Well Hello There! Did you all have a nice week?
It’s been a little busy and stressful here in ThimbleannaLand as we start in on the fun (it is fun, right?) of choosing all of the little goodies for the kitchen/family room update. We made our first purchase this week — a ManChair for TheManoftheHouse. As far as he’s concerned we’re done now. To which I reply — let the spending begin! (Darn it!)
UglyGreenTile, your days are numbered — Yipee!!!
I’m a terrible decision maker and the hardest thing will be deciding on countertops. There are soooo many choices.
Corian. (Btw, these aren’t actual samples, just pics from the internet.)
Granite. Granite is leading the pack, although FreeDesignerLady is trying hard to get me to change my mind. She doesn’t have any other suggestions, but she said that several of her clients have told her they’re sorry that they chose granite. And I saw a year old countertop with chips in it this week, so I am having second thoughts.
Stainless. Perhaps a little too modern for me?
Ok, clearly, this isn’t working. Let’s move on to something I know. Don’t you think toasters are a good choice for the kitchen?
Or, what could be more perfect than polkies?
No Wait! I think I’ve found it!
(Just as a little sidebar here….I read some trivia in The Writer’s Almanac this week about The Cat in the Hat. Did you know that The Cat in the Hat was written specifically to help children learn how to read? Dr. Suess (Theodore Geisel) wrote the story with only 220 words — words that most first graders know. And Green Eggs and Ham has only 50 words, and only one of those words (it’s anywhere) has more than one syllable — amazing!)
So, Whaddyathink about the countertops? I’m all ears if you have any suggestions!
XOXO,
Anna
BTW, I’m STILL having problems with my comments being forwarded to my e-mail, so if you don’t hear from me after you comment, it’s not that I don’t love you anymore. I do love your comments, but I just can’t devote any more time to copying comments from wordpress into my e-mail so that I can respond to them. It looks like I’ll end up rebuilding my wordpress theme, and since all of my non-wordpress pages are tied to the theme it’s going to be a lot of work. And after all that work, I’m not terribly confident that the problem will be solved — I have a sneaking suspicion that my webhost has traffic load problems and that could be the culprit. I probably won’t start on it for a few weeks yet, but if you happen by and things look amiss, don’t panic, it’s just me playing around. {Smooch}
I’m always in favor of Thing One and Thing Two…although I do love Horton too! Or is it Who?
A kitchen make over sounds like fun Anna!! We have granite bench tops (have had them for nearly 8 years) and don’t have a single chip in them. They are excellent for making pastry. Have fun with all the choosing!
I’ve heard that soapstone is really great. I’m thinking of trying it out sometime in a small project to see if it’s a contender for the farmhouse.
As for the carriage house, we’ll be going with Ikea wood counters. Inexpensive, and I’m enamored of the idea of something that will develop a patina. With annual oiling (I’ve done it before, so no biggie), it should wear really well.
Have fun with your kitchen!
Have fun with your decisions. We have granite, and I love it except for the color…it’s really dark and shows every bit of dust. I wish I had gone with a more neutral color. It’s easy to maintain and almost worry free, though.
I have granite and love it although I do have a little chip by my sink. (Run your hand on the slap to make sure it is smooth. Mine has little pits in it that I am not happy with.) There are many different types of granite and grades.
There are granite composite counter tops with anti-bacterial properties. They don’t have all the variations of real granite but you also don’t have to reseal them like granite. Marble would be great on part of your counter or island since it’s such a great surface for candy making etc. (Drawbacks, it can be easily stained.)
Keep us posted on what you choose.
Personally I like granite best. It’s easy to care for (easier than marble, and much easier than stainless). But because granite is very hard, it’s easy to break dishes and glasses if not very careful. I’ve had to learn the hard way ;). No, I didn’t know about the “Cat in the Hat” trivia.
Oh, far be it for me to chip in, I am a terrible decision maker myself!
