Kitchen Counter tops?

Question:Hello,

The wife is pushing me to remodel our kitchen. I have a question regarding countertops...we are not looking to get the most expensive material but again we do not want the cheapeast either! What is the best quailty material for your money?? Any recommendations and why??

Thanks,

Alan

Answers:
There are two suggestions that I would give you for good quality countertops that dont break the bank. The first one is quartz, which is commonly sold under the brand names Silestone and CaesarStone. The second one Corian which is product of the DuPont company.

As a desiger, one important thing that I like to consider when consulting with someone on remodeling their kitchen is how much is their home worth. If I know how much your home is worth, then I can recommend the best product for your project. I will give you some generic guidelines because I do not know the value of your home.

If your home is worth $150,000 or less:
I would recommend that you use Corian because it wouild be the best upgrade from tile or laminate countertops but you would not be spending more than you would get back in return if you decided to sell your home.

If your home is worth $150,000 to $300,000:
In this case, I like to think about improving the value of the home. I think that a home in these price points should have Corian countertops at the very least and Silestone would be an excellent addition.

$300,000 to $700,000:
When you get to homes in these price points, you are going to want to use more quality materials because it is all about protecting your investment. At these price points, quartz countertops whether it be Silestone or CaesarStone should be used. When your home is in a community that is fairly new and the value of the homes is increasing, I would then ask you to consider materials such as granite, marble, pewter, slate, or travertine.

Any home over $700,000:
Granite is probably going to be the best way to go. It is extremely durable and if you pick the right color, it is timeless. It will add tremendous value when you are considering resale and buyers will usually expect it.

These are all just generic guidelines that are good to follow.

My personal recommendation, no matter how much your home is worth would be Silestone. I honestly feel like it is the best product on the market when it comes to countertops. It is the only countertop product on the market that has Microban built into it. Wanna know what this means. Your wife can throw raw chicken on it and you dont have to worry about it contaminating other foods like you would with CaesarStone or granite (which has to be sealed yearly). Additionally, Silestone comes in a wonderful array of colors, and is virtually mantainence free. It basically gives you the look of granite without being as expensive.

I think if I had a million dollar home, I would more than likely have Silestone with granite as the second runner up. Whatever you choose however, make sure that it matches your cabinetry. I would at least look at semi-custom cabinetry when upgrading my kitchen.