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Remodeling Design Dilemma Kitchens

need advice on Ikea quartz countertop choice?

4 years ago

Hi I have tentatively chosen one of the concrete look countertops for Ikea white flat panel kitchen cabinets, but I have been reading some information on them and now, I'm not sure if that's the right choice. I tend to like a more modern/industrial look, but I also veer towards a midcentury modern/rustic/eclectic vibe as well. I always wanted black matte countertops, but I keep reading that the matte choice for countertops might be too much maintenance. I want something that is the least amount of maintenance as possible. Does anyone have any reviews of their quartz countertops good or bad? I want to hear personal experiences, please. Have you been happy with the choice you made? I know that Ikea's countertops are actually Caesarstone, so I have been reviewing my choice and looking at others. I know it's a wide range, but I'm still deciding if I want white, gray, or black counters. Any advice is much appreciated.

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Comments (5)

Ingrid
4 years ago
We are currently doing 2 baths and a kitchen. We have been to several stores to look at quartz and will end up with countertops from two different companies. The Ikea at our location said their quartz is by Silestone so I wonder if brand varies by location.
My advice is to locate actual Ceaserstone/Silestone/Cambria etc. showrooms and view the slabs you are interested. These showrooms were about an hour away from us but clustered within 10 miles of each other. Take a day off, visit 2 or 3 showrooms and bring home samples (larger samples will have to be ordered). It makes a huge difference when you see the whole slab (if you have them available, take samples of your floor, paint and cabinet color).After you narrow it down, order as large a sample as you can get and set it in your kitchen and see how it wears. We loved the way some of the Matte/Suede/Honed finishes looked but could already tell they would be more maintenance than the polished quartz after having the samples sit by the sink for a week. Also shop around. We discovered some stores told us one of our countertops was only available by the slab while another store said we could just buy what we needed.
Best of luck!
Hillside House
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
My quartz from IKEA is Caesarstone. We've had them about two years, and absolutely no issues, but they are the traditional glossy finish. Ours are Organic White (perimeter) and Piatra Grey (island.)
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It's funny to see this exact same discussion going on since 2006 when I redid my kitchen. The statement that all granite requires sealing is false. My mother said (and still does) "you just can't have anything nice". You know the stereotype of men not being too concerned about everything being cleaned up right away, and making huge messes when cooking that may take a day or two to clean up from? Spilled liquids, oils, vinegars, etc left overnight? Cleaning with whatever cleaner is in front, under the sink? That's us, but there are *two* of us that way. So the ability to withstand that sort of treatment and still look great when we scrub everything down was requirement #1. I got a large number of samples, unsealed, and brought them home and abused them. Oil, wine, vinegar, lemon slices, tomato sauce. Left overnight. Left a few days. Some of the very light stones soaked things up like a sponge. Some took a few days to get a soaked-in stain. And one that we liked was like glass. Nothing phased it. And it was a pretty unique pattern that we both liked, having that "natural stone" feeling that we both loved. It's four years later, innumerable multicourse dinners for 10 later, high-temperature stirfries, 8 types of vinegars, 5 types of oils, bottles left on the counter over night. Sangria or fresh lemonade in the summer so citrus fruit remnants pile up. That's a really long way of saying that there are some stones you can not seal, can abuse, can clean with whatever, can use green scratchy pads on, and still clean up to look as good as the day they were installed. It's pretty, too: It's called "iguana green", it's from All-granite in NJ, it was pricey but compared to the subject cost of living with a beatup countertop that we hate on a daily basis it made sense. And except for there being a backsplash (finally!) and trim around the window, it looks exactly the same.
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hello @patagonia2. I came across this post and wondered if you decided to go with the Ice lake countertop? we are in the process of selecting our countertop and funny enough I'm considering the icelake with the grey subway tiles. i THINK it will look good but it's hard to tell a the icelake look different based on lightning. Would so helpful t see what you ended up with and how you like it? would really appreciate your feedback on this, if at all possible.
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I just saw this quartzite the other day at the stone yard. Looks like this is the same one. If you get this for the island, then do the perimeter as well. I think if you try and do something different, but still white, it's going to look off. (unless you do a plain white quartz) . Do a quartz that looks like marble, is not going to work, IMO. They are just two different looks. Do them all the same, or do a dark, solid contrast. Now, if you wanted to do a soapstone, I'd say fine. that would actually look nice. look at this pic to get an idea (different island, but same premise). it's not going to make things look dark if you went w/a soapstone or even a honed Jet Mist granite. Cielo is a quartzite that you may want to consider as well. this one is leathered.
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natural maple changes....for almost certain, into yellowish tone. I would pick a darker counter. If you don't want darker, at least get into medium shades. In other words, cool white toned counters with ageing, yellowing maple may not be something you'd be so happy with . But if you love it then that's what counts.
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localeater
4 years ago
I just had grey silestone counters installed in 2 baths in a new build. They look gorgeous. I am very happy with the light grey color.

I like lighter counters, black ones suck up the light in a space. To see if you would like black counters take black trash bags and cover all your counters, do you like that big plane of black?

Another reason I like lighter counters, is to see stuff on the counter. Refilling the pepper grinder I always spill some peppercorns, black counter I would never see them.
PRO
JAN MOYER
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Go to a solid surface shop and get a fabricator who will template on site. There must be a million possibilities, and beware any matte quartz is more maintenance than a gloss.

In fact, if you want black and matte, do a honed absolute black granite, or the same in leathered finish. No reason you must have quartz for that look.
Zalco/bring back Sophie!
4 years ago
Research matte quartz before proceeding. I have read many threads with complaints about them here.

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