We have big thick wood surfaces and I LOVE them. We used to have a white version of your tile and it was starting to make me a little crazy – who has time to scrub grout every day?! But then come to think of it, who has time to oil wood …. ermm, I think I ought to do them again.
Definitely Thing One and Thing Two; but in your house, not mine ;-)
Hmmm…when I get my dream countertops, I’m not sure what that’ll be….maybe corian? My sister’s had granite for years and it’s beautiful and she’s not had any problems with it.
I’d go for the granite. Although I would consider those toasters too ;-) Oh I love redecorations. And these days I have spring on my mind, which makes me want to reinvent the whole house. Hmm. I think I’ll start with the bedroom. The kitchen has been done three years ago. You think it’s too soon and too decadent to start over again? ;-D
I think you should make a patchwork worktop and laminate it yourself somehow. It would certainly be unique! :oD
Oh my I know how you feel Anna, we are lucky to have so many choices, but it makes it soooo hard to make a final decision. I can’t help it I love white marble for my first choice or a light color granite. I can still repeat “One Fish,Two Fish” word for word….. Have a great weekend!
i think this is a FUN project & EXCITING!
so leave the stress @ the door & try to enjoy the process with your focus on the end result…
i have granite & as lisa commented it is great for pastry!
oh…i do have a few tiny chips around the sink but it still would not deter me from purchasing…
have a wonderful w/e!!
What a touch decision. We are doing our kitchen up at the mo and have gone for wood top effect tops but loving the kitchen kitch sam in the hat or toaster idea – something really funky and fun – maybe?
Leah x
You’re facing what I think is the worst part of home improvements – decisions! We have granite in our bathrooms. It looks lovely but it can be difficult to keep it looking that way. It has to be sealed 2-3 times a year and water leaves behind mineral deposits which makes it look like it needs to be polished (it actually needs to be razored off). I wouldn’t put them in my kitchen but that is just me.
Polka dots!
We were on a tight budget when we re-did the kitchen, so I went with laminate that looks like stone. It works…
Also, on the Dr. Seuss front — Hop on Pop was meant to help kids with spelling, rhymes, and contractions. And it does!
Oh man, I can’t help you in this, because I myself wouldn’t know what to get. We are planning to change the counter tops here…someday…and when we do, I’ll just come back here and refer to this post :)
We have granite and I absolutely love it…we’ve been here for 6 years and have had no problems at all.
Yup – Polka dots. Definitely.
:-)
This is not our dream house, so we didn’t want to overspend on the kitchen. We put in granite tiles for the countertops. No chips at all. Easy to clean. Good for pastry. But, in my next house, I want something different because you just see granite everywhere now.
I was a granite girl until we had Corian. It is SO easy to clean AND repair. I was grateful after the “blueberry incident of 2002”.
Either that or toasters.
Clearly.
Quartz! Same look as granite without the yearly sealing maintenance. Just as durable and pretty. Anyway, when we redo our kitchen, we are going with quartz. I think granite is just over-rated… thanks to the do it yourself shows on HGTV!
I can see you’ve been having fun in photoshop! :o)
What ever you choose for counter tops make sure they are fitted by the professionals. It will make all the difference to the final finish of the kitchen…That was one thing we did spend the money on and I’m so glad we did!
We re-did our kitchen three years ago and got an engineered quartz product for the countertops. You can get versions that look like soapstone, marble, or granite but it is less expensive (still more expensive than Formica though) and it is more duraable/easier care than real stone. Wew’ve been very happy with it. No chips, stains, or other mishaps yet.
I’ve always wanted granite or marble countertops so that I knead dough on it, roll out pastry, etc. My sister recently installed granite countertops and they are gorgeous! HOWEVER, as they installers left, they reminded her not to get grease on them because it will stain the granite. Uh, seriously, in a kitchen?! So my advice is to think of all the things that you will do on those countertops and then ask questions about how the materials that you are considering will hold up to your usage. Much as I love granitc countertops, I’m not sure that I will every purchase them. I will probably look at everything available — including the man-made “stone.”
