designsaavy...no problem about the hijack...it's still about the Corian. I purchased my counters from Home Depot. There was a local fabricator I really wanted to use but HD had a sale that was too good to turn down. As luck would have it, HD contracted their fabricating and installs to that same fabricator so I got the best of both worlds. When I purchased mine, I took the layout, with exact measurements to Home Depot and you purchase the approximate square footage based on your layout. If that number ends up being a little more or less, they adjust before installation. Ours was pretty much dead on. Also, we actually purchased/contracted for our counters several months before they were installed. It was no problem at all...the fabricator just said call when you're ready for templating.

Hi All! I have learned sooooo much on this site. Thank you Mr. Corlett. I have had Corian countertops since 1998 with a granite composite under mount sink. Love the Corian, not the sink so much because it seems yellowed since installed. But I do a lot of canning so the sink has put up with a lot of beet juice and boiling hot water with minimal distress, no cracks. Just clean with Soft Scrub and bleach sometimes. We are now building a house. I am again using Corian for the countertops. I am considering either a Corian integrated sink 850 or an LG-HiMacs integrated sink 3118. I do not like the sink drain in the center of the sink as in the 3118 but that sink is an inch and a half longer than the Corian so better for skillet handles to fit in sink. Do you have an opinion as to the staining or cracking or other issue of either product I might consider before making my final decision? Thank you. Cynthia

It looks like you have knotty alder for cabinets. These are natural coloured (light gold in tone) wood cabinets. That means you want to work with things that work with natural wood tones. The other thing you need to worry about is how BUSY the wood is. That means you want to work with counters/floors that are CALM (ie. not a lot of movement; not a lot of UMPH in the visual). Only ONE THING in the kitchen should have that "kick in the gut" impact (visually). The high-impact item you already HAVE = cabinets. Good. Now that has been established we can MOVE ON to the next thing: colours. Light gold wood likes to work with 3-4 "colours". The #1 = White (white counter tops...just like you have there...you would be replacing "like for like"). With a white counter you would look at white or very light flooring (just as you have already = another like for like replacement = not much of change for all that money spent). The #2 = Black. A black counter top (like Uba Tuba = black with hints of green in it) can be used to really set off the light tones in the wood. The easy-peasy floor choice would be (you guessed it) black. Ouch. This can be stunning - but VERY hard to live with. I do NOT think this is an option for you. The #3/#4 options would be BLUE or green (personal choice for colours makes blue more viable than green and vice verse). I personally LOVE blue with light gold wood. I love a blue slate (counter tops AND flooring) with a country-style wood kitchen. This is a great way to get a modern country feel (sigh...yes your kitchen is country in style...there is no way to change that without changing the cabinets). The BEAUTY in using blue slate is it works NICELY with gray. Gray and blue are often compatible (assuming the gray you choose has blue undertones). If you work with green, you will need to rethink the carpet and the paint. See how much fun this is? This is why Sophie suggests a designer. Personally I would go with blue slate. It has LOW visual impact. It is simple and timeless and it will EASILY support a modern country kitchen....it also works very very well with gray (again, watch your undertones in the paint/carpet...do NOT work with beigy tones...it will get ugly in a hurry).

Gray is not out. Still going strong in brand new upscale builds in upscale communities. Live wire please share what you would do instead. I love white kitchens. I have two! But, in your case, the wood is really nice and what appears to be in good shape. I would invest in a new counter. Unless you are open concept, your kitchen can stand alone and be something different, albeit probably a classic neutral. Look at Giallo Ornamental Light granite. It has browns, taupe/ cream. It will go with your cabinets and you can use a light paint to coordinate. If you want to stay gray in the kitchen, there are quartz counters that have gray and tan. Google dark cabinets and white quartz to see what comes up. I would also get hardware. That and a new backsplash will be a really good upgrade. Paint can be tricky. Even getting away from the fact that painting wood by a professional is expensive. My recent color story: we are doing our master bath, with (gasp) gray tiles. Although floor and shower are from the same series, the floor is matte finish and appears a warmer gray than the polished, which appears more true. I tried so many samples. Everything clashed. We wound up color matching the lightest color. It turned out to be a nice gray that turns amethyst in the evening. Not exactly what I had in mind, but we need to wrap things up. I will work around it. It’s not much wall space and in a private area. I personally would only do a griege cabinet if it is offered in the cabinets choices. Doing custom on your own can backfire. Just my 2 cents.