If you have your kitchen torn up anyway, you'll not regret the granite. Looks beautiful, feels great, and you won't have to say "yeah, we decided on a laminate to save a few bucks". I would vote toward going over budget to get a somewhat upscale granite - your countertops are one of the largest parts of your kitchen, and their appearance makes a big impact.

I went with Formica 180fx in Antique Mascarello, and have had a lot of compliments. I suppose it is a personal thing, though.

One of the articles that helped push me in the direction of laminate is here (also at the bottom of this message):
http://www.bobyapp.com/blog/2009/07/counter-top-reality

My laminate counters:

Here is a link that might be useful: Bob Yapp on Counter Tops

Does it matter to you if you have an undermount sink or not? Because that will impact your decision significantly.

Our granite is being installed tomorrow. Hubby built the house himself so ours is a total DIY reno with the exception of the granite. We built 17 years ago and will be selling in a few years, kids are grown, house is too big.

I also really wanted the undermount sink this time.

For us laminate with a solid surface edge was going to run $1,800. Uba Tuba came in at 3,900. I had laminate for 17 years and really wanted to upgrade to a solid surface but wasn't really thrilled with Corian or any of the manmade products. And in reality our price range and neighbourhood really demands it for resale. The difference of $2,100 was totally worth it to us, both for our own enjoyment and the resale aspect.

The next house will have granite or soapstone. Not sure which at this point but I know it won't have laminate. Although it can be beautiful it really wasn't what I wanted. I having found with this entire process that going with your heart is the best thing.

That's true warmfridge! You have to use a drop in sink. That alone would make me NOT choose laminate. There is HD laminate in the house we are renting while we build. It looks like a cheap/not good imitation of granite. And I hate cleaning the crud from around the sink edge. It still looks like plastic. (really don't like it when the light shines on it) I would spend the extra $1500 for the granite. That's one of those"I wish I would have" issues. Any natural stone, no matter price group A, is a huge step up over plastic.

I don't care for granite (I know everyone else loves it) but I would rather have a blue countertop...totally 80's (LOL) I also love white cabinets and wood floors (but will probably have to go with vinyl) due to our farm conditions :)

Do you like the look of granite? If so, you probably want to go for the real thing, unless there's a reason the laminate would work better.

My mom got the 'faux' granite and loves it. She didn't want anything too shiny and was on a retirement budget, but she is very happy and gotten lots of compliments. She also has such a dark countertop that the line (between top and front) doesn't show.

Mirz- I notice you got the beveled edge, which makes a huge difference...no dark line. I think your kitchen looks wonderful!

It all depends on the look you want, the maintenence issues (they all have something) and your budget.

We considered every counter material for a least a few days over the looong 4 year planning period. We are ending up with Corian, which was probably last on my list coming into the project.

FWIW - one of the choices we are not going with that saddens me, is a laminate by Nevamarr (not a granite looking pattern though). I had planned on getting that and doing the chrome edges for a retro look and still think it would have been cool. Alas, our bs look evolved so would not have flowed as well and there was a huge sale on counters in IKEA (who does not carry Nevamarr) where dh fell in love with the Rain Cloud's look and feel in a display kitchen, so we ended up with the Corian after all. I am not saying it is the choice for everyone, but just that you may be surprised with what you end up choosing.

I think you have a dream look in your head somewhere and only you can say what that is. Oftentimes, you hear that granite is only a little more than laminate, but that is not true if the granite you like is not an entry level priced one. Then, the budget can be a big factor.

I find it helps to tell myself that I can't have one or the other choice and see which I am most disappointed about.
If you do the granite, does that mean cutting somewhere else? If so, which is more important to you?
We had the budget to go higher than we ended up with (really great sale) but since starting the work and finding out about the rot under our foundation and other odds and ends and upgrades (and no one had more materials on hand prior to starting than we did, lol), I am glad we did not go higher. I am happy with our choice but wish I could have used 3 others as well somehow. I think I'd have felt this way no matter which choice we made because the options out there are so nice these days.

Why not make a few sample boards with your choices, even if they are only the virtual kind? I think nothing beats a visual side by side comparison.

I love the look and feel of granite. We just removed laminate countertops and installed 24 x 24 granite tiles in our kitchen. I would have loved to have a granite slab but this isn't our "forever" kitchen. We used epoxy grout so it won't stain or discolor, but my next kitchen (in 5+ years or so) will definitely have a beautiful new granite countertop!

When it comes to countertops, I think it all has to do with not only finances and what you love, but lifestyle.

Having elderly parents living with me, neither of them remembering to cut on a chopping board, nor do they remember NOT to put pots and pans directly from the stove onto the counter....that pretty much dictated what I was going to use as a countertop.

