I've never had granite, so having laminate again was not a disappointment to me, and I have no regrets. Like you, I don't plan to sell, and I don't have to justify the lack of granite to anyone. Our house was DIY, including the counters, so I sure wasn't sad to save the thousands of dollars more granite would have cost us. I would try to be sure to have the counters attached in such a way that they are easier to remove if/when you want to upgrade later.

I have chosen laminate for a kitchen facelift and have no qualms. The laminates are good looking and durable these days. Besides, I can cook just as well with laminate on the counter tops as I can granite. :)

Pam

Oops!...sorry about the horrible grammar...I hit submit before I edited.
P

I used Wilsonart HD Laminate ("Bella Venito") in my rental kitchen reno. It's gorgeous and sturdy and I like it very much! Several people who have seen it have really admired it as well. I think laminate is a totally fine choice. If I were just starting my main kitchen reno now (as opposed to during the pre-recession era) I would have no qualms installing it for my own use and pleasure.

I'd have no qualms about getting laminate - there are many nice laminates and you can always update your counters some day in the future. I predict laminate will become much more popular now that our period of vast prosperity is coming to an end. I think there are lots of things that became quite popular when people could afford them - like humongous homes, bottled water and spa treatments - and maybe granite counters.

I put in laminate tops and do ceramic tile backsplashes. It give them a lot nicer look than the prefab tops or laminate curled up the backsplash. It cost a little more but still way cheaper than granite.

Kenneth

Thanks for the support. It seems like all you hear about is granite now and I was feeling like I was the only person in the world who would have laminate! I'm going to check out all the choices today. I guess I'd rather have 3k in my retirement fund than sitting on my counter top. :)

We are doing half laminate half butchers block. I originally wanted granite, but I spent the 3k on the floor instead.

I just installed quartz counter tops but spent time looking at the Wilsonart that looked like soapstone. I think its a great product!
I am happy with the quartz but it is "cold" and I now wish I had gone with the laminate on the permimeter and quartz on the island. I was told you can't have an undermount sink with the laminate and that was what steered me away from it. If you are not concerned with "resale" in the short term and want to stretch your dollar I say go with it.

Like a few folks here my Mom nixed granite because she really preferred the characteristics of laminate to those of granite (no maintenance, not as hard, not as cold to the touch) and like you she felt she could put the significant upcharge ($2500 more at least to install Meganite) for a solid surface to better use. In terms of appearance we were able to get a matte type finish and a premium edge installed for under a $1000 for roughly 25 linear feet (50 sq feet) of countertop.

Her awful more than 20 year old white laminate tops with integrated backsplash and no drip edge:

Still a dramatic upgrade - her new but incorrectly installed (should be fixed next week) postform Formica Premium FX "Iron Rust" in a Riverwash finish with the new Geneva Edge:

I agree with kenrbass and we went without the integrated backsplash (collects dust and robs you of space) so my Mom could choose her own tile backsplash(she chose a ceramic mosaic). This was not for re-sale but the building houses lots of seniors and many units still have the original kitchens so upgrading beyond laminate was also not necessary or smart given the market.

Laminate is cool - from the current K & B Ideas Product Guide 2008:

Lots of laminates are GreenGuard certified, this one was. And while the laminate itself was manufactured elsewhere our tops were made in Canada by a Canadian owned company (Belanger).

Hello,

I've never had granite. I had laminate in my first home and 11 years later when we sold the house, the laminate looked as good as it did when we bought the house. We just built a new home in a development where you would think "granite is expected". I also felt like I was the "only one without granite". Well, I've been in several of my neighbors homes and none have granite. We again went with a laminate with the thought that if we ever want to upgrade, we can. We did a nice beveled edge and a tile backsplash. We put a corian on the island just for something different and fun. Here's a pic of our laminate with beveled edge, we love it!:

Elaine

I am doing a majore kitchen remodel. I was going to do granite for the whole thing, but since I have 30 ft of counter plus an 8 ft island, I am now thinking laminate for the 30 ft and just using granite on the island.

I think laminate is more than acceptable. In fact, we are pricing out granite and laminate and will make a last minute budget call at the end of our project...I am not a granite "lover"...its nice, don't get me wrong, but I have had matte black formica in my kitchen for the past few years and it has served me quite well.

It's fine, especially if you're leaving the place on a gurney and don't have to worry about impressing potential buyers! Laminate is a perfectly practical kitchen surface. It can also look pretty darn good.

Tile can be inexpensive as well, but not so much fun if you do decide to change it out later.

If anyone teases you about going "cheap", say you break stuff so granite would be silly. (Or tell them to shove a slab of granite...you know.)

