Author Topic: Say it with me--I am not my countertops  (Read 20756 times)

Miss Piggy

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #50 on: January 05, 2018, 11:39:02 AM »
I don’t think I ever even noticed countertops until around 2005 when I started watching cable TV again and learned that if a house didn’t have granite and stainless appliances that it should probably be set on fire.

Exactly...and unfortunately for the homeowners, all of these houses are uninsured...because what kind of crappy insurance company would insure a house that doesn't have stainless appliances and granite countertops? The horrors!

ketchup

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #51 on: January 05, 2018, 11:44:24 AM »
My countertops were put in probably 30 years ago.  They still do the job.  It would take a lot of damage for them not to.

You're not your fucking khakis.

big_owl

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #52 on: January 08, 2018, 06:18:05 AM »
We have a nice granite island and had Formica countertops which I hated but it's what we could afford at the time.   We were going to spend the $8k to convert them all to granite to match the island but in a last minute stroke of genius I settled on reclaimed American Chestnut countertops. They are gorgeous and so much warmer than the old laminate were and the granite would have been.   Left the granite island which looks even better now offset by the wood everywhere else.  It's been a few years and so far they have held up like new.  So what's old is new again in my house. 

Dicey

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #53 on: January 08, 2018, 09:07:52 AM »
We have a fancy-ass kitchen in a custom-built clown house. Granite, stainless, stone floors, the works. However, the house was not custom built for us. It was a spec house, finished at the precipice of the crash. We bought it on a short sale several years later, so we paid builder grade prices for luxury finishes. I admit, except for fingerprints on the stainless steel (grrrr), it is nice. In fact, I'm rather surprised at how nice it is. It sure makes it easy to enjoy the privilege of cooking at home everyday. It tickles me that most of the contents of the kitchen, and the rest of the house, were purchased second hand.

Our version of this game is: "What a lovely house. I wonder who lives there?"

soccerluvof4

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #54 on: January 08, 2018, 04:09:29 PM »
"I am not my countertops" just had to. Everytime I see that thread heading makes me think to do that!

Aelias

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #55 on: January 09, 2018, 07:36:04 AM »

I can confirm that people are their countertops. It is apparently the single most important decision in building a house.  I witnessed a middle aged woman throw a tantrum because she couldn’t find a quartz top with enough sparkle in it and another confess to me that she was terrified of making the wrong choice because everyone in her book club might talk about it behind her back (I suggested that book club was not for her).

I feel like this needs to be a short story. Or a plot thread in a sitcom at the very least.

"But the quartz doesn't have enough sparkle!  What will the book club think?"

MsGuided

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #56 on: January 10, 2018, 12:33:56 AM »
We are in the midst of a speedypants kitchen remodel.  We moved into our 1970's house 13 years ago and survived just fine with 40+ year old cabinets we painted and put new knobs on.  I love to cook, though, and have been dreaming of a better layout and, tbh, a more beautiful space.

I crack up at all the pronouncements about granite, which used to be a "must have" and now people denigrate as "so over" and have moved on to quartz, generally.  We ended up choosing granite, partially bc I love that it's ancient rock right in your house and pretty to me, but probably even moreso that I resist climbing on the trendy bandwagon: marble looking quartz, white shaker cabinets etc. 

It's embarrassing to admit how much thought I gave to which countertop we'd ultimately choose, but I know I'll keep them for the next 20+ years, as long as we live in this house, trends be damned.

Carrie

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #57 on: January 10, 2018, 06:49:12 AM »
The reason I'd pick quartz over granite is durability and not having to reseal after a few years. Plus, I think it's prettier. The cheaper quartz I've priced is about the same as mid-range granite. 