If it weren't for that, I would have gone with a beautiful stone-like countertop.
In fact, because of the colors throughout the house and in the kitchen, I would have gone with something like Mirz2000 has.

At the time of the 'little leak' HA! I had visions of sugarplums...well, I had visions of picking out a beautiful slab of granite.
This was before we received the homeowners check that had allowed us $480 for countertops....EEEEK!

Back to square one. Reality set in. Countertop was decided not only by what the neighborhood/values would accept but we had to go with what would withstand the most abuse by not only my Grandkidlets but my Parents.
As I said....Reality set in. lol

With the old kitchen I was starting to sound like my Parrot when he wants attention and repeats the same phrase over and over again: "please use a chopping board and don't cut directly on the countertop" "Please don't put that hot pan directly on the countertop". "Please wipe that prune juice up before it stains".

Lifestyle moreso than anything dictated our purchase.
After lots and lots and LOTS of reading, we picked 12" x 12" granite tile squares.
Not only for it's resilience, but if one square got damaged, I could easily remove it and replace just that square.
When I tell people that my decisions were made 'looking down the road' I really mean it. Every single decision in my kitchen was made first with my parents abilities, inabilities and comfort in mind.

Not once, not twice but three times since the granite tiles have been installed I've watched Mom pick up a pan from the hot stove and place it on the countertop.
If I had gone with a beautiful stone-like counter, it would have been a gonner.
Instead, I shrugged. No yapping parrot noises from me. lol

Because we had to pick the least expensive granite tile squares, it happens to be the one that shows every single smudge, every ring from a wet spot that has dried, and almost every single little place where someone has put their fingers that had butter or something oily on them.

Had I gone with the stone-like counters, with the semi-matte finish like Mirz has, I don't think I'd be cleaning countertops as many times a day as I do now.

So, not only finances, but lifestyle.

If the difference between stone-like and real stone is $2000 and that type of money is only a drop in the bucket in your bank account, then by all means go for the stone.

If there is any chance you or your mate are going to have a few sleepless nights spending the bigger bucks on stone, go for the stone-like material.

This is all MHO....your mileage may vary? :)

Thank you, Lavender Lass! Although it might sadden you to hear that a blue countertop is what I replaced! :P

It depends a lot on if you have the $1500 to spend, if you have something else you'd rather spend it on, and how you'll look at the counters when you are finished. I was trying to do the politically correct thing and consider granite. But then it hit me. I didn't care one whit about having granite. I'd never had it and it never grabbed me as a necessity. I could be perfectly happy with laminate and with a drop in sink. I never had a problem with either. I wouldn't have to ever look at my counters and regret spending the money. To me either is a work surface, and one could serve me in that function just as well as the other. I was actually more relaxed when I allowed myself to go back to laminate. But my sister? Granite is vitally important to her, and she couldn't be happy with laminate. It means too much to her from former experience. Try not to get something that will make you unhappy if you can afford to help it...But I don't know why you'd spend the money if, in the end, you won't really care. Those are things only you know.

As a new granite myself I can only say that I LOVE mine. It's beautiful and I love the fact that you can put down a dish right out of the oven with no worries!

Ummmm.... actually Kayl, putting hot dishes down on granite is not recommended. Granite is a natural stone with invisible fissures in it. It can crack from thermal shock if you put hot stuff on them.

Thanks for the feedback. I love hearing about your experiences with both granite and laminate. I'm going to continue to run the numbers, visit the granite yard, and decide just how important certain things are to me--like an undermount sink!

Mirz2000, your kitchen looks great! Do you have seams in your FX180? I read a thread about how awful seams looked in that product. I also like your bs -- just enough tile for my taste! How is the painted wall working out for you in terms of clean up?

I appreciate that reference URL for discussion of environmental impact of the various products, Mirz2000. We moved our old laminate topped cupboards to basement with hopes of better laundry room in future, so no landfill.

I was just looking at my 180fx kitchen today and made the idle thought "this room has so much countertop, I wonder what granite would have cost and what it would have been like..." There are a number of reasons why we never even ventured to find out; my laminate is just fine, I assure you. I suspect it would have been $2.5 to 3 thousand more than we spent. Funny, a guy friend visited yesterday and ran a hand over it and said something about our granite countertops. Our cohort are so naive they don't know the difference. From my point of view, what kind of people would they be if they obsessed about countertops?

A year into the project, I'm glad we didn't expend more money in kitchen. We're going to have to turn our home equity line of credit into a formal loan with regular payments this spring after we finish the driveway and landscaping. I'm currently weighing 2 interior glass pane sliding doors vs. more sidewalk. I shudder to think of the final bill, even with lots more concessions.

Kerrys, Why, thank you!

I only needed one seam, and it was next to the door on the left in the picture. It is barely noticeable. If you were standing in my kitchen, I would have to show you where it was.

