Well, for what granite costs you can replace laminate several times over. Personally, I would do granite. I like a basement to be finished to the same level as the upper floors and I have granite in my kitchen. If you can afford it and the value of your home justifies it, then I say do it.

That said, assuming it's a simple counter (26" or so deep by 8' long), that is expensive granite. That's about 17 sf, $129 a sf. That's not the most expensive granite out there, but it's on the upper end. You should be able to find something very nice for about $80 a sf (even less) unless you live in New York City or somewhere like that.

It depends on what you can afford. If the $2200 isn't a problem and you really like the granite, then go ahead with it. However, if it is a budget issue then I'd either go with a less expensive granite or a really nice laminate.

If you do decide to go with granite, I would seriously consider getting one of the denser/less maintenance granites as kids are notoriously hard on surfaces! I don't think you'd want a granite that has to be babied! [Generally, those are the ones that don't need sealing.]

I redid my whole home and originally planned on keeping our lower level simpler (read less expensive). The appaisers I talked to both said that if we could afford it, we should keep the quality level similar on all levels of the house. Much Much Much better resale if you do so.

I ended up doing my son's bathroom counter and cabinets in the same quality as the rest of the house (actually they were both more expensive per sq ft but less sq ft). I picked a granite that would inspire his little mind (Aqurella/Black Marinsh) and cabinets I wanted but wouldn't work in our bathroom LOL

I strongly debated the use of granite in our master closet (we have a built in desk area). While quality concerns were important, the desk is my primary sewing area and granite isn't good for pins. I debated a softer stone (marble, onyx) but ended up using a high end laminate. (I prefer it to corian...which I abhore). I made sure to trim it out well so the change in quality wasn't obvious.

So all that being said, your lower level sounds very much like a great family space, and I think you should keep your counters at the same quality as the upper areas....unless you plan on using a lot of french silk pins :P

It is probably wise to consider the needs and requirements of the people using the space. If you are going to be upset or worried that the granite is going to be etched or stained your asking (may be seen as nagging) about it or checking up on it (them) is probably going to make the space less appealling to the very people you are hoping will use it.

Re-sale isn't why you are fixing it up and the end users would probably prefer you put the money into a great audio system or a flat screen tv which they can enjoy with their freinds rather than a countertop which I doubt will impress them and has the potential to turn into a source of discord between you down the line. Get a nice laminate top and you can switch it to granite when they go away to school.

Our fabricator took us to his remnant yard and we found pieces that would work for three bathrooms as well as our downstairs kitchenette at very reasonable prices. The stock number of the kitchenette slab indicated that it had been there for quite a while. I don't like it as well as the more costly one we'd chosen but it works well with the cabinets and will be just fine.

Arlene

"We don't want to spend a ton on this project, but we don't want any regrets either. Thoughts? "

If you don't want to spend tons, let the kids pick out a laminate THEY like, then you can change it out when you all get sick of it. This will probably happen long before the counter wears out -- I had a really awful pea green laminate counter that just wouldn't DIE, in a heavily used bathroom. It was 30 years old and perfect when we trashed it.

sue36-thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. I am leaning toward wanting the LL to match the same quality as the rest of the house. The granite is called Ocean Etoli, which is a dk. green w/small flecks of blue, burgandy and gold. We spent about $7500 on it for our kitchen and if we do granite we really want it to be consistent. We live in upstate NY so those are not NYC prices!

buehl-thank you! Luckily the cost is not an issue, it's more of a big picture thing-is it worth it in the long run? This granite is low maintenance and we are not at all worried about staining/etching, etc.

igloo-I've seen your pics and your house is stunning! Thanks for your input. We are not looking at resale now, but in the far off future that may be an issue. We will not use as high quality cabinets as we put in our kitchen so putting that $ into granite may be the way to go. I am not a seamstress so pins are not a concern either :) However, I am still open to hearing about other surfaces. What is considered a high end laminate? I don't know anything about laminate so need to learn more. I am not a corian fan either (ripped that out in kitchen) so that's not one of our choices.