I love that some of y'all are happy with the cheaper practical option of laminate. It wouldn't work in our house if we had to sell. (Which we might, this is not our fire location.) Realtor said to do granite if we wanted to sell quickly (instead of the craptastic floor tile countertops that we currently have). So when, if, we do the work,  the upgrade to quartz would all be on me. I won't do white on white though, and no subway tile backsplash. And no shiplap, and no pine boards on the ceiling. And I will not be installing a barn door on my pantry, with chalkboard paint, declaring "live, love, eat. "

honeyfill

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #58 on: January 10, 2018, 08:47:32 AM »
We are doing our kitchen remodel right now.  Mrs honeyfill is in charge but I am tagging along to all the meetings.  It started because Mrs HF hated the tile counter tops but it has grown to ripping out walls , floors, some new appliances , the works.  Looks like I will be lucky to keep it under 50k. 
But as for the all important counter tops , she decided on quartz. It has no resealing it  stands up to stains better etc.  I am immune to the cost now.  They have beaten me into submission!  And by the way we always went with the black appliances , stainless steel never made any sense to us. 

meghan88

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #59 on: January 10, 2018, 09:30:48 AM »
The reason I'd pick quartz over granite is durability and not having to reseal after a few years. Plus, I think it's prettier. The cheaper quartz I've priced is about the same as mid-range granite. 

I love that some of y'all are happy with the cheaper practical option of laminate. It wouldn't work in our house if we had to sell. (Which we might, this is not our fire location.) Realtor said to do granite if we wanted to sell quickly (instead of the craptastic floor tile countertops that we currently have). So when, if, we do the work,  the upgrade to quartz would all be on me. I won't do white on white though, and no subway tile backsplash. And no shiplap, and no pine boards on the ceiling. And I will not be installing a barn door on my pantry, with chalkboard paint, declaring "live, love, eat. "

LOL ... gee, I wonder which show you might be referencing ... set in Waco, perhaps?

Carrie

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #60 on: January 10, 2018, 09:41:06 AM »
Never even seen the show, but those suggestions are all over my pinterest. :) I'm more of a modern/minimalist with an accent or two of mid-century modern thrown in.

Our appliances are black, which I love. Cabinets are white. So if I get new countertops, they'll be greige maybe,  to match the neutral darker brown tile floor (which will also remain).  Aiming for $4000-$6000 max on reno.

geekette

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #61 on: January 10, 2018, 01:02:40 PM »
W put in Corian about 20 years ago, before granite was a thing. We still love it and it looks as good as new, but I never hear about it any more.

Dicey

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #62 on: January 11, 2018, 10:02:03 AM »
W put in Corian about 20 years ago, before granite was a thing. We still love it and it looks as good as new, but I never hear about it any more.
Two of our rentals have Corian countertops, about the same age as yours. It's holding up just fine.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #63 on: January 11, 2018, 10:15:42 AM »
We have a fancy-ass kitchen in a custom-built clown house. Granite, stainless, stone floors, the works. However, the house was not custom built for us. It was a spec house, finished at the precipice of the crash. We bought it on a short sale several years later, so we paid builder grade prices for luxury finishes. I admit, except for fingerprints on the stainless steel (grrrr), it is nice. In fact, I'm rather surprised at how nice it is. It sure makes it easy to enjoy the privilege of cooking at home everyday. It tickles me that most of the contents of the kitchen, and the rest of the house, were purchased second hand.

Our version of this game is: "What a lovely house. I wonder who lives there?"

The fingerprints are what make stainless steel suck.  That and the non-magnetic fridge front, but I guess more expensive ones are magnetic?

I hate the damn fingerprints.

Dicey

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #64 on: January 11, 2018, 12:40:37 PM »
We have a fancy-ass kitchen in a custom-built clown house. Granite, stainless, stone floors, the works. However, the house was not custom built for us. It was a spec house, finished at the precipice of the crash. We bought it on a short sale several years later, so we paid builder grade prices for luxury finishes. I admit, except for fingerprints on the stainless steel (grrrr), it is nice. In fact, I'm rather surprised at how nice it is. It sure makes it easy to enjoy the privilege of cooking at home everyday. It tickles me that most of the contents of the kitchen, and the rest of the house, were purchased second hand.

