Sorry to read about your Harvey damage. I have found that the quartzite I have priced out has been substantially less costly than quartz. I have fallen in love with Fantasy Brown, which is apparently part quartzite part marble. It can vary a lot. I also really like the look of the Witch Hazel corian. I was told that it is much more expensive than the solid colors. I had white corian a very long time ago and found it really easy to care for. There are lots of threads on the kitchen forum about this, you may want to check them out.

Stacey B: So sorry to hear you sustained damage from Harvey. I can't help with any specific materials recommendations, but stay away from Schlitzberger Stone Design in Houston. They did a terrible job with my countertops, and I'm doing what I can to steer people away. Please see my thread here for the worst of it. Good luck with your reno.

"Will Corian look cheap?"

No.

"Is Corian durable? Compared to granite and quartz?"

Corian is very durable. It scratches more easily, but the scratches are easily removed. Unlike granite and quartz, it is virtually un-stainable. Trivets must be used with all three, essentially making them identical in heat resistance. If you break it, it is inconspicuously repaired.

My Glacier White Corian kitchen countertops are now 33 years old and still going strong. And yes, I DO cook. At one time, I had a husband and two children living in this house with me, plus cats and dogs. Cats ate on the counters, so they were always scratched when they jumped up.

The thing about Corian scratches (so long as the color is NOT dark - it scratches "white"), is that they just develop over time into the kind of lovely patina that one sees on old silver flatware. When I redid my kitchen 18 months ago, I had to get a new 5' fun of Corian for a new counter (moved refrig). Of course, matching the Glacier White was no trouble at all. But it was a bit "shiny" and I preferred my old patina. So, I just took Bartender's Friend, and a ScotchBrite pad and quickly created my patina so it would look like the old - SO much happier. I could have paid the fabricator to do this, but it was an easy DIY and I knew no harm could possibly come to it.

It's a shame that a product that was considered very "high end" when I first installed it 33 years ago, now has the reputation of being "cheap looking". duPont had problems with many of their fabricators and made them all re-apply to be licensed. The good ones did, but many others found it far easier to jump on the "granite" bandwagon and just badmouthed Corian. Then Quartz came along and badmouthed granite. Now, many want marble or soapstone etc.

In the UK and Europe, Corian is used in the highest end custom homes - ones such as one sees on Grand Designs. It's used because it can be custom ordered in interesting shapes - it can become anything. And a classic white countertop alway looks smart.

My DD also has Glacier White Corian for her kitchen counters and has the same integrated large single sink that I do. Her DH is a SAHF, and makes multiple cups of coffee each day, dumping the grounds from the French Press glass pot, directly into the sink and leaving it there for 8 hours. The two boys pour anything and everything into that sink, never rinsing. And it's spotless. This family could be a quality control test kitchen for abuse!!!

Corian makes a lot of different colors and patterns, but to me, the Glacier White is the classic that one will never tire of, and that will go with whatever color the walls are painted over decades.

I love my corian counters. They are solid white, with an integrated sink, which is also awesome. They don't show scratches at all. We had a small fire in our kitchen recently from a candle that was left burning too long. Insurance people said we'd have to replace the whole counter, including the integrated sink. Corian repair guy came over, sanded the counter, and the whole thing looked like new in minutes. Cost of repair was $100. I rest my case.

I just ripped out 84 sq ft of Corian. I hated everyday with it. I thought it looked & felt cheap. That doesn't mean that you wouldn't love it though. There are so many different choices when it comes to countertops. That's the beauty of it, you get to chose what you like & what you want. I love seeing quartz in other people's kitchens, but it's not my style for my own space. Witch Hazel sounds like it might be a good choice for you. The colors are very nice & subtle.

I found I didn't like the feel of Corian countertops -- they are very durable and some of them look great, but I found the feel of them rather cold and plastic-y. Similar colours from a few quartz companies include Caesarstone Cascata, Viaterra Soprano, and Silestone Creamstone. I also really like the Caesarstone Bianco Drift, but you might find it too busy.

I've always thought the Corian Witch Hazel was quite pretty.

I loved my Corian and almost went with Witch Hazel for my kitchen. You might also look at Corian Dune Prima and Sandstorm.

Here is Corian Sandstorm:

go to a kitchen store where you can see large slabs of the material installed. that should give you the best way to see whether you like the feel and look of Corian and other materials. nobody can say what looks lush or cheap TO YOU.

Corian Dune Prima

One of the reasons we like our corian so well is that it's solid white. No speckles, no waves, no faux anything, Timeless.

http://www.renewedmaterials.com/alkemi-copper/

Stunning product, I have no idea of cost.

Here are some pics of witchhazel installed. Looks wonderful and easy care.

There are quartz brands that are a bit less expensive - look into MSI Q and Color quartz.

