something I should have mentioned...we plan to live in this home for the long term. Resale isn't really an issue as I'm sure whatever we choose will be out of date by the time we move (assuming no huge life changes of course).

Hi Poplard,

Best wishes for your reno. I'm always impressed by mostly DIY renos
(that was our family a decade ago when we were more energetic!)

Not that you just have to "follow the Joneses,"
but what counters are others in your neighborhood installing when they redo their ktichens?
This might help you figure out if you want quartz.

Also, how long will you do you plan to live in this house?
If you plan to be in the house for the next decade, and you love quartz,
it might make sense to get what you love, even if it feels like a splurge now.

As for whether quartz or laminate are the best choice for your particular kitchen,
do you have any pictures to post for us?
Do you have particular patterns of quartz or laminate you can show us?
That may help member of GW give you the advice you need.

Finally, not to complicate your decision further,
but if you want a durable counter that is considerably less than quartz,
you might want to consider some of the less expensive granites.
Most will be very durable and some are in the 39 to 49 dollar a square foot range,
well below quartz in price in my area.

If you go to your local granite yard or fabricator
you may also be able to find remnants of granite and quartz
for considerably less than buying a full slab.

Also, be sure to check out the less well-known quartz companies.
They may be able to offer a cheaper quartz than the big companies,
like Silestone and Caesarstone, who advertise heavily.

Thanks for the input! We are in the older part of a nicer subdivision. We looked at many, many homes in this area when we moved in. Most had laminate, but then we weren't really looking at the more expensive homes in our area (we were looking for something affordable that we could reno into what we wanted in an area we liked). I'm pretty sure that people doing higher budget renos in our area are going with granite or quartz.
As for granite, my Husband is against it, but he is pro quartz. At this point I've driven him so crazy with countertop talk I cannot introduce another option ;)
We do plan to be in this home for at least 20 years. Which does add another concern...we would feel committed to keep this counter for the long term if we go with quartz!
I'll try to add some photos later today.
Thanks so much!

I was in your boat a year ago, and was also sold on quartz. One thing I would consider is if you are totally committed to your layout. Budget reno or not... someday you could reface or get whole new doors to change the look of your kitchen, however once you invest $6000+ in a counter I would hate to rip it out to start anew. We ended up waiting for that reason... our layout was dysfunctional for us so we had to address that before getting a nice counter.

How old are your current "old" cabinets? Will they last another 20 years? If yes, then quartz is great. If not, well, maybe not.

I'm also planning a budget renovation of my kitchen. I had originally planned on granite, but decided the color/pattern was the most important factor, so will be getting quartz instead. I have a small kitchen and the counters will cost MUCH less than painting my old cabinets. As far as I can tell, the rest of my neighborhood still has 20-year-old tile on their counters. I don't care. I'm doing this for me. It's quite possible I'll live here till they take me out feet first, otherwise, the quartz will be a nice selling point. I don't think it's overdoing it. My kitchen simply needs a new outfit.

If you are going to be in the house for a long time, I would get the quartz as long as you are happy with the kitchen's footprint and functionality. I put granite on 35 year old cabinets and have no doubt that they will last another 3 years or more.

Most "facelifted" kitchens will begin to sag and show their true age withing 5-7 years. You can't disguise what's underneath. The "neck wrinkles" always, always, show through, even if the brow is pulled quarter popping tight.

At that point, you will probably be facing an actual full kitchen reno, and you will have wasted a lot of money on the quartz. You'll have locked yourself into the current configuration, even if you think of a better way to lay out the space. And it's possible that the quartz wouldn't survive the demo of the old cabinets and installation on the new.

Laminate should be your choice right now. It allows you the mental freedom to chuck what's there down the road when everything starts to look grody and old again. Plus, it's beautiful! I posted some new laminates the other day that are virtually indistinguishable from real marble, and there are others that also resemble granite or even quartz. At about 1/4 to 1/2 the price you are contemplating paying.

At that point, you will probably be facing an actual full kitchen reno, and you will have wasted a lot of money on the quartz. You'll have locked yourself into the current configuration, even if you think of a better way to lay out the space. And it's possible that the quartz wouldn't survive the demo of the old cabinets and installation on the new.

If it's installed properly, with an eye to the future (i.e. install it so that it's easy to take off), it absolutely should survive the demo, barring freak accidents.

So I agree that she should get quartz IF and only if she's happy with the layout, because yes, once she gets the counters made, she's stuck with the layout. So if there are any doubts about the layout, then the options are (1) leave the layout how it is and get laminate, with the intention of fixing the layout and getting quartz later; or (2) fix the layout now and get quartz; or (3) fix the layout now and get laminate with the intention of getting quartz in a few years (this option makes sense if fixing the layout eats too much of the budget to get quartz now).

Thanks for your input everyone. We've got some 25 yr old cabinets and some brand new ones. While this is comparatively a budget reno, it's likely the only one we'll be doing for many years (we've got lots of other projects to do here). I share the concern about the layout as I too figure that we'd better be happy with it as with quartz we're going to have it a while. But after discussing that with my Husband I realize that quartz or laminate, after we finish this project we aren't going to be changing the layout anytime soon. We would very very likely live with the quirks and move on to bathroom 1 reno, addition of bathroom 2, new deck, and so on and so on.

