Would laminate counters look bad with a granite island?
Question:Do you think it would look cheesy to put in laminate counters with a granite island? We are buying a new house in a pretty expensive neighborhood and are looking to keep upgrades to a minimum. We will have a HUGE island in the kitchen and it would be cheaper to do standard counters w/ the granite only on the island. Is that a bad idea? Anyone ever do this?
Answers:
I would think if the pattern and colors match then it shouldn't matter. Try to figure out how much will it affect your resale value since this is a pretty expensive neighborhood and then decide if it would be worth the extra expense. Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and see how the granite and laminate look side by side.
I think that if you use a color to complement the color scheme then the kitchen will look very nice. If you try to "match" the laminate with the granite then I think it will look "cheesy" because it obviously won't match.
Ideally it would be best to do granite all around. If you can't do granite everywhere, I think laminate would be o.k., if you kept it very neutral. Maybe the same color as the walls, and very little texture or pattern. Another option would be granite on the island, and a neutral ceramic tile on the other counter tops. (I'm thinking of the tile that looks like a tumbled stone, rather than the older, shiny tiles)
no its not a bad idea. laminates would look nice on any types of counter surface. lamintates are very flexible; you can match it with any possible material.
I personally don't understand the appeal of granite countertops. I can drop a glass or coffee mug or dish on laminate and it's just fine. Do the same on granite and it shatters immediately. Why that's a "plus", I'll never know. Oh, you can put hot pots directly on it. Big deal.
People will definitely notice the variation and it won't look good, unless there's something tying the theme together... like laminate with a granite edging or something. But that's not going to inexpensive either.
I'd stick with regular laminate. If they want granite tops and stainless steel appliances (another big WHATEVER), let them pay for it when they buy the place.
(I also don't get stainless steel. We used to have it in a condo and I hated it -- impossible to keep clean, always marked with fingerprints, and easy to screw up with scratches running against the "grain". The only stainless steel we have left in our kitchen now is a Starbucks coffee maker, and it always looks "dirty" even though it's spotless, just from fingerprints!)
It's more expensive than granite, but if I had my choice in the future, I'd go with Corian.
just make sure the laminate coordinates with the granite . . and yes I have friends that did the same thing to cut expences on their new home
No, it wouldn't look cheesy... as long as you go for a laminate that imitates the granite. And nowadays, there are some AMAZING laminates for countertops. I have just completed a kitchen where we changed the old, white & ugly laminate countertop to one that looks EXACTLY like granite. You really have to touch it to know that it's not granite. And the great thing about it is you don't have to replace the whole countertop. You can just remove the laminate that's on there now and replace it with a new laminate... this will keep your costs even lower!
There are also some great faux stainless countertops... that's something else you could consider. You could also use glass mosaic tiles on your countertops... this could look great!
Whatever you decide, make yourself happy... and don't worry about the neighbors, as they aren't the ones who will be living in your kitchen.
Instead of laminate look into corian that would match your granite. Granite is also not the best as an upgrade believe it or not because o the care it requires.
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