Good luck!

We had Corian and loved it. My favorite part was the integrated dish drying rack.

A showroom lent me an extra large sample of Corian "Witch Hazel" 24 " by 24" and also I have a large sample of LG Viatera "Soprano" 6" by 12". I put them side by side and the coloring of both were very close and I think for the most part you could use them interchangeably. My family and friends really liked them both with my medium stained cherry cabinets . Out of all the many samples I brought home these two were everyone's top picks. They all thought they were both real marble. I found that the color image on the Viatera website for the Soprano does not look anything like the color in real life, closer to a warm white. There is a large desk top in a showroom near me and it is really beautiful. However in another showroom I have seen the LG Viatera "Clarino" on display. It is another white marble quartz with caramelish or copperish veining. It was paired with a dark stained cherry cabinet and it too was nice . FYI the price estimate I got for the Corian "Witch Hazel" was more than the Soprano about $800 I think . So Corian is not necessarily less expensive than quartz.

The color and pattern of Corian make a huge difference between it looking "classic" and "cheap and plastiky". It's why I prefer the Glacier White. It will work with creamier cabinets and may actually be a better choice.

Here is my kitchen sink wall. The original countertops were put in in 1985. In 2003, the integrated sink was added. Nearly 2 years ago, we reused it on the new cabinets.

I think it looks damned good, myself. It's clean and sleek and disappears. My big window and the garden outside, are the "stars", not my countertop or sink.

When my Corian counters were newly installed, my son left a wet cast iron pot on the counter, which produced a large, hideous rust stain. The reason that my son is still alive today is that I took the purple pad the installer left with me and buffed out the stain easy peasy. I think that they are Glacier White.

I love corian counters...for my bathroom. I don't like them in a kitchen though.

I'm surprised you haven't found quartz that you like as there are quite a few good looking ones out there. Did you look at Cambria Ella or Swanbridge, Delgatie, Dovedale, Torquay or Ironsbridge? They've done so much with quartz since I had to select my counters...if I had to do it over again, I'd definitely choose differently. Not sure it would save you any money over granite though, but the quartz products are so super durable and stain resistant.

"Quartz may possibly fit into our budget, but I have not been able to find one that I love. "

Keep perusing the websites for each manufacturer. I swear it seems like they come out with new patterns every week. There are FAR more now than when I started looking, just 10 months ago. I love Corian, but I would prefer it in my bathrooms. Still, I think it looks lovely in either place. I certainly don't think it looks cheap. My top pick for a kitchen, given money-no-object, is the same as you - quartzite - and not the half&half ones like Cristallo or Fantasy Brown. I would want a true solid quartzite. But they are pricey.

We debated quartz for the kitchen (we have it in the bathroom) but I didn't like the hardness, noise, or the shine. Final choice came down to Corian or soapstone. SO fell in love with the soapstone slab we saw and that is what we ended up with, but I would have also loved Corian again.

teeda - I love that Corian....really looks nice!!

Thanks Chess. Here's a full shot of the kitchen--I love the pattern up close but also like how it disappears from a distance.

Teeda, what a lovely kitchen. What is that counter on your island? The space above the refrig? That chimney on the vent is really cool!

Teeda, your counters are gorgeous!

I have granite and quartz in the kitchen, but want Corian for the bathroom redo. Having no luck finding a dealer here.

Anyone have knowledge of Swanstone? Is it on par with Corian?

Such a pretty space!!

Thanks Twosit and CindyMac. Twosit, the island countertop is walnut. Not nearly so easy to keep looking good as the Corian! The space above the fridge is where I keep my folding step stool. I'm 5'8 so I can easily reach it.

I'm pretty sure Corian doesn't have trouble with scratches on dark colors anymore. They are solid all the way through. I love Corian. Here's a tread about Corian that someone started a while ago. Lots of opinions, pros and cons. It seems that a lot of people love it. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/corian-scratches-dsvw-vd~5062035

CindyMac, we have Swanstone shower walls in both bathrooms. They seem very similar to Corian, are easy to clean, and seem to wear well, although, of course, they don't see the same wear and tear as kitchen counters. I actually looked at Swanstone when we did the kitchen, but Corian had many more colors and patterns to choose frim.

CindyMac, I was not happy with our swanstone counters when we first moved here, but loved my old white corian in my prior house. I put swanstone on my shower walls in our cottage and love it. I feel like it is different from corian.

https://countertopguides.com/guides/comparing-the-top-solid-surface-countertop-manufacturers.html

There is a comparison of the top solid surface brands.

DuPont, Corian's manufacturer, tinkered with the mix for Nocturne, their solid black, to reduce scratching, but darker color solid surfaces continue to show scratches more readily than lighter colors do.