I am having a terrible time trying to choose a countertop. The problem is, I am not crazy about granite, and that's what everyone is trying to sell. What's wrong with me? According to every HGTV show, I'll never be able to sell my house without it! :) But I find granite to be dark, busy and cold. My kitchen is on the smaller side. It's a galley kitchen. It's almost all white with accents of navy blue. Think cottage style meets Ralph Lauren. The blue is in the upholstered window seats-- piped in white. The kitchen is a far cry from the big model homes, but our house is old and the kitchen suits its character. Although it's white, it still feels warm and cozy and the warm lighting helps a lot with this. The appliances are also white (not stainless...). Anywho...the floors are a pretty honey wood, the cabinets are professionally painted white with nickel knobs. My current countertop is white, and it's a cheap laminate that has lasted 20 years---raising 3 kids and a husband. And we did not baby it at all. I have Clorox sprayed the heck out of it. We have colored Easter eggs on it and God-knows what other messes we have made, and it always comes clean. It is just now showing it's wear and that's why I'm replacing it. I think I want another white countertop. I'm not afraid of doing laminate again, but when I say that to kitchen salespeople, they look at me like I need medication. (...and perhaps I do!) I don't want the EXACT same thing. I'd like it a little bit updated. But what is that?? Help. My countertops now have a matte finish. There is a super-shiny white forminca out there that would be different. Does anyone know about that? Does the shine wear off? Would it be TOO shiny for a kitchen..like WHOA, in the morning? I've gone on WAY too long, but I just want to know what other people do for countertops when they want to keep the look of their bascially-white kichen. Many thanks! Pictures and links so very much appreciated!

Hi llucy et al., great thread! To my way of thinking, the great thing about paint is that it is really the biggest bang for your decorating buck! Meaning that, relatively speaking, it's an inexpensive way to totally change the look of something like a kitchen. So if you love green today and two years from now you're sick of it and want purple...it's not like you have to buy all new cabs, you just go get a gallon of paint and change it up! My thing is do what you love! It's YOUR house, and if YOU think it's beautiful, then it's beautiful! My cabs are going to be IKEA bodbyn gray. When I first dreamed of gray, I honestly had no idea it was "trendy." Some say it's on the way "out," but I really don't care if it is or isn't. I love it so I'm getting it. The people who make these decisions about what's in or out don't have to live in my house, but I do. I admire the all white kitchens from afar. Some of them that have been posted on gw are stunning! But if I had an all white kitchen, the first day I would undoubtedly spill coffee all over and it would be ruined. Ha! But it's true. I am way too clumsy to have an all white kitchen. Or white carpets. Or white furniture. I don't want to be on edge, living in fear of spilling something, in my own home. I like a nice, clean, organized home, but I also like being comfortable and especially with company. If someone else spills or something, I don't want them to feel bad because they've ruined my kitchen or living room. Lol, the ad that's up right now to the right of this post shows a living room with all these gorgeous all white leather chairs. I'd be terrified to have those in my house! :-) Lavender Lass, I love those pretty knobs! They'll look great on your light blue cabinet!

Grout complete. Went with Mapei Warm Gray. I think it ended up working out, but if I could start over again, I probably would make different choices. At least it doesn't look like a mistake. Thanks everyone!

We have Corian ... it's around forty years old and looks pretty much the same as ever. It's not plasticky, but it certainly doesn't feel like the granite on our island either. It's a nice, smooth, non-porous surface and super easy to clean. We even had accidental sharpie bleed through, and it came off with SoftScrub; you'd never know it ever happened. There might be a few marks where the point of a knife hit, but I couldn't tell you were those are. You shouldn't cut on your countertop, anyways; it's terrible for your knives, but yes, there's always a chance the knife runs off the edge of the cutting board or something, so it is something to consider. Corian can be sanded or micro sanded to remove cut marks if they're not too deep; we've never had to. Our Corian is white with cream marbling (no names back then ... you just picked white, cream, or white/cream marbled), and it doesn't show dust; it will show crumbs and such. The polished black granite island shows everything, especially fingerprints. I don't mind seeing dust and crumbs, since we'd rather know they're there to be cleaned up, but the fingerprints are annoying. We have the same Corian in one bathroom (counter and sink) that looks great and cleans great there, too. The other bathroom has white Corian, it has a dent from where something fell, but other than that no issues with it either. I'd get Corian again. My sister's granite counters are classic cream and brown speckle, and they always look great despite toddlers and cats and whatever they knock over. They have to be cleaned constantly (toddlers, cats ...), but a quick wipedown is all it takes. If you get on just the right angle you might find some toddler prints, but the pattern seems to hide them.