although, Corian is pretty forgiving, so if they really wanted, they could probably cut a sink hole out for an countermount sink). My aunt also bought a white Corian sink about 10 years ago and hates it - says the same other say, it's awful to keep clean. Forget washing any dishes that had tomato sauce in them! But if Corian is your choice, I think long term the best way to go is an undermount SS sink. SS sinks are a dream to clean (IMO).

not at all......had them about 4 years and love them

Sableman~~please.....too noisy for people to sleep? get real

So far the discussion has been -- granite? or Corian? Not to hijack the thread but there are other alternatives -- I was wondering if the negatives of granite pointed out by Sableman are also true of a quartz product like Silestone or Caesarstone.

CircusPeanut...does your sink have a "negative" reveal? What you're describing is one of the reasons I didn't request a negative reveal for my sink (although I ended up w/a slight one anyway...but not enough to ask to have it changed.)

We have absolute black (premium) granite w/a big west-south-west view...lots of afternoon sun...and it doesn't bother me. I love my counter! It does have a few silver inclusions in it which may help with the dust visibility issue. At first, I was unhappy as well about the dust, but now that there hasn't been much construction work in our house, the house has been thoroughly cleaned a few times, and the AC/furnace filter changed, dust hasn't been as big an issue. I let one counter go a couple of days to see how dust would accumulate and it wasn't that bad! We generally wipe all our counters down each day, even if we didn't use all of them--just in case there's something there....we can't always tell! (Although, most of the counter space does get used every day.)

So, no, I don't regretting getting granite counters!

Marti, Neesie finished a couple of months ago. Try a separate post searching for her, or search Neesie + silgranit + pet sink, or post and ask to see other people's counter upgrades/change 1 item/with oak/whatever you want to see, and lots of friendly people will help out. Susanilz had a truly beautiful granite, white/ivory with honey streaks in it IIRC? that looked like it was planned in a 1980s oak kitchen instead of being a years-later upgrade. As I mentioned, I think of Neesie's because it was such a dramatic (and positive) change, but it is not the only one on this forum.

To sableman: I usually empty my dishes from the DW into the cabinets, not onto the countertops, but to each his/her own....

Love my granite. The only thing that has broken on my granite was when a ceramic salt shaker fell out of a cabinet when I opened it and onto the granite. Smash! I broke a flower pot when I dropped it in my siligranite sink as well. And we use almost exclusively glass. I have very few plastic pieces in my kitchen. All my food storage dishes are glass and we use wine glasses almost daily ;o). We've had our granite over a year now. I agree though that laminate is a great alternative, and it comes in such great colors and even textures now. But personally, I hate the look of Corian...something about that plastic look to it, yick. No offense to those who have it, I understand it's a good product, just not my thing!

Thanks bluekitobsessed, I found Neesie's photos & her countertop looks great. Her cabinets look to be about the same color as mine too. I was glad to see a granite counter with white appliances.

I thought of another reason to get granite too. I would a couple of years with them to see if I wanted them in my next house.

Now I'm on the fence again.

Thanks for everyone's input. I think it's time for me to start bringing samples home.

A few observations from someone who has been living with ceramic tile counters installed by amateurs with HUGE grout lines, so anything would be an improvement...

I go into hundreds of homes a year in my work, and the Corian installations I've seen do not seem to hold up well. I have seen large cracks in counters and integrated sinks, and lots of scratches. I do know the scratches (but maybe not the cracks) can be refinished out, but it requires a service call.

Laminate seems the best bang for the buck, but is not popular with buyers here.

I, too, did not want the very reflective surface on my countertops, so we have decided on doing a leather granite (absolute black) on our perimeter and a different antique finished granite (matrix) on our island. We also liked quartz, but decided for our very large island that we wanted something with a little more visual interest.

As for breakage, I don't imagine the granite will be any harder or noisier than the tile, and that hasn't been a problem for us.

YMMV.