If your Ikea stocks the same stuff as ours, then you should have a choice of some excellent worktops – our last kitchen came from Ikea – we were very pleased with it. As for your computer related tale – I understood the individual words, but put together it just bamboozled me!!
I will be interested in your countertop choice. I am not a granite fan myself, and although I love love love a field of white tile I might have to choose something solid surface.
Good luck with the renovation!
I vote for the toasters! LOL Love your post. Interesting info on Dr. Seuss I have to go find someone to share that with.
Well, I am sorry I don’t have any help for you in the kitchen or the wordpress problems. :) We just have laminate. Although, we use to have this terrible salmon pink laminate and about 2 years ago, we put a new counter top on with a much more stone look to it. I like it much and have been very happy we invested the money in it. I suspect whatever you do, you will love it more than the green tiles. :)
i’m going for a black granite look when I redo mine!
and what interesting tidbits about Dr. Seuss.. what a smart man.. I think it worked!
Anna, I recommend soapstone! I’ll send you a link with info! It’s what I put in my kitchen addition/remodel 4 years ago and I love it!! :)
my vote is the red polka dot! (who knew :) ).
but seriously, it’s a hard decision.
how about wood??? i have a wooden countertop (beech panels/beech multiplex (i hope the meaning doesn’t get lost in translation….)) and i love it.
the busier the surface, the less likely spots are seen…this is something i kept in mind so i didn’t chose a one-colored surface.
hugs, julia
In Michigan I had Corian and loved it. Here I have granite and I love it more. The yearly sealing is no big deal and just wiping with a cloth and denatured alcohol makes it shine like glass. Whichever you choose, you will sing a new song when you get rid of that grout and tile.
oh anna banana, what’s a girl to do?
go with thing one and thing two!!!
okay, so you should talk to MY MOTH, because he remodels kitchens for a living. he could def. steer you in the right direction. and while you’re at it, can you please get a nice, big, bib sink to make my heart swoon?
okay, i’m heading off to napa for the day.
wish you were coming with me!!
Hm… is there really anything wrong with Thing countertops??
I am no real help in this decision, since my counters have ugly ol’ laminate and scream for a remodel. *sigh*
We have Corian bench tops. I would really recommend it. It’s easy to care for and if it did get damaged it can be repaired. It was so large it was put into the house in sections and then joined. It is impossible to see/ find the join marks, I love it cause it is seamless where it goes into the sink ( also Corian ) so no places for grime to lodge. It’s edges are all rounded. It is also a lot quiter when you place plates on it then Granite.( quite noisy granite ) 5 years on we still love our new kitchen!
When we built our house 3 years ago, our builder made fun of me because we upgraded the carpet and the all the cabinets and put in tile flooring in the entry and the wet areas and then for the counter tops I put in formica. I love it though. I found a design I loved and that went well with my cherry cabinets and stainless cabinet pulls. And I would pick formica again.
hope this helps
No advice here. We haven’t replaced a countertop in over 20 years, when your only choice was formica. Since then, we haven’t stayed anywhere long enough to get to that home improvement project! I always find the decision making the worst part of any redo, but I’m always pretty satisfied once I finally decide.
Love the Dr. Seuss factoids. He’s always been a big hit in our house. I have my originals from the late ’50s/’60s.
We are embarking on kitchen renovation at the same time. No kidding!! Weird. I was looking at countertops today. Mine current tops are a lovely mauve laminate. I know I don’t want corian. I have it in my bathrooms. Too delicate for my kitchen. I’m looking at Cambria right now. But I don’t know. It’s soooo hard to make all the decisions that I must then live with. It never occured to me to go with the Full Moon Polkie on the counters. I think that is what I will do. Thanks for the inspiration, Anna.
