Hellobee Boards

If you will be sitting at the breakfast bar (I assume you are) butcher block is a much friendlier surface. Stone is cold to the touch and can be unpleasant in the morning. Solid surfacing (quartz, corian, silestone, etc.) has a look that some buyers don't like. Something to think about if you're going to be selling down the road.

We put granite in our old house and I was in love with it. Seriously, seriously in love with it. They come guaranteed sealed for ten years now (at least, the one I got did, from Home Depot through a local company). The color we got was Labrador Antique.

If you think stone would be best, then corian might not be the best choice, it can be very pretty but it is fairly soft and scratches easily (it is not stone). How big is the surface? Quartz and granite are beautiful but if it is a really big surface you might have a seam, since they both come in slabs so you would have to be prepared for that.

We have quartz and love it, because it's very low maintenance, the seams are barely noticeable, and it isn't "perfect" or fake looking, it has irregularities, and after hard use had no wear and tear. Granite would be similar. I do like the look of corian as well (we considered it), but it is a very different look, and it does get a lot of surface scratches.

I'm not a fan of granite and it does require some upkeep. For a stone look, I prefer engineered countertops (silestone, quartz, Caesarstone, etc). The choices are endless! I agree with @oliviaoblivia: that butcher block is the warmest and friendliest surface, though, and there are also lots of different, beautiful choices for the wood.

@hellobeeboston: Cambria has some really good looking solid surface countertops. They are less maintenance than a natural product but have a similar look. A lot of our clients have been happy with them lately.

I LOVE our granite!!! We have it in the kitchen and bathrooms!

@StrawberryBee: that's pretty. We have granite too, but I didn't design or pick out our kitchen. Our granite is black with green specks.

I like honed soapstone, but a quick Google of quartz and corian shows you can get pretty much any style or look you want.

We have black granite, and I have lukewarm feelings about it. When we move, I want to have marble or quartz.

Totally agree w/ plantains about the engineered quartz; mine's from Caesarstone also.

@hellobeeboston: we have a 5' x 8' island that is granite and all one piece (no seams). It's also very thick - I think thickness varies regionally, which is why you see sometimes on HGTV they put plywood down first. Here in the NE they don't do that... I don't know what effect that has on the durability. I like granite for the uniqueness in the patterns (rather than the speckled corian, etc). Ours has a sort of vein going through the middle of the island that I love.

We have granite in our house right now, which we love, but we decided to go with quartz for the new house. Granite hsa too many variants in how it looks and we wanted a very specific look so quartz made sense. I really like the look of both though. I have never had an issue with granite feeling cold (we have a breakfast bar in our kitchen).

@StrawberryBee: I never did see the finished product! WOW. Looks amazing!

@plantains: Totally agree on granite = dated. Sorry, but when you see EVERY SINGLE PERSON on HGTV going on and on about granite it's like, welp, that trend has died.

We have Corian and I HATE it. Here's why: 1) Heat, you can't put hot things on it or it will MELT. 2) Scratches, all over, all the time. I joke that the scratches are unique texture, but I hate them.

I really think it depends on who you're selling to/what market you're in. It's a huge turn-off in comparison to granite or quartz in our market. Also, the matte finish really isn't very pretty in my opinion, I'd much rather have shiny.

Corian was really hot in our market in 2002-03 and that's when our house was built. I think it makes our house look dated. I think the quartz composites are much prettier than Corian.

Edit: Oh for pete's sake, if you ever replace the countertop with the sink, don't opt for the Corian seamless sink. They stain terribly. And get this: they can crack if you pour boiling water down the drain, and you'll have to replace the whole slab most times. Apparently, most repairmen refuse to just cut out and replace the sink. I am terrified this is going to happen to me.

@hellobeeboston: I like the light too even with the other surface being dark.