As a compromise, have you considered granite with a different finish? We chose butcher block, so I'm not well versed in the options, but something like honed or leathered granite?

You should build your kitchen for YOUR lifestyle, not some magazine spread it'll never be featured in. It sounds like this is your workplace--you're the one who cleans the kitchen so I assume you're the one running the day care. Laminate is good for this.

There needs to be a reason to get something and "it costs more" is not a suitable reason!

I guess your DH needs to step back and assess why having a "cheap" counter will bother him.

I love laminate and I don't think it downplays a nice kitchen at all. That said, I'm not a fan of the laminates that try to imitate stone. Then it seems faux to me. But check out the dizzying array of colors, patterns, and textures available in laminate these days. They are terrific!

As for DH, you are the one working in and maintaining the kitchen, so your vote counts more. Dig up some nice Houzz photos of beautiful laminate countertops to help sway him. The knee-jerk idea that all nice kitchens "must have granite" is terribly misplaced, IMO.

I definitely don't think you need to use granite, but I sure wouldn't put laminate in a 50k kitchen either. I think laminate almost uniformly looks fake and cheap, especially close up, because... well it is fake and cheap. That said, its your kitchen not mine...

Wow, thanks! I'm printing this off for DH.

It's not just you, either. I'm trying to find the perfect laminate for parts of my not-inexpensive kitchen.

I'm not a fan of the faux stones myself but I have to admit they're looking better. Perhaps something expensive like Corian would appeal to your spouse. It has some of the easy-clean features of laminate and it's priced like granite. :)

Ohh laminate is environmentally much less reprehensible than granite!

Oh Jason Bierenbaum...you are right in a sense. It is fake but I have seen beautiful pics on Houzz in magnificent kitchens. In the photos it looks great. But then your point of seeing it up close is different than photos is true also. I'm looking for convenience foremost right now. Products that make my life a little easier. There is marble in our bathroom and its all scratched, Corian didn't do it for me. Isn't quartz as much as granite? Nothing in the quartz I saw really struck me like the 180 fx Formica Group laminate in River Gold. But I'll consider your suggestions when I plead my case to DH. And if I have to give in I'm buying him a stack of dishcloths and a Granite Care and Upkeep manual. Hopefully a really thick one with tiny print.

I think the honed or leathered granite might be your compromise point, unless you really want shiny (just easy-care shiny).

Thank you Flamingfish. I am going to try and see some examples of this. I do like shiny though.

IKEA has a sale on Caesarstone right now. We are quite happy with ours.

If you want to do granite and want to ensure you don't have to constantly polish, do any (or all) of these three -- (1) choose a granite with a speckled pattern (there are a lot of attractive stones at affordable prices with this style), (2) have it honed or leathered (an additional expense), (3) add some light-filtering window treatments.

Shiny black in a direct-sunlight kitchen is a mistake, and I learned that the hard way! When it was time to sell that house, I had to polish the counters before and after every showing. Even just standing there and resting a hand on the counter left handprints!

I toyed with laminate for my $$$ kitchen recently too and concluded that I would be fine with it so long as all the ends ran up against walls/cabinets. Any time you can see the end (especially on an island!) it does impact the "high end" look. You just have to soul-search and decide if you're okay with that.

How about Neolith? It's high end porcelain and should be very easy to keep clean. :)

Neolith Counters

Another idea would be to do all glass countertops. My friend did that and it was gorgeous!!! And very high end.

Glass countertops

Third idea would be to do concrete countertops.

BTW: Jen Thorpe on the neolith thread just recently wrote this:

"I was an early adopter of Neolith 2 years ago. I believe the style was called Belgian Blue. I did a single edge, not mitered counter. I love the thin 1cm edge on it. It is as good as the day it was installed. No chips, cracks, dings, stains or other imperfection. You do need to follow the directions on how to build you cabinetry, solid tops, and proper epoxy at joints and things. As long as they make it, I will never install anything else. My cleaning service makes comments several times a year about how easy it is to clean. My husband does "projects" in the kitchen and has failed at burning, staining, etching on otherwise damaging the counters with his electronics, paints, acids, etc. I sound like a commercial, but it is the best purchase I've ever made for a house."