Our version of this game is: "What a lovely house. I wonder who lives there?"

The fingerprints are what make stainless steel suck.  That and the non-magnetic fridge front, but I guess more expensive ones are magnetic?

I hate the damn fingerprints.
Funny, I just had to go check...yup, there's a magnet on my fridge. It's the booby prize from a group of friends we play dice with. Apparently one of us "won" it when we were hosting. Someone stuck it there and I hardly noticed it. Doesn't endear me to SS one iota more though.

Hey, wait another minute... We did some work on my old house recently for the new buyers. Long story, basically DH is a prince among men and they are super nice too. They replaced the refrigerator with a new SS one and the upper cabinet needed to be modified to fit, so he modified it for them. They have three little kids and the new fridge was plastered with pictures in these cool flexible holders. Literally, sheets of photos all over the fridge. They were sticking just fine. Maybe it's just some models that aren't magnetic?

ketchup

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #65 on: January 11, 2018, 01:12:00 PM »
Oh wow, so if I replace my fridge I have to consider if the replacement will be magnetic? What will I do with all my free nonsense magnets from the last ~five years!?

KTG

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #66 on: January 11, 2018, 01:31:00 PM »
Seriously what's with all the granite countertops? They are no longer a specialty since everybody has them. This was an argument I had with my realtor when I sold my last place.

I recently read an article about a woman whose mobile home got destroyed during Hurricane Irma in Southwest Florida. She went shopping for a new mobile home and realized they were unaffordable since they were all being built with these fancy kitchens and stuff. Don't builders realize they need to build for all tiers of the market?

I actually just re-did my kitchen and installed Quartz. Its amazing.

I did the research on granite and the more I learned the less I liked it. And, I didn't want to go thru granite yards looking at slabs for the right colors. Plus, there are different levels of granite and some are pretty expensive anyway. So I picked out a great Quartz color and it looked exactly as I expected and feels great. Highly recommend it over granite.

TheWifeHalf

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #67 on: January 11, 2018, 03:00:28 PM »
The best magnet on the refrigerator (gift to Dad, from son):

arrow pointing to the left   Dad's way         arrow pointing to the right    The Highway

wildbeast

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #68 on: January 11, 2018, 03:27:44 PM »
Has anyone done the quartz from Ikea?  That's what I've got my eye on. 

pegleglolita

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #69 on: January 11, 2018, 04:08:02 PM »
Our kitchen has a vintage look in keeping with the 1940 birthday of the house, and when we redid the counters we compared 12" squares of white marble ($3.99/sf) with solid granite ($39/sf).  It was no contest.  DH honed the tiles to have a satin finish, and I have to say it is really nice to just put hot pans and stuff right on the counter and not worry about melting it.  I'm sure the tiny 1/8" grout lines would HORRIFY some spendypants people!  OMG WE COULDN'T POSSIBLY.  For a 90% savings we can rough it, and it looks and performs great.

pancakes

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #70 on: January 11, 2018, 04:46:46 PM »
W put in Corian about 20 years ago, before granite was a thing. We still love it and it looks as good as new, but I never hear about it any more.
Two of our rentals have Corian countertops, about the same age as yours. It's holding up just fine.
Best thing about Corian is it can be repaired so easily. If it does get stained or scratched you can buff them out, eithe using a non-scratch kitchen scourer or if the bench is glossy, some polishing equipment.

If someone really makes a mess of it, I used to tell people to have the installer leave some decent sized offcuts because a piece can be cut out and replaced and if the repairer does a good job, the joins should be very hard to spot.

Also way less likely to smash your glasses on Corian vs stone

wildbeast

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #71 on: January 11, 2018, 06:04:52 PM »
For those of you who have quartz:  are you able to put hot pots on it?

That's my only complaint with formica - I often find myself looking for a place to park an extra pot or pan and can't find one.  I'd really like my new counters to be able to provide that.

pancakes

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #72 on: January 11, 2018, 06:19:36 PM »
For those of you who have quartz:  are you able to put hot pots on it?