You mentioned that stainless steel counters look too modern. I actually just visited a historical house from the late 1800s where they still had the original stainless steel countertops! The steel was wrapped around the edge like formica would be.
Probably the only problem with them is that you can get dents if you’re not careful. It’s not so delicate that a little bump would dent it but you can’t bang around stuff either.
Personally I’d go with the stainless. Easy to clean with no grout, cool to the touch for pastry work, you can put hot things on it unlike formica and it’s not as modern as one might first think.
I installed granite 7 years ago and have disliked it from almost day one. Cold, unfriendly, and mine is dark so it gets dusty. In my experience, however, it’s extremely hard to damage. The countertop installers ran the granite backsplash too high up the wall behind the stovetop and the microwave wouldn’t fit, so they had to come back out and remove about a 12″ of it. I was scared to bits that they were going to damage it. When a delicate touch didn’t work, they wailed on it with a hammer for more than 30 minutes, but still couldn’t chip it, crack it, break it, or even scratch it. They finally removed the sheet rock with the granite still on it, put up new sheet rock and re-installed new granite at the correct height. I recommend Quarts or one of the manmade materials – Corian, Soapstone, etc.
You can just think yourself about half to death if you don’t watch it. Follow peace, that’s my advice. When you think of granite, do you feel peaceful inside? If so – go with it!
Me again. I use an ordinary sink cleaner most of the time but if there is a stain from black coffee or tea or redbeet or something that is left to dry and is then hard to move, I fill the bottom of the sink with cold water and put in a few drops of bleach. It comes up pure white again.
I Love, Love, Love my granite! And if it chips I am just going to hang myself>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The granite is lovely but if you have doubts, I am personally dreaming of butcher block counters. And after that, I often like the cement poured counters I see on HGTV. I am sorry to hear about your wordpress problems, what a bummer!
In my red and white kitchen the polka dots would be so adorable. Love, love, love them!!
My girls both have granite.
I’ve had corian and granite and I liked both. if you think you are going to sell your house eventually, I would go for granite.
I LOVE my quartz countertops! They look similar to granite, but don’t have to be polished and are even more durable. Mine are by Cambria, but Silestone is another brand. Only drawback, they were more expensive than granite :( but oh so pretty! And I wish I would have gotten a rounded edge. Have fun! If all else fails – go with the polka dots!
I think I would like Corian. Stain and chip resistant and comes in wonderful colours. Have fun, do like the polka dots.
We switched from Corian to granite and have not regretted it. You have to do something pretty dramatic to chip granite. Corian scratches and it is just about the price of granite. Good luck making your choice.
We installed soapstone countertops many years ago and I still love them. Easy to maintain (wipe down with mineral oil a few times a year) and lovely to look at!
I vote for the polka dots, and you could make matching curtains. lol
I’m terrible at deciding these kind of things too so I understand what you’re going thru. But I do look forward to seeing what you come up with. :)
What about a surface printed with an image of one of your quilts? Cheery AND practical!
Three years ago we got rid of our formica in the kitchen. We went to granite with a bit pop up section with butcherblock for cutting and food managing. I love the butcherblock. I like my granite. I’ve had no chipping problems. It does seem to show a smearish look after washing it though. So I have to use special products to get it to shine. I don’t like that. I just like washing my countertop off with lightly soapy water. That doesn’t work with granite. It is hard to choose though. I wanted distressed stainless. It was more expensive than granite!
I have coraian and I love, love it.
When we did our kitchen 6 years ago, people would say “wow, I love your counters what are they?”
things go in and out of vougue. I also like cement, but then I’d have to redo my whole house to go with something that modern – have fun picking things out.