I've had a few different granites. Some show every smear and some show nothing. You only know something slopped because you feel it. Of the ones I've had, the dark one with a smaller pattern shows everything and it drives me nuts. The lighter ones with a larger pattern don't show much.

Thanks for the ideas. I will look into them. Mine is Santa Cecilia now.

"...but soon after started to look like there was a foggy or dull film on it...."

It sounds like you have a stone that should not have been sealed. Not all "granites" need to be sealed. If you seal one that does not need it, you end up with a foggy film on the surface and the only way to get rid of is to remove the sealer.

Dense stones (absorbency <0.25) are too dense to "receive" the sealant so the sealant sits on the surface instead of being absorbed - that's what causes the foggy film.

Regarding shiny dark counters - I have polished Absolute Black Premium (true black) counters and a big window in our kitchen. The only time it's an issue is when I haven't wiped the counters down in a few days - dust collects. However, all my counters are usually wiped down daily, so it's not an issue most of the time.

I'm not saying you should or should not get stone, I just want to be sure you're making a decision with the correct information.

Is Neolith marketed under any other name? I'm not finding it in my area, Green Bay Wi. I looked at the Neolith site and they do have some styles I find beautiful.

3katzforme, the style I want now is not dark but more creamy and not too busy. Maybe that would do it. I feel like taking a dishrag to the granite shop and swiping them all to make sure. They would think I'm nuts...

I live in what one might consider a high end house. I have granite, soapstone, quartz and laminate. The only counter that I don't like is my granite. It's black and shiny and shows every streak.

I have never been one for doing something because "that is what one should do". I think you should put in the type of countertop that works for you. My DH knows that he he gets a vote on anything in our kitchen renovation, but I get two votes.

It really depends on the price of the remodel ($50,000 is a pretty nice kitchen!), the value of the house, and the expectations of buyers in your neighborhood. I realtor who specializes in your neighborhood could tell you.

I'm not a fan of granite, but I am of white Corian. Would DH accept this?

Thank you sherri1058, I'm going to borrow that "DH gets a vote but I get two" saying. Love it! Anglophilia, I do know some realtors and will ask their opinions. I am going with creme cabinets with the chocolate glaze so white wouldn't work. I never seem to find that swirl look that I am going for in Corian, nor the sheen. I don't want too bold of a look but more subtle with more of a single color showing through instead of alot of many colors. If that makes any sense. It's hard to put into words the vision in my head... But I will revisit the Corian site.

"I don't have the time to spray and buff...It's pointless here with 4 kids, an in-home daycare and half the neighborhood."

This made me laugh and think of this:

"It is not what goeth into the mouth that defilith a man, but that which comes out."

Some of the new high def laminates are amazing and will probably take more abuse without showing than many stones. (Hard water, soaking hand soap, toilet bowl cleaner, crazy glue...) On the other hand, granite continues to be so inexpensive that it can be changed out like laminate used to be.

And no, osuzieq, you can't put hot things on granite without a trivet, making it equal to laminate, solid surface, and estone. At least according to the MIA and the pictures I have.

osuzieq, to me it almost sounds like you're describing quartzite...a natural stone, not to be confused with the quartz counters made by Cambria etc. I had never had never heard of it until I started hanging out on this forum. (Most importantly, the Countertop Geology threads moderated and answered by karin_mt, a geologist. They're fascinating and so helpful.) Anyway, if you search for photos here or on houzz, this is an example of one type, called Sea Pearl.

Exotic Material · More Info

Oh my gosh, I looove that! If I could find it in a creamy color with some subtle darker colors throughout it might do the trick. Joseph Corbett, not quite sure how to take your quote... Matthew may be a little deep.... I do know I put hot pans on my granite everyday and so far no damage.

