Kitchen Countertops

Probably the most difficult decision for me during our kitchen renovation was picking out a countertop. In fact, if you take a look at the kitchen planning post I didn't even have a countertop in my moodboard. The challenge I was facing was deciding whether or not to go with white, grey, or black. I wanted to keep the kitchen neutral in every aspect and the countertops were no exception. As long as the kitchen was "plain" I can spruce it up with accessories that could be easily interchangable if my taste changed. 

Making it even harder to chose a countertop were all these gorgeous photos of kitchens I had saved in my Houzz.

Like these simple snowy kitchens with white countertops:

Traditional Kitchen by South San Francisco General Contractors Dijeau Poage Construction

Traditional Kitchen by Seattle Architects & Designers Bosworth Hoedemaker

Eclectic Kitchen by Hopewell Kitchen & Bath Designers William V. Noval

Or these white kitchens covered in a cloudy kitchen surface:

Contemporary Kitchen by San Francisco Interior Designers & Decorators Amoroso Design

Traditional Kitchen by Charleston Photographers Matthew Bolt Graphic Design

Modern Kitchen by San Francisco Architects & Designers Feldman Architecture, Inc.

Or these black countertops that do just enough to spice up a white design:

Transitional Kitchen by Bronxville Interior Designers & Decorators Rajni Alex Design

Traditional Kitchen by Toronto Design-Build Firms Bravehart Building

Contemporary Kitchen by Sonoma Architects & Designers Amy A. Alper

Aren't they all beautiful?! Which one is your favorite? On top of that we were checking our options with two countertop installers and comparing them to Ikea. Ikea became an option once we saw the array of choices they had while we were amidst planning the kitchen. Some of which were extremely affordable like the butcher block they sell. You can buy a huge 6 foot piece for $59! And they come in darker colors like this. Ikea's stone countertops range around $60-$70 per square foot. They sell mostly granite from what we checked out.

So after doing some price comparison between both countertop installers, we went with Master Kitchen & Bath from Hempstead, NY. I dropped in to see what they had. Many of the choices they had were granite and I just wasn't really into the look of them. I immediately drifted towards a pile of sample that were exactly what I was thinking of. I wanted to keep it white with a sparkly look. And I found these!

Both are quartz samples. Lucky for me they were both on sale too! The installer explained to me that normally their quartz is pricier than granite. And quartz can sustain heat and stains. Which was perfect. I never had a kitchen with stone countertops so I'm not used to constant care to make sure you don't ruin them. So once he told me that I was definitely sold! 

After measuring how much countertop we had to get it cost about $575. We only needed two 4' x 4' pieces which would go on both sides of the farmer sink from Ikea. We needed a little sliver piece about 1" thick for between the pantry cabinet and the stove. An Ikea representative advised that would be neccessary so the gas range wouldn't end up burning the side of the pantry. 

Installation was smooth and simple. They were able to get it done within an hour and thankfully our measuring matched up perfectly.