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Is a Corian backsplash too modern?

Annette Holbrook(z7a)

3 years ago

My cabin guesthouse has pine walls. In my kitchen remodel I was hoping I could have a backsplash finally. My builder suggested doing the corian as opposed to tile. He’s not sure how to put tile on the wood without it ending up way too thick(backer over the wood, then the tile). Plus it may be cost prohibitive. He’s going to talk to his tile guy, but in the meantime I’m looking into just doing the same corian that I’m doing on the countertop, which is a nice clean white. However, when I look for pics they are all of very modern minimalist kitchens, not a single cabin to be found lol. Like this,

I am also thinking of doing the bathroom countertop and the shower with the same white corian, for ease of maintenance as the guesthouse will also be an Airbnb.

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Comments (6)

Shilpa R
3 years ago
Conceptually, it could work, but would depend on what else you have going around your kitchen. It's hard to tell without a picture or two.
Annette Holbrook(z7a)
Original Author
3 years ago
Here is the space as we bought it.

Here is the planned new layout.
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I'm not seeing a current picture witht he sink -- just the one with the paper down on the wood which I understand to be before use. That wall looks like it has a raw end of drywall, not a side that is finished (paper or whatever) or maybe even no drywall. It looks like they tried to smooth joint compound in there, either by itself over your studs and built up or over something less than a full side of finished drywall. Joint compound will turn to mud (that's what they call it when it's wet -- hence the verb to "mud" the walls) and dissolve away if it gets wet. Paint will only seal the surface, and if water gets behind it -- well, I dare say it is probably worse than damp sheetrock, which is worse than damp green board. You say they had to sheer away your window sill. Did that sill come below the window too? I don't think you've got clean drywall there. I think you've got a really poor job of mudding and an even worse job of sealing the joint. That's my guess.
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Ok, I follow what you mean now, brickeyee. However, I don't' believe this is an issue with Corian. After the tile is done, I had already planned to have the fabricator refinish the Corian countertop to remove scratches, etc. Corian is pretty impervious to this type of thing and I don't believe sunlight affects it like it might Formica. Also, if I do end up choosing to remove the Corian backsplash, the tile that would replace it would be very close in thickness (most travertine is close to same thickness as my backsplash)so I would be safe there as well. If it wasn't for some of the idiosyncrasies of my Corian backsplash install, I don't think I would run into these issues if I decided to remove it.
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I think your choice of counter and backsplash tiles look very nice. If you want to change it up a little, maybe put a couple of rows horizontal and do the body of the backsplash in diagonal with the same tiles. Or possibly do a row of the same tile but in a slightly larger size in a random pattern amongst these tiles or as a horizontal line about a third or half way up the wall. Just a few suggestions in case you want to tweak it a little.
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palimpsest, For the past few hours I've been staring at Wilsonart's SOLICOR color Calcutta Marble, but I have discovered that the "Solicore" feature appears to be a fiction. Wilsonart's website states: "Wilsonart® SOLICOR™ is a specialty laminate created with a solid color core that lets you design visually crisp and stunning spaces by eliminating the disruptive brown line at the edges." This photo clearly shows that Calcutta Marble color is not solid all the way through, even though their website says it is, and edges do in fact show brown lines: Flat cut showing ugly brown lines. Flat cut showing ugly brown lines. Formica also has the "COLOR2CORE" but it's a lie also. Their website says: "Classic flat edge. Your laminate countertops will have the traditional 90-degree flat edges that show a brown line between the top sheet and the edge. The exception to this is solid core laminate that has color throughout, like COLORCORE®2 by Formica Group. You’ll still have the flat edge, but no brown line." I have found images on their website that they use to illustrate a lack of brown edge but it's still there. This link has a section "ColorCore®2 Color-Through Laminate Patterns" and a picture of a large white counter to the right which clearly shows brown lines. On the other hand, apparently it's possible somehow to eliminate the brown lines because this picture from Houzz claims to use an edge called "Aegean" which does not show any brown lines, but I can't find anything about that edge on Formica's website.
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Shilpa R
3 years ago
I think it will work. Are your cabinets going to be dark? As per the first photo, your existing cabinets look white to me. In my opinion, the white cabinets + gray counter work for that space. Assuming that corian is the choice for countertop and backsplash, would you consider a gray corian, as that works too.
eam44
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
“He’s not sure how to put tile on the wood without it ending up way too thick(backer over the wood, then the tile)”

You have the wrong contractor if he can’t figure out how to do this. Remove the paneling, install drywall, install tile. If you do decide to use tile, hire an actual tile setter. You’ll be happy you did.

That said, no, Corian is not too modern a choice for a cabin with pine paneling, but you can do so many other things. I really think a 2” backsplash of your counter material might be a good choice, but that depends on the state of the paneling behind the current backsplash.
Annette Holbrook(z7a)
Original Author
3 years ago
Yes, cabinets will be black. I am doing IKEA, and the black shaker they have seems to be the sturdiest for a guest space. I do not want to paint the cabinets, I’m looking for simple install, easy upkeep. No white as it seemed beachy or farmhouse to me when I did a mock up. My other option is a dark green, but those are a raised panel door which I don’t love in this setting.

Closeup of stained finish,

The walls are thick pine boards, so will create a need to double up on drywall to meet the countertop. The main issue with putting tile on them is that previous owner put some sort of finish, maybe polyurethane.
Nancy in Mich
3 years ago
Um... check out Corian online yourself. You may find that they offer a wall covering panel that looks like subway tile. If you don’t find it in that brand, I know that Swanstone offers it.

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