That's my only complaint with formica - I often find myself looking for a place to park an extra pot or pan and can't find one.  I'd really like my new counters to be able to provide that.
Yes and no but mostly no.

The heat can cause two potential issues. First dulling of the surface, you probably won’t see it but when a device is used to measure the gloss levels, the dull spot left can be traced out. Why would you even look for that? Because the heat can cause cracks and cracks due to heat stress are not covered by warranty.

People will tell you they’ve been doing it for years with no problems and I used to do it without issue before I started working for a supplier. After seeing a bunch of people really sad about their expensive cracked quartz, I don’t do it anymore.

TheWifeHalf

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #73 on: January 11, 2018, 06:43:43 PM »
I got quartz countertops in May, and I bought 8 wooden cutting boards in May.
I have them strategically placed around the kitchen so it's no bother, to ANYONE, to put their hot whatever on a cutting board.
Our builder showed us theirs, we went over to TheHusbandHalf's coworker's house and they said the same, nothing you couldn't comfortably touch with your hand should be placed on the quartz without a good hot pad or cutting board.

One thing I learned, before choosing a pattern, plain colors show dust. Easy to solve, I got a more swirly pattern

wildbeast

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #74 on: January 12, 2018, 10:31:15 AM »
Has anyone done the quartz from Ikea?  That's what I've got my eye on.

I did, and it's gorgeous. It doesn't stain, doesn't scratch through normal use (knives, pots, cleaning products), though if you accidentally drop a microwave on it from a couple of feet up a week after having it installed, it will show a small scratch. I am a touch hard on my kitchens (I make huge batches of stain-y things and am accident prone), and it still looks new so long as you don't look under the potted plant to see the tiny microwave scratch. I went with a dark grey counter along with the white cabinets, did some fancy white tile backsplash myself and painted the walls a cheery turquoise and am delighted with the result.


Thanks for the info.  I'd love to see pics!

I'll be doing white cabinets and I've narrowed down the walls to turquoise or light green.  I'm torn between cheerful and classic. 

Carrie

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #75 on: January 12, 2018, 11:16:46 AM »
Has anyone done the quartz from Ikea?  That's what I've got my eye on.

I did, and it's gorgeous. It doesn't stain, doesn't scratch through normal use (knives, pots, cleaning products), though if you accidentally drop a microwave on it from a couple of feet up a week after having it installed, it will show a small scratch. I am a touch hard on my kitchens (I make huge batches of stain-y things and am accident prone), and it still looks new so long as you don't look under the potted plant to see the tiny microwave scratch. I went with a dark grey counter along with the white cabinets, did some fancy white tile backsplash myself and painted the walls a cheery turquoise and am delighted with the result.



How difficult was the backsplash to diy?  I think I could do the demo & sheet rock repair myself, but I've never installed tile before. That could be a way to really reduce the cost of our upgrades.

Carrie

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #76 on: February 01, 2018, 12:56:19 PM »
After soul searching and wanting to be frugal,  I'm now looking into epoxy countertops to go over our tile. I'm waiting to hear about cost, but I am seeing diy products. I'd probably hire it out just to ensure it gets done.
Has anyone here had experience with something like this?

Mtngrl

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #77 on: February 02, 2018, 08:52:44 AM »
When we built this house five years ago, I deliberately chose black appliances and Formica countertops (the higher-end stuff that mimics a granite pattern.) We had a strict budget and in order to afford solid wood cabinetry and wood floors, something had to give. I hate stainless steel and my view on countertops is that the Formica was so much less expensive than granite that if I hated it in a few years, I could replace it three times over for what I would have spent on granite. (I really like white appliances too -- I'm in the camp that thinks stainless looks cold and industrial.) I cook a lot and the Formica is holding up great and is really easy to care for.