This is White Macaubus quartzite.

White Macaubas Quartzite Kitchen · More Info

It also comes cut ...hmm. one way is vein cut and one cross...The other cut is called White Calacatta and is swirly, not linear, as above. Here's the swirly version, cross cut? Sheesh. Sorry, can't remember.

Barncatz those are beautiful. I just tried researching quartzite. Its rather confusing. Its not quartz but has quartz in it? I also looked for dealers near me and the all said quartz but not quartzite. Your last photo looks creamy and not so white. I like that. I will have to call a few places on Monday. But its odd that after going to several countertop places no one ever mentioned quartzite. I do live in a little town outside of Green Bay Wi, so there isn't an overabundance of places like the big cities. Thanks for the pics and info.

Here is the latest thread in the posts I mentioned. karin_mt will teach you all about stone. There is a wealth of misinformation these threads straighten out.

An invaluable guide to stone countertop materials

Quartz is the name for the manmade counters composed of quartz and resin mixed together ....Cambria etc. There are a zillion brand names for these manmade products, all known as quartz. It is manmade, like laminate.

Quartzite is a stone, like granite and marble, that you will find at a stone yard. It is actually harder than granite. The slabs are usually more expensive. Like granite and marble, there are many different varieties of quartzite. HTH.

Is Neolith marketed under any other name? I'm not finding it in my area, Green Bay Wi. I looked at the Neolith site and they do have some styles I find beautiful.

Write The Size and ask them for a local place that has it. I think they also have a link here on houzz.

Don't look for quartzite or quartz. Go find a stone yard and go there. They will have quartzite and some will even have neolith.

thanks cpartist. I took a quick peek at that site just now. They do have a distributor in Cudahy, Wi. I just need to figure out where that is from here. There was a picture of a vanity top that was stunning. It almost looked like the quartzite pics barncatz posted. Yikes, it's overwhelming after awhile. Well, I'm taking a break for awhile. I have to clean up the kitchen and wipe off my granite, so it'll still look ugly. Clean, but ugly. Thanks for all of the responses and I will make a decision soon.

Neolith, Dekton, and Lapitec are all sintered surfaces; there may be more.

If you have a large island surface to wipe maybe this 12" silicone water blade will make your job faster and easier.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=california+water+blade&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=31459918017&hvpos=1t2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11482375113529263838&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_58yvena8a9_e

I would think that water blade concept would be a pain in the patootie... It doesn't stop you from having to wipe it in the first place.

In my neighborhood the laminate countertops were more expensive than the granite.

After looking at my choice of granite and the way the sun comes in the window I went with Corian witch hazel- strangely I really like the backside of the witch hazel better than the front side I wonder if it could have it flipped over it would look like a granite then but it would be a Corian…

A friend of mine has a beautiful black granite with a small pattern. She assured me that Corian was the best decision because even though hers looks spectacular it requires her to wipe it down and polish it with two different clothes every day for nine months of the year otherwise it looks really bad very quickly. That said, both of us have run into people who have absolutely no issues with their granite so if you decide to go with granite you must get a piece and try it out in your kitchen and see how it catches the light.

Your thinking ain't based on any direct experience now is it.

I was going to ask you if you have dark granite, because I know that can be a pain to keep clean-looking and fingerprint free...but then you said you have Santa Cecilia. I had Santa Cecilia in my previous house and loved it and thought it was very easy care. (and I have 6 kids :-D) but I do know that often when we had visitors and other women helping me in the kitchen they would swipe over the counters and let them smeary looking. I figured it was probably because they were used to wiping down laminate which doesn't show any smears, and they just didn't rinse their dishcloth as well as I do.....I can be a bit OCD at times! I really didn't do anything special to care for the granite, other than using a cleaner meant for granite every once in a great while (we lived in that house for 10 years). I'd always just wipe them with my dishcloth while washing dishes, but I would usually rinse my cloth well in clear water while doing so.