I like the red pock dot!! Hey do this, do NOT think about your kitchen but think about your dream kitchen. What counters does it have? Me it is bullnose gray marble. I will never be able to afford that but I can try to come close. Dream baby!!! oxoxo Clarice
6 years ago we chose quartz over granite. We love the quartz. Solid, easy to clean. No sealing. We picked a neutral color. We chose Zodiac made by Corian. My mother had black granite and hated it. It had a few chips. Dust would show immediately. Had to seal it. Water and grease everytime she cooked. We certainly made the right choice for us. Love a solid countertop – in quartz!
We went through the endless countertop decisions, too, Anna. We ended up on Silestone, which is a quartz surface, and REALLY like it. It doesn’t require the maintenance of granite and I’ve had it now for 3+ years and just put my first ding in it (which is what you get for slamming a big heavy glass against the corner), which they can fix.
Anyway – just a thought: http://www.silestoneusa.com/
Have fun!
I’d go with Corian countertops IF Cat In The Hat isn’t available. I’m one of those who is very hard on countertops and I’d rather change them out more often than spend a ton and have to change them anyway.
The kids and I read lots of Dr. Seuss books as they learned to read. I loved it.
Jody
Oh I LOVE Dr. Seuss! We’re big fans of him around here! :) But maybe not for your countertops…I’m just sayin! Well, I have granite and have loved it and have never had any problems with it, although I am LONG over due for sealing them. I’ve had them for 4 years now maybe. Hmmm. Lots of options out there. Good luck!
Given I have spent nearly a year deciding on the various bits of my bathrooms update, I don’t think I will be much help to you!! Did you ever see Patch Andi’s kitchen? Definitely one of my faves!
Wow! That’s a lot of opinions lol. I have Corian, I’ve had it for about 6 years and it still looks good. Well not the sink, it too is COrian and rather stained but I could probably remedy that if I weren’t allergic to bleach. I would have bought granite if I could have afforded it. I have an island that has a granite top that I love. It’s about a year and a half old and is still perfect. h, you can;’t cut on Corian BTW. Not sure if that is a factor but it’s something i remember about it.
Tough decisions! When we moved into our little 1934 house we had TONS of work to do. I wish our kitchen was original, but it was 70’s barfy..so we re-did the whole thing. We went with granite and I LOVE it. It’s shiny and cool and smooth and I love it. No chips yet, but if there were I don’t think I’d care that much, just adds character right? Good luck with your choice, anything you choose will be gorgeous! xo
Seriously, go for the toasters! It’s a kitchen, right? Seriously, I don’t mean it! I like the first option the best, not too busy. A little advice, don’t choose any black or very dark countertops unless you would like to dust them all day long…! I know, by experience…!
Enjoy the updating!
I have black granite (inherited) looks lovely but shows every bit of water, grease, dust, fingermarks and as a bit of a clean freak I spend a lot of time polishing it to get rid of the marks. Yes it is nice for pastry but depends how much time you spend making pastry!
Would not choose to have it again – would have nice wood or a stone effect.
Thanks
Alison
I have wooden tops in this house with a black corian type material around the hob, it works really well, I would never have chosen wood previously but I love it, so warm and welcoming and wear and tear just add to its charm.
Personally, I like the Dr Seuss myself! ;o) However, my second choice would be granite, which I have in my kitchen. Black is the colour! And yes, the counter tops tell me when I have a dirty sponge! I’ve had them for more then 7 years and no chips! However, should something fall from the overhead cabinets, just give it it’s last rite! And…. should your item survive the fall, beatify it! lol Cheers!
I LOVE granite. The key is to get it sealed really well and then TAKE CARE OF IT. If you keep it clean and polish it, say once a month, it will really last. Someone who has chips in theirs probably treated it like they were on Myth Busters.
I still used cutting boards on mine. Duh! Just don’t get beet or tomato juice on it. It is soooo durable and lovely.
If you don’t want granite, I highly recommend composite quartz too. Looks great in the bathroom and holds up well with all the water splashing, etc
Anna, we’ve put granite in two of our houses and we love it. I’d get it again in a second. It’s wonderful. NO chips, nothing. Just perfect.