Here are a couple of pics...be kind :) we're doing this ourselves and have so much left to do! Pendants and pot lights are still to come, and the green curtains are temporary (and left by last owner).

Thanks again!

{{!gwi}}

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If you can afford the quartz you should totally get it. It is so easy to live with -- practically indestructable, you could drive a truck on it and it would still look good -- and IMO it's a "relatively" inexpensive way of giving your kitchen a great look. Just make sure you get the sink and faucet (single or mutti-hole) you want to live with over the long term as well, so the cutouts will work for you forever.

Here is a "before" shot of the area in the first picture for fun!

{{!gwi}}

No way would I put quarz in that kitchen. THe layout is badly sub optimal and should definately be changed. You only have around 27" of space between the range and the DW, which is the most used real estate in any kitchen. You need a minimum of 36" and 48" is even better. You're trying to cram emergency landing space with prep space with cleanup space and there just isn't enough room for it all to work well.

What you are doing will hold you for now, but if you really want to have a more functional kitchen, you will want to do a more complete reno sooner than you think. And spending money on quartz just isn't smart when you have a more extensive reno looming.

In that type of kitchen I would happily put laminate in and find some quartz or granite remnant(s) to make a large "trivet" for a landing spot adjacent to the range. If you use cutting boards and a bit of care (which you should do with any material) laminate can last for a long time. The laminate in my parents' house is 42 years old and still looks very presentable. The difference there is that there are Corning ceramic trivets set into the counter on each side of the range for hot pots and pans.

What?! You got rid of that lovely wallpaper?? /snort ;-)

What you're doing is a big improvement over what was there. It will look so much better. All things considered, it isn't a great layout though. In a number of years you'll be aching to make better use of that space. I'd seriously consider going with the laminate at this point. Laminates have come a long way, look nice, and are very functional. Sorry, I know you want the quartz.

If you don't do the quartz for now maybe you could use the saved money to build up the cabinets to the ceiling. I think that would look really nice. I have seen this done rather easily by simply doing a hefty build up of mouldings to get up to the ceiling. It wasn't that expensive as the mouldings are all stock and they just use several different ones sometimes up to five pieces but it doesn't look like yours would take that many combined. It would eliminate that dark space above the cabinets and give a great new importance to the look of the cabinets making them seem bigger and custom. I know you would love them that way. That would really look nice in your kitchen and make a huge difference that I think you would just love. You have a charming space and it would be fun to see what a major change building up the cabinets to meet the ceiling would make. Can't wait to see what you decide to do. You are doing a great job and with the changes you are making it's going to be great. Also I have seen some mix and match natural stone combined with laminant that looks really impressive. They are purposely done that way by Wilson I think it is. Such as using (just for example) the soapstone real stone in a small area and then the rest of the space with the laminant that looks just like it or some other color. They probably do it in quartz as well. Good luck!

Thanks for the input everyone, it's truly appreciated.

The reasons you've all mentioned are ones that I've considered too. The layout isn't perfect, but we made decisions we did with the info we had at the time based on plumbing, exhaust etc. It's just the two of us (no little ones) and we'll live with the quirks (this is such a huge improvement in space over any space either of us has ever lived before!).

We will definitely be adding crown molding, i think it will look great too!

The quartz is so tempting (especially since I've recently come into some unexpected cash...right at countertop decision time ;). Our reality is that this IS our kitchen reno, it's next update won't be for another 15 years or more. It's so easy to get discouraged when looking at the absolute dream kitchens people here have! My reality however is family and (some) friends who couldn't believe we were tearing out that beautiful green ceramic tile :)

I do love the idea of having some sort of stone "butcher block" (for lack of a better term) to use for baking etc, I'm just not sure how I'd incorporate that with laminate, however, I suppose it would be easy enough to do later (on a timeline now!)

Thanks again! Seriously...the input is so valuable!

lol, poplard, girl I can tell you really want that quartz, go ahead and get it!!! Enjoy it in good health : ))) We only live once.

p.s. That little space at the end of the cabinet run in the picture near the window could be used to put some little end shelves also adding the crown mold on top to make them appear to be part of the cabinets. That would fill in that space nicely. Have fun! Props to you for doing so much DIY and on your new home!

This link was intereseting for countertop shopping.

Here is a link that might be useful: Countertop help

poplard was wondering if you saw the post about Lowe's selling all of their displays and very cheap. Quartz countertops and the cabinets for $2000 sounds like a deal worth checking out. Have you made your decision?

As for granite, my Husband is against it, but he is pro quartz. At this point I've driven him so crazy with countertop talk I cannot introduce another option ;)

Okay, but still gotta try -- have you considered DIY soapstone? Since you and DH did all that other nice work, he may be intrigued by doing his own soapstone. You can cut it/work it with woodworking tools. I got mine for about $25/sq. ft. (delivered) from M. Teix. (They are having a sale on a few varieties; I got Python.)