Hi. I've never had anything but laminate either and think it's highly underrated. As long as you don't put hot things on it, I think it holds up incredibly well. (That being said I am going with granite in my new remodel.) I don't think dark laminate would be any harder to maintain than light. It might show dust or bread crumbs, but that's a reach. Just go with the look you like. Laminate is inexpensive enough to replace every 5 or 6 years if you want to.

Hi,
My last house had seafoam colored speckled laminate from the p.o. and it was easy to clean (I used Ajax at times too) and keep looking good. The pale peach one that came with this house looks awful as there are nicks that look like dirt and imperfections that show up a mile away. I don't know if my last counters were perfect, but there were really no imperfections I saw after 7 years with them (4 years old when we bought). This current kitchen's counters are approx the same age and have not aged remotely as well.

So, in a nutshell, my experience with a medium color laminate was wonderful, and with the light color, awful.
HTH

Dark laminate won't show water rings. I've had a darker color for 5 months and had off white before that for many years. I love the dark. Mine is multi-colored so it doesn't show crumbs or dust and I don't expect knicks to show because it has black in it. You won't need to use Ajax as staining won't be a problem like it is on the light. Although, I did take straight bleach and let it set on my sample before I purchased just to be sure it wouldn't discolor. Here's my Wilsonart HD Bella Capri.

Thanks to all for the replies. That makes me feel better. Michelle, your laminate looks sooooo very nice!!! I will tell another part of this story. One of the reasons I asked about light versus dark laminate is because this lake place we purchased has a cottage side and a newer what we call "condo" side...two seperate buildings. The "condo" side has a area with a little sink, small fridge, etc. The countertop is a dark SOLID green color laminate. I've always got a diet coke in my hand (usually a giant one from some fast food place) and I noticed if a sat the cup on this green laminate for any time there would be a slight ring. I would scoop the cup up and wipe the area. Later the mark would be gone but it made me nervous about dark laminate. I'm interested in a medium to dark brown solid color for my cottage. Ya know, I like the countertop that you see on Sandra Lee's Food T.V. show. It is a medium brown and I've wondered what material it is. I've Googled, but came up with nothing. If anyone has a thought on that, I would appreciate it. And thanks to you all for the replies thus far!

My mom has cranberry red laminate in her kitchen, navy blue in one guest bath, and hunter green laminate in another guest bath. DH and I are living with my parents until our new house is finished in April and we are lilving in the guest suite with the navy blue formica bathroom I noticed that the laminate does show water marks. For example, if I wash my face and don't dry the water that splashes onto the countertop then the next morning there are subtle water spots. Also, it shows marks from any soapy water or toothpaste-y water drying on the countertop. Not that we're complete pigs, but DH and I were accustomed to a white cultured marble countertop and it never showed anything like this so we probably aren't as clean-minded as we should be with the dark countertop. It seems that every evening before I get in bed I need to wipe the countertop down with a damp paper towel; otherwise, it really looks messy.

I have no idea what living in the hunter green formica bathroom would be like. The cranberry red in the kitchen looks pretty good most of the time, but the kitchen gets alot more cleaning attention than the navy blue bathroom counter.

I can't speak to the Ajax comment. I just use windex on my mom's blue bathroom counter but I think my mom has occasionally even wiped her kitchen formica with Tide with Bleach clothing detergent dissolved in some water.

Finally, I will say that my experience with her navy blue bathroom countertop, combined with my sister-in-law's grumblings about keeping her black granite countertop clean in her own bathroom, has definitely steered me away from any dark countertops in the house I'm building. I'll be going with light colored countertops throughout the house.

Good luck,
try_hard
...

I have Wilsonart HD Deepstar Fossil and love love love it. Had it for a little over a year now and no staining etc. I had a solid gray laminate before this and yes I'd get kool aid stains etc that I always managed to get rid of, but still took some work. I think a solid dark or medium laminate may be more of a problem then a pattern like Michelle's or mine.

Thank you very much try hard and cordovamom. Hmmmmmm, I think we may be coming to a consensus here...well, until someone else pipes in with a totally different take on this. Sounds like PATTERNED laminate will be fine...solid dark colors could be iffy. What I've noticed with this solid dark green laminate is that there is a ring from the cup, then I wipe up the water and buff, and then there is still a ring. Later, though, it does seem to disappear. But, what if I have too many Chardonnays one night, throw water and whose knows what else on my dark laminate kitchen countertops, and then don't get around to clean-up till the next morning? I'm not saying this has ever happened before (HA!), but it could. Cordovamom, I have your deepstar fossil sample in my hand...it was my cabinet guy's choice. My cabinets will be Decora and they are a cream color (not white) with what I would call a rust glazing. Actual name is Antique Bronze. For some reason I want a solid color medium to light brown laminate. Haven't found one I like yet, but with this info, I might just go to more of a patterend choice. Thank you all for your time and especially for the pictures...they are worth a thousand words.

I had Formica "Rosso Granite" put in a little over a year ago. It's a dark brown/red/black stone look. Absolutely LOVE it. Have had no problems with it showing dirt or rings. . . and I've spilled lots of Chardonnay!!

We have 12-year old medium gray laminate in our "before" kitchen (still our "now" kitchen for a couple more months!) It's not a solid gray, rather a heavily speckled gray w/a white background (which you can't see that much of b/c of the speckling). If it has stains or scratches I don't see them and, to be honest, I'm not always good about getting out the cutting board (I know! bad girl!!) Based on the quality of the cabinets and windows the builder put in, I suspect the laminate is also very low end.

So, if low-end laminate can withstand 12 years of knife abuse and cans, etc. left on the counter, then I'm sure the newer ones, especially HD, will do just fine. But, I think you've nailed it...solid colors will show things that patterned/speckled does not.

HTH!

A friend of mine has a dark, almost black laminate, looks like uba tuba granite to me, it is a bit textured. It looks fantastic and as far as I know, she hasn't had any problems with it. She also has a home daycare, so it does get a lot of use and abuse.

michelle and cordovamom, can you tell me what edge you have on your laminate? do you have any close-ups? both are beautiful!

Jessie -- Thank you !! I have the basic "waterfall" edge. It's the standard edge at Lowes. I have several pictures you can view at the following link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen face lift -- Deepstar fossil

Mine is the bullnose edge.

{{!gwi}}

We had dark speckled green in our last house. It was fabulous for not showing the coffee crumbs that somehow always hang out around the coffee pot. You don't need ajax for a darker color. I have white now and its much more work to keep clean because its very obvious when its not clean (not that it is alot of work, you just can't skate like you can on the dark speckled top).

in the last posting (michelle) i noticed you have tile on the backsplash and an additional backsp. of the formice. I wanted that in my kitchen and 2 different estimators said it can't/shouldn't be done. with this pic i can plead my desires. your kitchen looks great.