Counters!

Ok, folks, Girly Stuff peppered me with "what about the rest of the kitchen" questions last night, and so here we go! Oh, and the easy answer to the appliance question: because I am about saving the Moola, we are keeping our existing ones. The stove and refrigerator are less than 2 years old and are GE, a good brand. Dishwasher is in decent shape, a Maytag from the previous owners. The only appliance we'll buy new is an over-the-stove microhood, as we have only a fan right now. They are all white and I am OK with that. I do love the stainless steel appliances look, but who knows when it will be "out" like Avocado and Harvest Gold.

Anyway, countertops!

Well. Since, apparently, granite is no longer "the rage" that it used to be (at least that's what I heard on an HGTV's "What's My House Worth" when they were appraising a home in the Hollywood Hills. The realtor said it's no longer in, and composite or recycled surfaces was the new thing), we are going with a composite surface. Plus, after reading about how some granite slabs are radioactive (sure, it's rare, but whatever. One more thing to worry about), I'd rather go with a quartz composite surface like Silestone, Zodiaq, or Caesarstone. The Husband wants soapstone. It is beautiful, but cost may be an issue.

Anyway, Caesarstone has the best options for us since he doesn't like the way granite looks with the flecks and such (very picky man, I have). I grabbed a bunch of shots from the website and merged with my other materials. The "Sand Fossil" (Behr) is the paint that is going throughout the first floor. It's already in the family room. The rest of the stuff in the images should be self-explanatory.

What I have totally thrown out and not even sure why I grabbed them as options:

Caestone Jerusalem Sand:


Caesarstone Champagne Limestone:

What we are "Eh" on:

Caesarstone Lagos Blue (which is really in the Brown family):


Caesarstone Mocha:


Caesarstone Misty Carrera (I liked the idea of the marble look, but I'm not loving it with everything else):


What I like:


Caesarstone Rosemary (this one I like because it's sort of green-grey and for whatever reason, I am a green fan):


Caesarstone Pebble (probably my favorite. Not too dark, since the floor with be dark and I don't want too much dark with dark, but dark enough to give a contrast. Has that "concrete countertop" look):


What the Hubby likes:

Caesarstone Concrete (I'm ok with this one, though I don't like that the counter has no variation in "texture". It looks very uniform. plus, it's a little darker than I would have liked):


Caesarstone Raven (for me, this is too dark. I am not one for a dark kitchen. I would like this counter if we were going with white cabinets. Then, the cabinets would provide enough "light & bright" to contrast with the dark countertop):


And the piece d' resistance, his beloved soapstone:


I think if we find the soapstone does not cost our first born child (i.e. if is costs around $50/square foot, installed), that may be the one we choose as I do love natural materials and it would make the Huband very happy. Otherwise, it'll have to be a composite surface.

Any thoughts?

Comments

  1. We all know it has to be the soapstone...because it is pretty fabulous...I like your "concrete" choice second best...your paint color is really nice...I think you can have fun with the insets for the tile...so what about backsplash? are you going to take the counters up onto the wall? I know the cabinets will come with pulls but I need to give you the website for where I got mine...you could probably have fun with those too...

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