Here is a photo of my wilsonart HD laminate Crystalline Onyx. I am so happy with it. It has a high and low sheen and as you can see on this photo the look of cut stone. I work at a building supply center so I saved with my discount, but regardless, compared to granite, this countertop was not a budget breaker. I have not posted photos of our little kitchen reno. yet because I am waiting on a wall unit, but I hope I can share soon. Every morning when I get up and enter my kitchen it makes me smile. {{!gwi}}

Good luck. Jane

I love your advice fori!

I think we're going the laminate route as well. The newest one to catch my eye is the Radiance finish by Formica. It's similar to the Wilsonart HD, but the "splotches" of shiny vs. etched patterns are spaced closer together, which looks more authentic to me. They almost appear to shimmer, but I have yet to see these in a full-counter application. Go for the laminate!

This kitchen cost under $1000: customer installed himself: granite 12x12 tiles: Giallo Vincenza Gold:

I used Wilsonart HD - Deepstar Fossil. Get lots of positive comments on it all the time. Very durable and easy to care for and a lot cheaper then granite.

BTW -- Janepa -- love your crystalline onyx !!

I see no problem with getting laminate or formica. We've been trained for SO many years now on how to use it, not cutting on it or putting hot pans on it, ect., that you won't have a problem keeping it's beauty.

I'm in the process of getting granite, only because of the "push" I've received from others. I can afford it at the moment, but if I couldn't, I'd have no problem using laminate. HOWEVER, I'm getting a blonde color with black specks, it's not as "common" as the darker granite everyone seems to have. Kitchen will be white so it will light up the whole room.

One thing about granite is everyone's counter tops look the same. KWIM? Back in the day, we could pick out hundreds of colors with formica and they were gorgeous! Right now I have that dark "wood grain" formica, it's still in tip top shape, but it will go bye bye soon. lol.

And if anyone asks you why you chose laminate, just say, "granite has become too common." hee.

I understand about your tight budget......really I do!! The ONLY reason I ended up with granite is because I got a fantastic deal on some Delicatus that had been in the yard for several years and the resin had yellowed in a few places. They worked around it beautifully though. I was fully prepared to put laminate in though, if it meant I could upgrade something else, like appliances or cabinets. Some of the laminates they make now are just wonderful! And if it is your forever house, who cares if "everyone else" is getting granite? And if anyone asks why you chose laminate.....just tell them because it is what you wanted! Simple as that!

Thanks everyone. I'm still debating. My KD has suggested she provide some economical granite choices against the Wilsonart HD for cost compare. So, we'll take a look at that and then go from there.

In general, I have to postpone the remodel for a few months anyway as both my DH's and my work are laying off. If we make it through Q1 next year, the remodel is on again!

After considering butcherblock and granite tiles, I've decided to go with laminate - it's all I've ever had and I like it. I have Wilsonart with wood edging and I'll likely do the wood edging again. I think it makes the kitchen look and feel just a tad more homey.

Gemini, I so agree with the money in hand being good! I'm not knocking anyone's gorgeous granite (it's beautiful stuff), either, but I like my money a little more. : )

you might be able to get a good deal on granite .. i'd check around if i were you-- and don't be afraid to negotiate.

if you do go with laminate, i'd avoid a laminate that is trying to look like something else (e.g. stone/granite). i'm not a big fan of synthetic products trying to look like natural products. i do, however, like the look of white laminate (maybe i'm in the minority).k. our current house has a grey laminate that looks nice (uniform in color, not speckled).

there are also good deals to be had on certain corian colors. not sure if you've considered that. if you can hit a big box store when they have some sort of 10% off promotionm that might be a good solution as well.

you might also consider some wood-- it has a nice look and doesn't have to be expensive.. you could mix some surfaces.

granite tile also works well and from a distance you can't really even see the seems. our neighbors did this (DIY) and it cost less than laminate would have).

Ihave had white laminate, with a slightly textured finish, for 30 years and its in perfect condition--no curling, no breaks, no peeling. I've looked around at granite, but I just don't like it--nor its annual upkeep.

We have blue ceramic tiles so trying to find a countertop to match is tricky.

We really like Blue Pearl granite. Another board member from our Neighborhood Association said to consider the tiles as they will be less expensive, and you can still say you have granite. However, our countertop is around 22 sq ft. so a granite slab should not be too bad.

However, my next choice would be the Wilson HD in Deepstar Slate. I really liked it better than Corian or Silestone, which, of course, are a lot more money.

I also love the look of recycled glass, but that is way more expensive than the granite and would be considered an over-improvement for our neighborhood.

Sciencechick, I've been looking at the Deepstar Jade, too.

Jane, yours is very pretty. Cordova, your kitchen looks very warm and inviting.