Also -- I appealed my tax assessment last spring -- my home was appraised higher than any other on the street. The assessor came out to take a look and said "oh -- I thought you had one of those high-end kitchens with granite counters and stainless appliances." Knocked $75,000 off my tax assessment, so I was happy (the kitchen wasn't the only sticking point, but I did think it was amusing.)


Dicey

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #78 on: February 02, 2018, 09:45:59 AM »
...I've narrowed down the walls to turquoise or light green.  I'm torn between cheerful and classic.
So will it be cheerfully classic or classically cheerful? Since your fundamentals are neutral, it doesn't really matter, because paint is easy to change. Just be super careful not to get it on the grout #askmehowiknow.

Miss Piggy

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #79 on: February 02, 2018, 10:35:00 AM »
Also -- I appealed my tax assessment last spring -- my home was appraised higher than any other on the street. The assessor came out to take a look and said "oh -- I thought you had one of those high-end kitchens with granite counters and stainless appliances."

So even from a distance (like, outside the house), your countertops look amazing!  :)

Carrie

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #80 on: February 02, 2018, 07:11:29 PM »
Not too late at all, Sun Hat. I'm slooooooow when it comes to getting home projects done, especially when there's a financial outlay.  I've been thinking really hard about more diy on the kitchen to save thousands.
Thank you for sharing your experience.  :)

MayDay

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #81 on: February 04, 2018, 12:10:22 PM »
Our 1952 house still has the original kitchen, with newer appliances.

It is the original laminate counters, that someone before us painted with flat house paint. You can imagine how well this works.

I have one motivation to have granite or quartz (no strong opinion either way)- an undermount sink. I will pay $$$$$ just for that.

We will be getting new countertops in the next year or so, and when we do that we'll do a new cooktop. We will keep the original wood cabinets hopefully forever- they are solid oak and plywood, none of that particle board shit.

frontstepdesign

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #82 on: February 06, 2018, 08:02:00 PM »
I got quartz countertops in May, and I bought 8 wooden cutting boards in May.
I have them strategically placed around the kitchen so it's no bother, to ANYONE, to put their hot whatever on a cutting board.
Our builder showed us theirs, we went over to TheHusbandHalf's coworker's house and they said the same, nothing you couldn't comfortably touch with your hand should be placed on the quartz without a good hot pad or cutting board.


Wow, thank you for saying this.  <crosses off quartz>  Because my very-creative-cheffy-husband would Find A Way.

Currently this woman's clever solution is winning for me, whenever we get around to redoing our 60-yr-old homemade cabinets...

http://www.assortmentblog.com/assortment/2014/03/chalkboard-painted-countertops-open-kitchen-shelves.html
« Last Edit: February 06, 2018, 08:03:51 PM by frontstepdesign »

rosarugosa

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #83 on: February 07, 2018, 04:26:14 AM »
I love the chalkboard look, but I think touch-up painting every 3 - 6 months would be a deal-breaker for me.

McNaMoney

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #84 on: February 08, 2018, 07:05:27 AM »
I've never understood why someone would buy super expensive fancy countertops just so they could put hot pans on them.  Every person I've known to do this is too scared to actually put hot pans on them because they cost so much.  Every kitchen I've ever had would have melted or burnt countertops if I attempted this, so I've been thoroughly trained to throw a trivet or potholder on the counter before placing the pan down. 

We just bought a new place and I thought for a second about quartz or granite before the giant price tag slapped some sense into me.  We ended up going with oak butcher block -- having it installed today.  It cost us $179 per 8-foot long block and we needed two of these to cover all our counters.  Add in the installation fee and it's about $600 for the whole kitchen.  Plus once I slap some polyurethane on it, it will take on this lovely golden-tone.  I've always loved the look of wood, so this is my dream counter.  We'll even have enough butcher block left over to make a large cutting board.