If I had gone with a rounded edge, that would have been a different story. But straight or beveled really minimizes the look of the seams, and you don't need as many. (if I had gone with rounded, I would have needed a seam at each corner, which I really did not want).

I took a couple pictures for you of my seam (the surface is kind of reflective, but I did my best with my minimal camera skills :P):

Don't be scared off by the seams in the store. At Home Depot and Lowes they apply the laminate after the fact, usually in a seminar to demonstrate to homeowners how to do it. What you would be ordering is post form, which would then be installed by a professional contractor. Big difference in look, in my opinion.

Painted wall has been fine! I like the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for that... even cleans blood! Why was there blood on my walls? Funny story about that...

When I installed my range hood, I had to drill through stainless steel. Turns out, drilling through stainless steel not only breaks drill bits, it also cuts the heck out of your arms. I then had to balance the darn thing on my head while screwing it into the cabinet. Upon finishing the project, I discovered I had purchased the wrong halogen bulbs, so I ran back to Home Depot, not realizing that there was blood all over my arms, and my hair was a rat's nest. The greeter at Home Depot stared wide eyed at me and said, "what happened to YOU?" I then realized that I looked like an escapee from a mental institution. Good times with DIY...

I would say if you're really replacing cabinets etc, go with the granite. I doubt you'll regret it.

it really does change the look and feel. I did my "old" kitchen 4 years ago, and went for it, after living with it for 4 years, I love it. it really "made" the kitchen. it tied the wall color into the floor color and complemented the cabinets. it also was realitively easy to care for and felt great.

everyone has a budget, and if you can't swing the extra $1500, that is always a concern. however, if you have the money, do it.

some choices people make are b/c "everyone is doing it" or b/c it is a nice status symbol... but really for the money, it really is that nice to have granite or a solid surface.

Since those were both closeups, I thought you would like to see the seam in context. Can you spot it?

It looks like it is possible to do an undermount sink in laminate, but I don't know much about it...

Here is a link that might be useful: Undermount Sinks in Laminate

I have had granite, wilsonart (laminate), tile, used marble
at grandma's house, butcherblock wood and the old fashioned
metal trimmed formica...

And hands down it is granite every time. I find stone
to be the easiet to use, clean, work on, and cook on.
It is worth every penny to have. Don't get me wrong the
look of Formicas/wilsonarts is beautiful and probably
less expensive if you do not go with a fancy edge.
For me the feel and style of a stone counter just makes
me smile. Rolling out cookie dough, making my pie crusts,
the kids doing homework, putting a hot pot on the counter

(Never had issues of fissures and cracking, I would
love to hear what Stonegirl or Keven have to say about
counters cracking from heat, clearly that is an
installation problem not the stone.)

I enjoy preparing a salad and yes my knives get dull
fast, I even love cleaning my stone because it is so
much easier. My stone is practically bullet proof.
I would not change them to formica. And that is the
question to ask yourself. Would you change your formica
to granite? If the answer is yes, then go for the
formica. Stone is not for everyone. $1500 for stone is
worth it, look at the long term use. How long will the
stone counters last, and how long will the formica last?
And how do you use the space? For me the ease, comfort
and the way I use the stone counters is worth the extra
money.

~boxerpups

So, we just made the same decision. We are doing Ikea cabinets and just picked up their gray/stainless looking laminate countertop when getting the cabinets. The kitchen is all DIY and has taken a good bit of work.

When the floors were done, the walls done, the cabinets built, the appliances in place, I wiped my forehead and just couldn't go through with it. Only a natural stone, like granite would really make us proud to show the kitchen off. It's what people expect around here (DC) and it doesn't matter how nice a laminate looks, it's considered a "con" in this market. Planning to sell in 3-5 years, we expanded the budget and spent another $2k for the granite. It's pretty and was the right choice for us. Good luck!

If budget were the issues, I'd cut other places (and did) to put granite in. Well worth it, it's great to cook on and no more looking at those spots where someone either forgot to use a cutting board, or accidentally stained or burned (which will happen, it's just a question of when). Undermount sinks (made possible by granite) make sweeping crumbs/excess water back into the sink soooooo easy and no more gunk building up at that edge. It really isn't just about looks.

We also had a realtor come and price our house before our kitchen renovation, and she (a top realtor in our area) increased the sell price of our house citing the granite countertop we used in our basement kitchen, saying something about it being a high dollar look-- which was funny but telling because we used in-stock cabinets from a big-box store in that downstairs kitchen -- but that's what granite does. You can think of it as $1500 you're putting in upfront but likely to get back when/if you sell, you might as well get it and enjoy it if it doesn't actually cost you much (if anything) in the bigger picture.

