LOVE my Caesarstone. Funny you write today as I just returned from our condo at the desert and have been going over in my head what to do with the kitchen there. One of my thoughts is to change the countertops to Caesarstone. I love the Caesarstone that I used in our home and it is very durable. From what I understand, Caesarstone and Silestone are basically the same, just different brands with different colors. I wouldn't be afraid of either of them. I had mine honed and while it probably would absorb something easier than a polished finish, I have had red wine and everything else on it with no problems. My perimeter counters are granite and while very pretty, they are not "me". Little too contemporary, I prefer my Caesarstone. If I decide to do something with the desert kitchen, I may be frequenting this site more often. I'm thinking of painting the cabinets, adding new doors with glass, new counters, etc. I'll need some help.. Good luck to you. Sharb

GC's grandson is doing GREAT. He gets to go back to school next week. And we'd already decided to delay the range. One of the reasons I chose this GC is he has a reputation for taking mid-range (for our area) renos as seriously as high-end. If we'd chosen different finishes we'd have kept to our initial 25K budget. When we went with the Caeserstone and higher-end appliances...well it's going to be closer to 35K. Which isn't COMPLETELY out of bounds. (The Husband set a 25K budget so we'd stay under 35K.) Our GC was the only GC of the five we interviewed who said "Of COURSE you can do a kitchen for 25K. It will all depend on finishes and appliances." Everyone else said some version of "25K is too small a budget." (We had a 5K "uh oh" fund set aside for unforeseen problems prompted by remodeling in an older home...that turned out to be unnecessary.) Well--25K WAS too small a budget--but only because DH fell in love with a class C Caeserstone, (I was actually pusihing for laminate--appropriate to the 1966 house, and very functional) and $35/sq Jasba Lavita tile, and the racks and looks of Electrolux Ikon gas range. ;^) And when we realized that a Miele DW was only $200 more than the kitchenaid...well... a couple of hundred here, a couple of hundred there... (I found all the deals...got our oak floors, INSTALLED, for $1600. And found great pendants for over the bar on Etsy--three for $350. And they will be stunners!) Maybe I'll straighten up and take pictures today...so y'all can see the general effect...mid-stalled-reno.

Wow that's pricey. I thought she said a lot less in the store, but I don't think that included installation, so I'll check further. Meanwhile, I'm leaning - again - toward honed granite...and visiting the stoneyard tomorrow to see if I "fall in love" with a piece, as people seem to... FYI what you said about thiscoming up frequently - I did a search and it came up with nothing. I'm new at this forum, so maybe I need a lesson in searching, but it seems like just typing in "Syndecrete" should do it, right?? Thanks for your reply!

My main concern is that we have had builder grade laminate counters for 17 years with zero problems. Now I’m about to spend thousands of dollars on counters and am really concerned about the amount of negative comments I have seen about the ceasarstone and quartz in general. Such as water marks that won’t come out, fingerprints that won’t come off, cracking, pitting etc. I was under the impression that quartz was best. I didn’t think we cold have any other material besides quartz or granite with an undermount apron sink. We are spending a lot of money on this and I don’t want to get cheap counters but I also don’t want to pay thousands of dollars for quartz just bcuz it’s trending right now. I really don’t care what material it is as long as it holds up and I don’t have issues. I am a serious clean freak and the issues described would make me lose my mind. Just looking for opinions