I'll go on record to say I hate that mantra. I think people post wanting guidance, not a mantra.

I think you need opinions from those familiar with laminate and Fireclay tiles, having seen them both in person. I have not.

It won't look out of place. Tile can look expensive or cheap through variables that seemingly have nothing to do with whether they are, or not. Do what sings to you, and you can afford.

But can laminate look expensive?

Laminate can look good, if you do the wrap-around effect for edges. My current stuff from the 1980s NO. It may never look High End, but it can at least look Moderate End.

But make sure you check prices. Our neighbours got laminate and we got granite - roughly the same footage - and their cost was a bit more than ours.

Having said that, one of my favourite kitchens on the finished kitchens blog has (what appears to be) high end range, hood, cabs and marble look laminate. I love it. Off to see if I can find it. In the changeover to houzz, I lost all my clippings.

If the colors go, it'll be fine. Get a few extra tiles in case you do decide to change the counter out later. It's only (starting at) $30 a square foot. :)

I combined the colors so I could see your tile and floor choices (fun!) but I'm wondering whether this will feel dark (with the dark floor, darker tile and soapstone countertop).

I was intrigued by the other floor tile choices on your link - I really like the 'bloom deco' option.

We have a lighter Fireclay with Torquay (marble wannabe); I think either choice (soapstone, marble) will go well with the tile.

Emily, we have Black Pearl leathered granite and I believe it was around $65/sf installed.

At first I was concerned about water marks, etc, but it's actually cleaning up quite well. Because it's more honed, it doesn't show dust like I thought it would. Perhaps that's because I don't give it time to collect. :)

Here is marylynnNC's kitchen with the marble look laminate. Doesn't appear to have a splash in the pics I looked at, but other finishes look high end and it all looks gorgeous to me. MarylynnNC's kitchen

On another note, has anyone else had trouble with the finished kitchen's blog lately? I couldn't search or see any pics on it at all. Even when I used the link to go to the old version.

I love fireclay tile. I would echo the poster who said to check pricing. Laminate is not always the least expensive option, if that is your reason for choosing it. i think fireclay tiles would work best with laminate in an application where the laminate looks like laminate rather than imitating another material. To me, that is generally the best use of laminate anyway and to me that eliminates the idea that the laminate is being used as a cheap substitute for something else.

Hi, Emily! I love the tiles you're considering. The kitchen in the link is gorgeous. Is that your inspiration? You need to be happy with your choices. Sometimes budget gets in the
way, tho. Will you be happy with laminate or does your heart yearn for
real stone?

Some laminates with the fancy edges probably cost as much as a low end granite. However, honed granite is not in the same ballpark as laminate. Well it might be in the same ballpark, but it's in the luxury suites and laminate is in the bleachers. :) Marble
or soapstone laminate with the fancy edges, if by Wilsonart or Formica,
will be a much less costly option than the real marble or real
soapstone. I know from experience that the designer laminates from
manufactures such as Pionite or Arborite will cost double that of
Wilsonart or Formica, and that's with a plain square edge.

If you like the look of oiled soapstone or honed granite but don't want
the hassles of maintaining the look then laminate is a fair alternative
keeping in mind it has it's own downsides. I don't know
your neighborhood, but I doubt your neighbors will be whispering behind
your back, "she cheaped out with the laminate." :)

Thanks to all for the advice! I also like the pic in the link, but my kitchen is a teeny tiny 100 sq feet, so not quite in the same ballpark :) Also, I tend to a more eclectic bohemian style like the kitchen here:

http://www.thejungalow.com/2015/08/boho-kitchen-reveal-the-whole-enchilada.html

i first saw the floor tiles on this blog:

http://nestingwithgrace.com/6-week-design-challenge-revel/

I like it a lot, but need a little more color which is why I'm thinking of the green tiles.

I do need to check out actual prices to make my decision.

Personally, I think of fireclay as a beautiful custom option for a backsplash. I would not pair it with laminate countertops. If you can afford fireclay I would upgrade and do granite, quartz, or soapstone. I know you say you don't live in a fancy hood, but even the most basic houses these days have granite.

I would consider solid surface -- some of the designs are quite inexpensive.

What I think - the tile is beautiful and part of its beauty is the feeling of depth (IYKWIM) which stone and solid surface have, but laminates that I have seen still lack. I wonder if putting them next to each other will make the laminate look worse.

Of course it will depend on the particular brand and design of the laminate.

If you like granite -- in my area there are granite fabricators who sell for $39 sf installed -- the stones come from the same yards as much more expensive fabricators, but the choices of stone are limited at that price. There are also prefab granites that work for smaller spaces. Try googling "discount granite" + your town to see if you can find something like that.

From an overall look standpoint, what kind of granite would look good with my other choices? I like the sort of lived in, soft look of the soapstone and honed granite. I'm not sure about the hard, shiny look of polished granite, but maybe in a light color? What do you guys think?

If you like the looks of soapstone, but want granite, honed Virginia mist granite is the usual suggestion.

Just as a general FYI, I found Carrara marble for $12 a square foot near me. It was 2 cm and that's the slab price, fabrication is on top of that. But that's still dirt cheap. Don't assume marble is expensive. Prices vary widely based in location, particular stone, etc.