Also be sure you carry in competitor's ads on the granite, we got a much better price by bringing a flyer to our local granite yard and asking for the $35/sq ft installed price they were offering (they knocked it down from $50). You might be able to get that gap even smaller.

Kris

You folks can consider yourselves lucky budget wise.
My fairly small kitchen granite is costing $4,000 and that
was with a discount.

The prices are a lot higher in Canada due to importing and shipping fees. Uba Tuba runs about $90sq foot where I am and I priced at least 4 different suppliers.

We are also making that decision. I've never really cared about the look of granite on people's countertops, but I think I've been seeing the lower end stuff. Now that I've seen what's in the slab yards, there are ones I love. Some look like satellite maps from space and others look like running rivers. There's a blue and pink sunrise quartzite that I want to frame and hang on the wall!

Having said that, let me add in my 2 cents on laminate. Our white laminate is 40 years old and has lived through our 3 kids - and their cousins and friends - from birth to bringing their own kids around. The table height peninsula has been the site of numerous craft and repair projects in addition to the more usual cooking projects. It's only in the last 6 months that the laminate really needs replacing. There are no stains or burns. The need to replace is due to nicks from replacing the dishwasher, a couple of knife-nicks, and some de-lamination on the surface next to the stove. What more could anyone ask of a surface material? I'm pretty sure this wasn't high-end laminate when it was new as this was a spec house that the builder lived in for a couple of years before we bought it.

I have had just about every kind of countertop including laminate, wood, tile, and have had silestone for the last ten years. I've been happy with all of them. In my opinion, if the granite is only $1500 more, I would choose the granite.

We've chosen granite for our new house currently under construction. I've already paid for the granite for the island, and am losing the argument with DH to put laminate on the perimeter. I felt $13,000 for granite just for the perimeter was excessive. I love some of the new laminates and IT IS DURABLE!! I've seen the undermount sinks in laminate, and I was quite impressed. But DH thinks he's doing this very nice thing for me by insisting we have granite throughout the kitchen. And of course I will love the granite, too. I will say that there was only 1 of the Tier 1 granites that I liked. I ultimately chose Bianco Romano, which they referred to "select", and Blue Pearl which was a much higher price, but don't know what "Tier" it is. Do keep in mind that laminates are priced differently, too. I had chosen a premium laminate for our lower level baths, and the cabinet maker told us we could get granite for what the premium laminate would cost.

mirz - I think i see the seam... but then again, maybe not! whoever did your countertop did a wonderful job! are they in AZ? lol!

not everyone likes the same thing and there are various reasons why one would choose laminate over granite. For me the hardness of granite is an issue - i drop things often. a lot. things just slip out of my hands... my sister has the same problem and she has granite and hates that part of it. Her dh does the cooking tho so my sister has less contact with her's than those who would be doing the cooking.
I looove her granite but it's not one of the lower cost choices. I've seen a number of higher end choices I'd looove to have if I had different hands and could afford one of those higher priced granites. otherwise, no. It's just not that important to me to have any 'ol granite. While I'd love looking at it there'd be more of a price than just money for me. I'd be more upset it I had granite and grandma's platter slipped from my hands and shattered on it.
I raised 4 kids with laminate and it only suffered 1 knife cut. No one ever forgot and put a hot pot on it.
I'm one who would be perfectly happy with a beige laminate.

Hi Kerry! It sounds like you're making great progress on your reno! I would do granite or quartz just because I hate always having to be careful that I have a trivet or hot pad to put a hot pan on and not being able to cut on it without leaving marks. I just cooked a couple of meals at my friend's house outside of Houston. She has Silestone and it was great! Beautiful finish and I put a big pot of gumbo and another pan of jambalaya right on the counter--no problem! Also cut veggies right on the counter! I don't think I would stop using a cutting board for veggies & meat because the stone surface dulls knives so quickly, but clean-up was a breeze. I'm sold on getting either granite or quartz! HTH!

Oh, and I forgot to add that my friend has had her Silestone for at least 10 years and it still looks like new--no cracks, pits, fissures, or dull spots in the finish!

You all have given me some great insights and much to think about. Thanks--you are a great group, and I know I'll be checking in regularly as my kitchen remodel begins in earnest after the holidays.

For those who saw my other post regarding a veneer or solid panel in my Showcase cherry shaker style cabinets, I'm going with the veneer. I'll save about $1300 and I think the pros outweigh the cons on that decision.

I've got to get to some stone yards to see if I can beat the price from the KD where I'm ordering the cabinets, so I appreciate your thoughts on finding the best deal around. I live near Denver, so I know there are places around I can check out. Now, if I just didn't have this job I have to go to every day ... oh yeah, that's how I'm paying for all of this! LOL I almost have to pinch myself to believe this is all happening!

Update?