Marti8, go to a granite fabricator and get some BIG scraps. They have mountains of them and I am sure they would be thrilled for you to haul a few off. Select 4 or 5 of them as big as you can carry (at least one square foot). Bring them into your kitchen and lay them on top of your cabinets. You can get a much better idea how they will match....much better than picking little 4" square pieces.

No regrets about the granite. I do also like soapstone but couldnt afford to go that route. Solid surfaces or metals were eliminated early on in the decision making process.
We are very happy with our giallo veneziano.

I don't think anyone has mentioned my biggest reason for not getting granite: glare.

Cambrian black antique finish owner here. No glare whatsoever. Love the waxy, sorta matte finish of my countertop, the easy cleanup, and how it hides dust and the occasional missed stain so well.

Neesie here....I'm so flattered to see my kitchen mentioned positively on this forum! Thanks, blue!

I initiated changes in my kitchen because I absolutely hated the dull stainless steel sink (we bought an exisiting house and lived with the sink for 15 years...)

After reading about countertops on the internet I thought I wanted Cambria for the ease of cleaning. But when I went to look at the product I found granite....and fell in love. The rest is history. I've only had it three months but it (and my silgranit sink) still make me very happy everytime I come into the room. No buyers remorse here!

Here is a link that might be useful: modest update made BIG change

I love my granite in the bathroom. It takes a licking and keeps on ticking. I also have it in my bar area. It looks great. But I have Corian in my kitchen with the intregrated sink and I really love it. It is easy clean. At first I obsessed about the fact that it might get scratches-but they are not very noticable. I have vanilla corian.

Love my granite. First of all it's certainly not noisey enough to keep people awake! I make more noise banging the dishes together in the cabinets then they ever make on the granite counters. My kitchen and family room are one large great room, and no complaints from the gang about noise while I'm working in the kitchen.

I am a very messy cook. The granite is very easy to keep clean, even if your a slob like me. Just make sure you test your stone before commiting to it. I think it's much easier to keep clean then laminate.

I am also a complete clutz and the queen of dish breaking, my family and friends hide the good wine glasses when I visit and put out the paper cups. (this is not a joke!) I haven't broke anything by dropping it or hitting it on my granite since it was installed a year ago. Oh, I did drop a glass, a bowl and a platter on my soft wood floor and broke all three.

So get what you like, granite and laminate are both good products.

Oh gawd...I have not read all the posts and just told my wife to take a look. We put in granite about 4 years ago and she is hating it. More details later from her. What I do not like is that our house (21 years old) has began to "settle" in to life and now a couple of the seams have cracked open every so slightly...but noticeable none the less with a little raised edge. I pushed for this granite and publicly admit it so here. Geez. What do we do? This is what we now ponder...

Thanks for listening, more to follow.

Casey

"http://www.driverdb.com/Sean McDonagh"

We have had our Tropical Brown granite for about two months now. I was really worried about the "glare" factor as well, as I get migraine that can be triggered by glare type lighing. But I have found that the granite just gives off a beautiful soft glow when the lights are on. I am endlessy fascinated by it because it is something directly from Mother Nature, and none of us has the same exact thing as the other one does. I DO tend to be aware of putting things down more gently on the counters than I did with my 22 year old laminate, but no breakage so far. I am really glad we did it!

No regrets so far. Mine was installed about 5 weeks ago and I still find myself staring at it. I have black galaxy and at night when light shines on it, it looks like a brilliant night sky as the coppery flecks really twinkle. In daylight it's more sedate. When I see it at night, I feel like my kitchen is wearing a "little black dress." I wasn't looking for black when I was shopping -- stumbled on galaxy and couldn't stop looking at it...
I moved into my home with laminate counters, horrid color, like a sea green-blue, not the best condition and I just lived wit it for the last four years. My new granite counters are so pretty to me that I'm sort of forced to keep my counters uncluttered -- I love that aspect of having a beautiful countertop.