Carrie

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #85 on: February 08, 2018, 07:52:59 AM »
I agree about the trivet habit! I'm trained and wouldn't even think to put a hot pan on a bare counter.
Where are you getting the wood?
« Last Edit: February 08, 2018, 08:30:08 AM by Carrie »

Mtngrl

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #86 on: February 08, 2018, 08:18:46 AM »
Agree on the trivet. My husband made me a big wooden trivet from pallet wood (think big enough to put my largest cast iron frying pan or my hot-water bath canner on.) It lives in the pantry when not in use, but it gets a lot of use. It looks really nice and I've had people ask me where I got it.

frontstepdesign

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #87 on: February 08, 2018, 08:59:11 AM »
I've never understood why someone would buy super expensive fancy countertops just so they could put hot pans on them.  Every person I've known to do this is too scared to actually put hot pans on them because they cost so much.

At our house, it's the difference between domestically trained (me) and commercially trained (my husband) cooks.  A commercial kitchen is stainless steel (also $$$), but the cost is well-spent on making it terribly tough.  When my husband gets in a production pace, cooking at home, he's not going to stop to grab a trivet, etc. (Mr. Asbestos-Hands barely grabs a hotpad! The wooden cutting boards have burn marks.)  We must compromise, because we can neither afford, nor think a commercial-grade kitchen is appropriate to the house.  I like the 'shows wear, but I can fix it on my own' less expensive options, because after he's cranked out 10 dishes for 20 in 4 hours, the room does look like a war-zone anyway.  I'd like to be able to buzz through and put it right every so often.

Now that I've typed this, I've realized I completely disagree with the thread title - we are our countertops, and we're pretty badass!

MrsDinero

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #88 on: February 08, 2018, 10:47:31 AM »
I am my countertops!  Kind of.

Mr. D and I just scheduled to have our countertops replaced.  They are over 20 years old, blue laminate and just beaten and water logged to death.  We briefly went back and forth about doing a complete kitchen gut and rebuild, but decided to just update it because the layout is fine.

We are getting quartz countertops installed (materials and labor is about $3290).  My husband is going to remove the old countertops and sink.  The installers will do the countertops, sink, and faucet ($152 from faucetdirect.com).

My husband is going to replace the kitchen island laminate with butcherblock (not sure how much it will cost yet).  I will paint the kitchen island cabinets and install the backsplash this spring (scouring the second hand shops for tile each week). 

Using Ebates, AMEX Cash Back, and the coins we have been tossing in a basket we have $700 we are using to help offset the cost.  I'm going to try to sell some of the furniture in the basement to further offset the cost and declutter at the same time.

Total Kitchen Counters:  $3442
Cash Back (so far): $700
Total OOP: $2742

PKate

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #89 on: February 11, 2018, 08:03:28 PM »
We will need to redo our kitchen and bathroom in the next few years.  I want combination of slate and butcher block counters.  Ideally Vermont Slate but I doubt the budget will allow that.  I prefer red appliances but I also like black which is much more affordable.

What is going to kill us in renovations in the need to make everything handicap friendly. We want to age in place, possibly have my in laws move in, and most importantly  handle my increasing physical limitations.  I can't avoid them and we are slowly designing our lives to accommodate them.   


El Marinero

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #90 on: February 13, 2018, 10:42:13 AM »
Quote
Most upscale houses around here don't have granite anymore. Quartz, marble, poured concrete. Granite is so "builder grade"

I found granite to be just about the cheapest option there was.  I confess I didn't price out DIY laminate, though.
« Last Edit: February 13, 2018, 10:43:47 AM by El Marinero »

partgypsy

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #91 on: February 13, 2018, 02:01:57 PM »
When we built this house five years ago, I deliberately chose black appliances and Formica countertops (the higher-end stuff that mimics a granite pattern.) We had a strict budget and in order to afford solid wood cabinetry and wood floors, something had to give. I hate stainless steel and my view on countertops is that the Formica was so much less expensive than granite that if I hated it in a few years, I could replace it three times over for what I would have spent on granite. (I really like white appliances too -- I'm in the camp that thinks stainless looks cold and industrial.) I cook a lot and the Formica is holding up great and is really easy to care for.