One of the big pluses with laminate is the ease of care and cleaning which is usually more complicated with any tile countertop (though tile countertops can look great). I can't speak for anyone else but I don't think the Riverwash finish we chose looks remotely like weathered stone. My Mom chose it because the highs and lows of the finish made it pretty matte but still allowed some lustre and the texture gave it a nice feel - you can't really duplicate either of these particular features with granite - tile or slab.

My Mom is a prairie gal, raised in a boarding house so light countertops were definitely out.

I got a quote for the Wilsonart HD and it was going to be about $500 not installed...we would have done the work. I wasn't sure how i felt about the texture of the sample, I stared at it on my desk for weeks, then finally decided that I wasn't crazy about it anymore, when the light shines on it you see the plasticy dots that I didnt think looked natural at all (IMO).

I have a thread going right now about which granite tile I should pick, I'm ordering from Bedrock Creations. One style is $399 and the other is $549 and I figure about $100 for plywood sub-counter, backboard, thinset, grout and sealer. In the long run, I think it will be better for resale value and it's going to end up being about the same cost...I never would have thought that until I actually drew up my plans and started getting quotes for the tile. I was shocked. Also, Bedrock Creations give you edge options like ogee, beveled and bullnose. The only reason I looked at the Wilsonart from the start was because I wanted the ogee edge.

(The other online companies that have these granite tile component systems have a minimum order, in my experience calling around, Bedrock Creations is the only company that doesn't, and they have a 7 day turnaround time)

If you want, check out my thread, "not sure which granite to choose...advice?" and i have TONS of pictures posted so you can see the samples and see the ogee edge.

thats my .02

you said you have 22 sqft of counter and thats close to what i have, see my posting above. for 22 sqft of granite tile with the ogee edge finish was $399.

i almost hit the floor when i got my quote...check out my thread, i posted all the pics of the tile contenders and one pic of all the colors that didnt make the cut (for my cabs/floors)

kakirby -- I got a quote from Bedrock creations when I was redoing my countertop a year ago. Although the initial price wasn't much more then laminate, shipping was going to kill me. It would have ended up costing me as much as slab granite because of shipping costs. How are you getting around the high cost of shipping?

the high cost of shipping? They told me a flat rate of $95.

Anyways...seriously having second thoughts...I never thought about the humidity changes here in new england and how that would affect the tile. i'm looking into butcher block.

Kirby -- that's pretty good for shipping, it wasn't a flat rate a year ago when I got my quote, the shipping costs made it almost as expensive as slab granite.

wow...maybe the shipping was hurting business.

We bought a pre-fab piece of Formica in honed Basalt Slate for our laundry room....they come in various lengths and are a stock itme in the store...no ordering required.

It cost less than $50 at HD, and hubby cut it to size. It has a rolled over edge...and it is amazing how much it looks like our kitchen soapstone in terms of base color and texture, except this has white veining and out soapstone has carmel colored veining......it looks amazing.

Laminate counter tops have come a loooong way...

Here is a link that might be useful: Formica Honed Basalt Slate

Anyways...seriously having second thoughts...I never thought about the humidity changes here in new england and how that would affect the tile. i'm looking into butcher block.

Changing humidity levels will zero effect on tile over cement board. You'd be much better off with the tile than butcher block, in fact.

We went through the same contemplations. We "could" do granite- but should we? In the end we went with laminate for our kitchen facelift.

Why? 1- we are pretty hard on our house and felt uneasy about having to be delicate with our countertops. While what I read is that granite is pretty durable, if we got ANY marks or nicks on it, we'd feel really bad having paid a lot for it. 2- we can do more for our remodeling dollar. we priced out a lot of options and are going with a high def. formica that is A LOT cheaper than any granite place we spoke to. by going lower cost on the counter, we are going to be able to do a facelift to each of our bathrooms, as well. while we're getting a handyman helper with the kitchen sink and garbage disposal, we are going to be able to put matching countertops in each of our bathrooms, ourselves. (labor costs $. granite is not DIY) 3- we are putting countertops on old cabinets that aren't the best of best quality. 4- home values in our state have tanked. any dollar we put in right now will not be reflected in equity, and simply is for our own enjoyment and use.

choose what you're comfortable with.

I wouldn't have any qualms about using laminate. I'm going to tear the last of ours out soon, as we SLOWLY redo our kitchen. I'm going to have wood countertops b/c that's the look I want, and it's practical. I must say, tho the laminate in our kitchen was ugly (as were the cabinets, appliances and floor), it has been a dream surface. I've put hot pots on it for years, knowing it would eventually be replaced. It's never burned. Maybe they made it better back in the 60s, but it's been as durable as any surface I can imagine.

A well chosen selection of counter, cabinet, wall and floor colors will make for a very nice kitchen.