No regrets. We've had our countertop since Nov/07 and are very happy with it. We chose a more speckled granite because we have a smaller kitchen and felt that a slab with dramatic movement wouldn't be shown to advantage in our setting. The kitchen we replaced had lime-yellow laminate countertops. Originally considered using one of the solid surface products but found granite to be cheaper and prettier.
If we'd had a bigger budget I definitely would have investigated soapstone.

Compared to tile, granite is a walk in the park to maintain. And it seems no louder then tile and there is no more breakage of glass or dishes than tile. I hate cleaning tile grout and tile cracks when things are dropped on it. The laminate I had in the past had cut marks from "people" who didn't use a cutting board and burn marks (from the same "people" who didn't put down trivets) and stains. I have had my granite, Verde Butterfly, for almost 2 years and it has been easy to maintain and looks as good as new. No stains, cuts or burn marks.
Clare

I put Blue Eyes in the kitchen and have cheap Chinese granite countertops on my bathroom vanities, so there is granite everywhere in my home now. I personally do not like Corian or its competitors either. It looks "bathroomy" to me, I don't know why, LOL.

About slamming things onto the granite and breakage, I had vitreous porcelain tile on all the countertops in my house previous to all the remodeling. That stuff is so hard! None of the 30-y.o. ugly-ass tiles were cracked or chipped.

But if there was no such thing as granite countertops, I would put new tile in before I would do man-made solid-surfaces.

Besides, the Blue Eyes granite and many other granites are gorgeous - full of semi-precious stone inclusions. It's my kitchen bling, my mesmerizing Precioussss. I stare at it all the time. Another forum member, JessyF has the blue macaubas like bluekitchobssessed. I spent an afternoon there this week canning fig jam with her - boy is that a gorgeous stone.

So why not get a utilitarian piece of art for yourself as you are remodeling? That's the way I looked at it.

Well, here's another perspective: I like my granite but after putting walnut (finished with Waterlox) on the island, we decided that our next house will have wood counters everywhere in the kitchen. I love the wood! And, my mom was wrong: it's not a maintenance nightmare at all.

We absolutely love our granite (vyara extra). It has wonderful movement and so many colors that blend so well with our cabinets.

Very low maintenance - sealed at installation and does not show water marks or any staining at all. We set hot pans and dishes directly on the granite without any issues so far.

I don't understand why anyone would slam dishes and glassware on something they know is hard. We put our dishes and glassware directly into our cabinets from the dishwasher.

Would not want any other materials for our countertop.

Hi everyone,

It's been a couple of months since i've posted, and i'm only just now catching up. Reading these posts is really helpful!

We demo-ed our 61 yr old kitchen and finally ordered new cabs last week. They're wide rail, shaker-style, in cherry, with a natural glaze finish.

While we wait 6 wks for the cabs to arrive, we're starting to contemplate countertops, etc. The choices are daunting.

My husband wants granite countertops, but I'm concerned about the weight of granite in our hilltop house. Our kitchen/dining room is on the top floor, and the floor of the 'kitchen' portion of the room rests on piers, above a sloping hill covered in concrete sheathing.

Some websites say 3/4 inch granite weighs about 15-20 lbs per sq ft, while 1 inch and thicker is proportionally heavier.

So, for weight reasons, I'm seriously considering LG Hi Macs. They have a new product, volcanics, and several colors look pretty nice. In store displays, they appear very solid, shiny, and hard. So....we have to decide!

Sorry for rampling here.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Does anyone regret getting granite countertops? Depending on where you place the emphasis this question could be understood quite differently. We love our crema bordeaux. We love the look and we love how easy it is to keep clean and have yet to break anything. It's all a bit curious about breakage and stuff. Everyone has their tastes and preferences (I love some of the new solid surfaces for instance) but at the end of the day I'll hazard a guess that while there may be a few with regrets there are indeed only a few.