Also -- I appealed my tax assessment last spring -- my home was appraised higher than any other on the street. The assessor came out to take a look and said "oh -- I thought you had one of those high-end kitchens with granite counters and stainless appliances." Knocked $75,000 off my tax assessment, so I was happy (the kitchen wasn't the only sticking point, but I did think it was amusing.)

omg that is so stupid. This makes me consider installing formica in my kitchen.

partgypsy

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #92 on: February 13, 2018, 02:09:02 PM »
I am actually going to try to DIY as much as possible a new kitchen. Current configuration does not have dishwasher, plus the oven and fridge are right next to each other, and very little counter space.

I could use the existing quartz countertop we put in 19 years ago, but then it wouldn't match the rest of the countertop that needs to be added. The cheapest would be to add different countertop and cabs I need to fill it. For example go to reuse stores and find extra pieces of granite. The thing is, I kind of don't like granite. I like it fine in other people's houses, but it's not me. I also don't know if the non matching of the countertop would bug me. Gah.

What would people rather do, have countertops that are not continuous/same color but are good materials (quartz and granite?) Or get a nice looking formica that is continuous?
The cabinets I'm not as concerned about. I'm thinking for less money I can replace doors if need be for matching purposes.

jengod

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #93 on: February 13, 2018, 02:09:33 PM »
We just replaced our "20-year-old broken-white-tile countertops with disgusting grout" with laminate/Formica and replaced our "10-year-old cheapest model at Home Depot" dishwasher with a Bosch and I am so so so happy.

It's so easy to wipe down/sanitize the counters now, and the dishwasher is so quiet I have to look at the display to make sure it is even running.

And now I need to repaint the kitchen and most of the house too, but eh, later...

Carrie

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #94 on: February 13, 2018, 04:31:20 PM »
I am actually going to try to DIY as much as possible a new kitchen. Current configuration does not have dishwasher, plus the oven and fridge are right next to each other, and very little counter space.

I could use the existing quartz countertop we put in 19 years ago, but then it wouldn't match the rest of the countertop that needs to be added. The cheapest would be to add different countertop and cabs I need to fill it. For example go to reuse stores and find extra pieces of granite. The thing is, I kind of don't like granite. I like it fine in other people's houses, but it's not me. I also don't know if the non matching of the countertop would bug me. Gah.

What would people rather do, have countertops that are not continuous/same color but are good materials (quartz and granite?) Or get a nice looking formica that is continuous?
The cabinets I'm not as concerned about. I'm thinking for less money I can replace doors if need be for matching purposes.

I've seen a mix of quartz & wood or granite & wood that looks nice.  Look on pinterest for images that might look like what you're describing.

pancakes

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #95 on: February 13, 2018, 11:09:15 PM »
I am actually going to try to DIY as much as possible a new kitchen. Current configuration does not have dishwasher, plus the oven and fridge are right next to each other, and very little counter space.

I could use the existing quartz countertop we put in 19 years ago, but then it wouldn't match the rest of the countertop that needs to be added. The cheapest would be to add different countertop and cabs I need to fill it. For example go to reuse stores and find extra pieces of granite. The thing is, I kind of don't like granite. I like it fine in other people's houses, but it's not me. I also don't know if the non matching of the countertop would bug me. Gah.

What would people rather do, have countertops that are not continuous/same color but are good materials (quartz and granite?) Or get a nice looking formica that is continuous?
The cabinets I'm not as concerned about. I'm thinking for less money I can replace doors if need be for matching purposes.

I think it really depends on the plan of the kitchen and where the new bits need to be added. Also whether or not you really care about the aesthetics of your kitchen and how attached you are to the quartz.