Maybe your cloudiness comes from sealing too often, or sealing at all??

All I can say though is "to each their own". We all cook differently and have different cleaning habits in the kitchen.....and different ideas of what we're willing to put up with. I for one am quite willing to put up with cleaning fingerprints off of stainless steel appliances because I love them that much. And I'm more than happy to buff my granite with a clean dishtowel at times to really get them to shine.

Thanks bren5kids, I do wipe constantly, somebody is always at the counter doing something. I have not sealed it since it was put in . The installers said it wouldn't need it for at least a year. The fogginess started about 2 mon. after install. Now it's a year that we've had it. I'm not going to seal it now that it's getting torn out. I do have the spray but that does nothing for the foggy look.

You are close enough to Milwaukee to drive to some of the stone yards. I am getting my leathered fantasy brown from UGM.

Do you use cleaner meant for granite countertops?

I don't use any special cleaner. Just Dawn and warm water. Midwest gal, when we bought our current granite it was from a place near us and they installed it. If I found something in Milwaukee would that place install it then? I'm having a difficult time fitting extra traveling in. Every night someone has basketball practice or track and every single weekend someone has a basketball tournament. We're in some little town called Carpentersville outside of Chicago right now.

I would try some granite cleaner instead.

Dawn is soap, so of course it will leave a film.

You can also check out some of the granite yards in Chicago (I was also working with Daltile located in a Chicago Noth east suburb). Ask your local granite shop who they buy their granite from (most have many suppliers). When you pick out the granite from the yard they will ask you who the fabricator is and they will work with the fabricator from that point. I had a hard time telling from pictures what the granite slabs looked like so it was really helpful to see them in person.

I agree with cpartist about trying a granite cleaner and using just plain water to wipe up crumbs etc. But I also keep wondering if you're experiencing s sealer issue of some type. You'd have to try stripping a part of your counter and resealing and that doesn't sound like something you have time or energy for.

Did you know there was a stoneyard in Appleton if you just wanted to do a look see? Their website says to call to see what quartzite they have on hand.

Just for fun, I'm attaching a photo of the slab of quartzite I wanted . It's called Lagoinha. It was from Terrazo and Marble Supply Co., www.tmsupply.com, and they have a yard in Menomonee Falls, WI and Chicago. Their inventory is online which is very helpful if you're driving.( We live in western WI and their Mpls stone yard was almost two hours.) And no, my DH really wanted a granite he saw, so I let the quartzite go...sigh.

I'm in the Milwaukee area and the Home Depot near us has Corian, quartz, and more besides laminate. I think they have some Dekton.

Gosh, that is beautiful. I had an awful thought on the way home...Since this current countertop that I have in granite is my first experience with granite, aside from the fogginess, will all shiny surface countertops leave smear marks? The marble tops in my bathroom don't get any sun, so I've never noticed. But my kitchen gets alot.

I'm also wondering if the company I picked this granite out from was a little unprofessional, for lack of a better term. They cut one piece crooked and used thicker silicone to fill the gap, it's not huge but if you really look you can tell, they didn't re-attach my dishwasher, so it fell forward whenever I opened it and specifically told me to only use dishsoap. I shopped a couple different places, picked out the pattern, saw samples of their work in the showroom. I thought I did it right-apples to apples... They were the cheapest and I was planning on selling the house at that time. Maybe I should have thought twice about "We'll match any price" advertising...

No granite should not leave smear marks. Again, go to your supermarket and buy a spray can of Granite Cleaner. Try using that instead of dishwashing soap. You may find it much better. When I use regular soap cleaners on my cheap granite here in NY (I'm in a rental) I see marks. (Since the granite here is so bad already, I don't really feel I need to pay to upkeep bad granite.)

I never saw marks in my condo, but I only used Granite Cleaner in my condo because that's what the granite yard told me to use.

And yes sometimes you do get what you pay for. ;)