caryscott-thanks for your thoughts. The granite we installed in our kitchen is low maintenance and we'll put the same in the LL if we go that route. I don't want to worry or nag the kids either, lol! The space is already family friendly w/pretty nice entertainment area so that's not needed now.

hostagrams-thanks so much for your opinion! I inquired about remnant pieces at the yard and they told us that would only save us about 20%, that's not that much of a difference for us not to go w/the same granite that's in the kitchen.

idrive, sorry I didn't see your post when I wrote my reply. That's a great idea of letting the kids pick out the color, but I'm afraid we'd end up w/a pink counter! They are 5 and 7 yr. old girls so you can imagine..........We had laminate counters in this house when we bought it in 1999-they were only 13 yrs. old and had tons of scratches, nicks and dings in it, however I bet the new generation laminates are a bit heartier now.

Ok just one thing caught my little mind in that post....(ok and the compliment as well...thank you very much!) The idea to keep the granite "consistant throughout the house". Now that idea I want to pooh pooh if you're only using the same granite because it's going to match the kitchen. That just bores me to death...seeing the same stone in every room (I just saw that in a townhouse we looked at last week...pretty granite, but the same granite in every bathroom and kitchen, on all levels....blah!).

I mean...if you LOVE it, go for it, but I'd shake things up with a complimentary granite, but not the same one. A beautiful black granite (which is a very family friendly stone) would go with almost any decor, even pink :OP

Personally, I find replacing counters to be a major hassel in the whole scheme of things. Especially if you have a backsplash in tile. I'd do something you plan on keeping for the long run verses putting in one counter with the plan to change later.

Hitting the remnant yard isn't a bad idea :) You'd be amazed at the savings you can get. Frankly, if it were me, I'd be looking at onyx (but that's because I try to sneek it in wherever possible LOL). A kitchenette like this won't really be getting that much abuse. It's not like you're going to let the girls stirfry and slather soy sauce about are you?

What's a high end laminate? Gad I wish I knew the brand. I know that the cost of the one I picked was about two thirds more than the stuff the cabinet maker had out in the main room. I thought it was a better looking "fake" stone pattern than the ones they had in the main showroom. It just cost more (but in comparison to my granite, marble and onyx, was much cheeper).

One other option....how about metal? Is your space the kind of space that a gorgeous copper or zinc would work in? Or stainless? Those are all great wearing surfaces that keep you in the same quality level as your granite counters will.

You might consider quartz, also. If the more "bullet proof" granites that don't need sealing are not what you want/like and kids leaving drinks with rings underneath, greasy popcorn bags, potato chips or anything else on it scares you if you don't find it until the next day or later. At least the quartz can be sprayed down with fantastic and not resealed.

Sue

Igloo-no we aren't the "matchy-match" type, but we really do LOVE our granite in the kitchen :) Black is definitely something to consider though and if it came in at a lower price that would be great too. Metal countertops wouldn't really work in this space either, imo. I'd worry too much about scratches and spots I think. I'll do some research on laminate, but my gut tells me we'll go w/something a bit more durable since we only want to do this once.

sue ct-qaurtz has crossed my mind too as being low/no maintenance and more or less worry free. Lots to consider right now.

Thanks to both of you again!

For whatever it is worth, we added a 2nd floor family room with a kitchenette and a 3/4 bath and used granite in both. We wanted the finishes to be the same quality as the rest of the house. That is probably more important in our application on the 2nd floor vs in a basement.

I love the easy care of granite and the more the kids function independently in your basement, the more bulletproof you need the materials to be.

Anita

nomorebluekitchen-thanks that helps me believe we are going in the right direction by keeping the same quality level on all floors of the house. We are heading to the granite yard next week as this project is due to start in early Dec.