I'm putting in tumbleweed corian on my counters and uba tuba granite on my island. I think it will look great, and I love the feel of matte corian more than cold hard polished granite. This is YOUR house, put in what YOU like and don't worry about some far off future buyer. For all you know by the time you sell, granite will be ho hum, so common. (If you were building a spec house to sell right away it would be a different story.)

igloo -- you've made some cool choices in your home, but that alligator-skin tile in the shower would creep me out!! LOL. But to each their own.

I think mixing materials is fine to do and corian and granite will look great together! For myself, I had chosen all corian, but it was not to be (fabricator error). My consolation prize was quartz for my perimeter, but by this time my island was already installed and I liked it. I did not think there was any way it would look good together, especially since I think the reverse makes MUCH more sense (perimeter corian, island stone). Knowing that the fabricator would rip out my island if I didn't like it, I had low expectations. But I like it, REALLY like it! We are keeping it as is. Mixing is definitely an option, and if you like corian, put in corian!

This is why I love GW--you can get people to weigh in who have opinions on each end of the spectrum. I do think igloo's points are valid--wood, stone, plastic seem to be incongruous. But I want to research Tumbleweed and Uba Tuba to see what I think, and it does encourage me that there is someone out there who's going in that direction. My colors in kitchen/great room, partially open to each other, soft yellows, white cabinets and trim, some accents of red to tie in to red dining room, accessible to but not truly open to kitchen and great room. I wanted blue granite, but you can guess what I've encountered: too pricey. Still toying with the idea of quartz perimeters, and get what I love for island. On to do more research.....Thanks

I'll echo igloochic's comments - why put plastic in one part of the kitchen and natural stone in another. I'll confess that I personally don't like Corian but I realize that some people do - but if you are putting in granite in one spot - I'd go with it everywhere.

"I'll echo igloochic's comments - why put plastic in one part of the kitchen and natural stone in another."

Not everyone has that visceral "Oh my god it's plaaasticcc" reaction that, frankly, I only seen on these boards. Obviously the people in my world must not be TKO. :)

If I *had* to choose between all corian or all granite, my tumbleweed corian would win hands down. I decided to jazz up the island with a piece of granite, but I wouldn't want it as my perimeter countertop.

Of course, it is your house, and, if you do plan on living there the rest of your life, then, go with the corian perimeters. BUT! Most most people will think you went the "cheap way out" in using the corian with the granite, if you ever sell your house. Just does not go together, IMO. You asked...LOL!

If you are wanting something less expensive, and, believe me, most of us aren't wanting to spend thousands if we don't have to, use tile. I actually like the "look" of a mellow-looking creamy (plain) mexican-made tile in kitchens like you are describing. One of my favorite kitchens we have ever had, was a greenish-grey mexican tile all over the perimeter, and then the backsplash was a mixture of the green tile, red, gold and I think some black tile, then, the island was uba tuba. I still see this kitchen today from when we sold the house 8 years ago and it still looks great!

But, quartz is really is much nicer-looking.

Corian is made to mimic the look of natural stone. If you mix natural stone with corian it will look as though you were trying to cut corners. If you mix totally different materials, it looks as though it was done purposefully.

One of the most beautiful kitchens I've seen here was sharb's, which was notable for many reasons, not the least of which her mix of Ceasarstone and granite. Ok, it's not Corian, but it gives you an idea of what it's like to mix materials. Enjoy!

Here is a link that might be useful: sharb's stunning kitchen

I have Corian perimeter and granite on my island and cooktop area. I'm one of the minority that actually prefer plastic counters - and plastic counters that don't even look like stone. (And GASP - I even like laminate counters!) However based on the advice of my KD I did choose something else for the island/cooktop area mainly to make the kitchen more visually interesting. I really like how it turned out - the relatively plain Corian as somewhat of a clean palette for the striking granite in a limited quantity. Though I think granite is beautiful, a whole kitchen full of it is just too much for my taste. I've been very happy with the combination and I'm pretty sure no one thinks my kitchen looks cheap because I have Corian and granite. Have a look.

{{!gwi}}

"Corian is made to mimic the look of natural stone. If you mix natural stone with corian it will look as though you were trying to cut corners. If you mix totally different materials, it looks as though it was done purposefully."

You just can't categorically say that "Corian is made to mimic the look of natural stone". That is the case for some of their colors, and is quite obviously not the case for others. I respectfully disagree with your whole premise, but even if I agreed, Corian would be a very viable choice as a "totally different material".

Gibby, your kitchen is absolutely gorgeous! I personally don't like corian and I like the idea of mixing it with granite even less. I think a nice solid colored quartz would look better, that's just my preference and my two cents, since you asked. But obviously it can be done, and done well, as you can see in Gibby's beautiful new kitchen!

I have recently seen a beautiful kitchen where they had a lovely granite on the island (something like Delicatus, if I had to guess), with light gray/blue cabinetry mixed with creamy cabinets. On the perimeter, the counters were a soft white. I think they were either Corian or quartz. The point is, the owner wanted that beautiful granite to stand out and it did. I thought it was a beautiful combination and didn't look cheap at all. It looked like it was done purposefully.

I agree that Gibby's kitchen is breath-taking--like something you'd see in a magazine. And I loved looking at Sharb's kitchen--gorgeous. If mine came anywhere close to being as beautiful as those two, I'd be over the moon. Thanks, thanks for pointing out these two to me. All the pictures and the comments, pro and con, are exceedingly helpful. It's going to be awhile before I have to make a decision, don't know what I'll decide, but do appreciate the community of GW!

Do any of you know anything about kitchen islands that are made from rubberwood. I am looking at an island made by Michael Scott and it is made of rubberwood . It actually looks like a piece of furniture and is called avalon if anyone would like to preview. My concern is that it is only 20 inches wide instead of 24 inches. Is this going to look weird. I cannot house an oversize island but I do not want it to look weird either.
And last question, my kitchen has all white cabinets, white appliances and white corian countertops and natural oak floors so should I choose granite or maple chopping block and or oak or white island? I do not know how to add a picture of my kitchen but the walls are a gorgeous green surrounded by walls of floor to ceiling windows overlooking a lake. I realize that all the white makes it sound pretty drab but everyone that walks in it goes WOW. Now to the island delemna. Thanks, Jen

Mamajenn, posting pictures isn't difficult. First you need to upload them to a site such as Photobucket. Once that's done, underneath the thumbnails are options for what you want to do with the pictures. Click on the HTML code; it will automatically copy that. Then paste it into your message. When you then preview your post, it will show your picture. Now on to your question. I am no expert and am soliciting lots of input here on GW. I think any of those choices for an island would work! Actually, right now I am trying to decide on a rather exotic granite for my island (house is just now at the framing stage) with a plainer surface for perimeter counters. I too will have white cabinets and hardwood floors. There are gorgeous granites with green in them. My vote would be to look for a green granite. Personally, my island is pretty long so I am having granite on most of it but a 3x3' butcher block on one end.

Pretty common scenario in some developments to see solid surface countertops with a granite island around these parts...

Get what you want and not what others think!