You can definitely use two different countertop materials in the same kitchen and make it look purposeful. I often helped clients that picked a different material/colour for an island bench for example. Like @Carrie suggested, wood and some kind of stone was popular, also popular was quartz for the main prep bench since it is more practical and a natural stone such as marble for the island.  If the two materials will join, it is much harder to make it look purposeful. I did it a few times by adding a slightly raised or overlapping element (typically in timber and at a section of bench where one might eat) but again, it would depend completely on the layout of the kitchen.

MrsDinero

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #96 on: February 14, 2018, 07:14:53 AM »
I am actually going to try to DIY as much as possible a new kitchen. Current configuration does not have dishwasher, plus the oven and fridge are right next to each other, and very little counter space.

I could use the existing quartz countertop we put in 19 years ago, but then it wouldn't match the rest of the countertop that needs to be added. The cheapest would be to add different countertop and cabs I need to fill it. For example go to reuse stores and find extra pieces of granite. The thing is, I kind of don't like granite. I like it fine in other people's houses, but it's not me. I also don't know if the non matching of the countertop would bug me. Gah.

What would people rather do, have countertops that are not continuous/same color but are good materials (quartz and granite?) Or get a nice looking formica that is continuous?
The cabinets I'm not as concerned about. I'm thinking for less money I can replace doors if need be for matching purposes.

What about all butcher block countertops? Or butcher block in the areas that need repairing? My husband and I went back and forth (and back and forth) all butcher block vs all quartz before we decided on a mix of the two.  The butcher block would have been easy to order and DIY and would have cost less than the quartz, but the mix was a compromise. 

partgypsy

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #97 on: February 14, 2018, 08:31:45 AM »
I like butcher block, but I know the area that will be added on, will surround the oven (either start to the left of stove and then jog 90 degrees along the wall, or existing countertop, stove, new countertop, then stove. I know the 2nd would look weird. The first I'm not sure of butcher block being next to a stove. 

MrsDinero

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #98 on: February 14, 2018, 09:01:21 AM »
I like butcher block, but I know the area that will be added on, will surround the oven (either start to the left of stove and then jog 90 degrees along the wall, or existing countertop, stove, new countertop, then stove. I know the 2nd would look weird. The first I'm not sure of butcher block being next to a stove.

I've seen it plenty kitchens on Pinterest with the butcher block next to the stove.  It looks nice. I don't think it would look weird to have a piece of the original counter top behind the stove, I think most materials and colors go with the wood look.   

CutTheFat

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Re: Say it with me--I am not my countertops
« Reply #99 on: February 14, 2018, 11:24:14 AM »
Our kitchen was 25 years old, chosen by the previous owners.  The cabinets are good quality, solid wood dove tailed etc., cherry and we had already changed the hardware and tiled the floor a few years ago.  I wanted to diy the counters and backsplash and read many blogs about doing it.   It took a couple years before I convinced DH that I can do it!  So 2 years ago I skim coated our laminate countertops with stained concrete (the product is called Henry featherfinish) and sealed them with a food-grade high quality sealer (Buddy Rhodes matte finish).  It looks like soapstone which was what I originally wanted, but didn't like the price!   There were mixed reviews of how it held up, I'm happy to report that it has held up exceptionally well and I attribute that to the sealer.  I use my kitchen ALOT and no issues over 2 years in!  We learned to do the tile backsplash, my dad got us started showed us the ropes, and let us borrow his wet saw.  I measured and marked and DH cut and I laid the tile and grouted etc.  I think it came out great and cost very little but totally updated the look of the kitchen. I was originally planning on painting the cabinets, but without the presence of blue counters and backsplash the warm tone of the wood is now pleasing to me and isn't so orange.  We also installed pendant lights into the recessed lighting,  found these at Lowes, they just screw in like light bulbs!  I do like the look of stainless steel appliances, but I agree that the finger prints are super annoying to stay on top of.  The appliances were all purchased on clearance or ding & dent over the years as needed. 

 Before and after pic attached:!
« Last Edit: February 14, 2018, 11:34:19 AM by CutTheFat »

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!