I'm in a major metro area (DC) and honed granite, no-name soapstone, and the quartz I ultimately chose (LG Viatera) were all about $65/SF including fabrication. If I had gotten the soapstone through one of the well-known places such as Mtexeira, Green Mountain, etc. it would have been about $100/sf. Likewise caesarstone calacatta nuvo was over $120/sf. If you like soapstone and honed granite I'd do honed virginia mist or absolute black with those gorgeous tiles as the backsplash.

Honed or leathered granite would work. As would wood. Have you considered a butcherblock counter?

Green handmade tile at Lowes

I found the tile above. It's half what the Fireclay would cost. I've no knowledge of the tile manufacturer. I love green in the kitchen, btw.

If you can do a 'rolled edge' top with waterfall, post-formed or any 'machined' edge, the cost savings is quite a bit. But once you factor in a laser template and installation, the price gap narrows. If you do a square edge or beveled edge laminate, which are both hand applied edges, you price gap narrows even further. If you do your own installation, you can save quite a bit with laminate. Get prices on all materials and make an informed decision.

Do I personally think you can do white carrara laminate with a handmade subway tile. Yes. And it will look fine to the average person. But in all honesty, just not as nice as a quartz or stone.

If it were me: I think I would do quartz and use a cheaper tile. Or do quartz and have the backsplash done later when you can save up the money to do it. I would not do laminate....the cost difference (averaged over 15-30 years) is not worth it! Your countertops are what get abuse. Your laminate tops would get damaged and their lifespan is MUCH less than quartz or stone. Also, it will be MUCH more difficult to replace the tops with your tile backsplash in place....if you ever do damage them.

Good luck with your decision.

Maybe today's laminate is inferior, Kitchen Place? I wonder as I had white matte laminate counters for 26 years, installed in the early 70's, and when the house was sold, they looked brand new. Emily, one of the advantages of a small kitchen is that you need less of everything, so higher end can often be affordable. Are you sure whatever you love is out of reach?

Good point grammarows. How do you measure for an estimate of counter dimensions?

I would not get a counter that would be expected to have a shorter lifespan than the tile. If you want the new kitchen to last 25-30+ years I'd go with solid surface. If necessary to maintain budget I would use the Fireclay tile as an inspiration and look at local tile stores for subway tiles in the $10-15/sf range letting you put more money into the counter. That's assuming this is needed -- as others have said some solid surface and granite might be similar price as laminate. That's one person's opinion who believes good design is practical, looks good, and can be achieved without luxury materials. Other opinions respected and clearly people have had different experiences with laminate over the decades. Personally, I would sacrifice a lot in my kitchen to avoid it but clearly others feel differently.

You can also do a tile counter. Fireclay has all the missing trim pieces that just about nobody else makes these days. Super not-budget option!

If it's a budget concern (and not just a personal preference for laminate), consider doing the Fireclay in a high visibility spot, like behind range or sink, and not the entire backsplash.

I too have found that marble is really cheap, well, some of it. The classic carrara is, the stuff I used in a previous kitchen (bardiglio) is...basically many of the ones that will look fabulous with that tile and that floor and white cabinets. If you don't mind the etching, it's good stuff. Test any before buying, but I found many to be pretty much stain-proof, too.

Thanks to everyone for the thoughts. After realizing that I probably have 30 sq ft (or less) in countertops in my kitchen, I have decided to price out quartz (thinking Silestone Lagoon). I may just wait until later to put in the backsplash, as someone advised above.

You asked about how things look together. It is certainly a matter of personal appeal -- I am not sure that I would do the dark floor with dark counters and sort of dark backsplash in a small space unless you have tons of light. I personally would not do such a dark floor (or are you thinking pattern all over, not just an accent?) but if you do, look for a lighter counter, even a lighter gray (like steel gray in granite). The Silestone Lagoon that you mention should work very well.

I have Lagoon in my kitchen. It's awesome!

Gramarows, laminate today is not what it used to be. I have read that the EPA banned a substance In the 70s. I agree with you, the laminate top in my parents and grandparents homes were much more durable. And a local bar in my neighborhood has black laminate tops from the 50s and it looks incredible still, even after heavy use for 50 years! There's no way a laminate top today would last that long.

When we priced out laminate (stone look) for our kitchen facelift a few years ago, it was almost as expensive as real stone. I think it was $4000 for laminate installed and $4500 for prefab granite. We decided to wait as we are now replacing cabinets and changing kitchen layout - and getting the granite slab we really wanted. That said we are using "inexpensive" Ikea cabinets (I feel they are very high quality though - not custom built high end cabinetry but better than anything else prefab) and we are going to use some of the cheapest white subway tile for the backsplash, because we want a nice neutral and bright BS behind our dark cabinets and very showy granite. So we are "mixing" material price points, spending our money where we think it will matter more.

Where you spend your money is a personal decision but for me, the countertop is something I will be staring at daily, and also touching and feeling. Ours will be the first thing we see as we come in the front door, and I want to look at it and admire it every day, never feel disappointed or wish for something else.

If you are thinking about this, you could always do countertops now and wait to put in the backsplash when you can afford it - you don't absolutely need a BS in a kitchen. Ikea butcher block wood counters are also very nice and much less expensive than either stone or even stone-look laminate.

I think it's fine to mix materials of different types, but I wouldn't choose countertops to be my most inexpensive finish. It's the surface you use and possibly look at the most in the kitchen.

Laminate bid was $500 higher than granite. So get actual bids before deciding.