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Wood - protected by a polyurethane finish.
Sure we have to be careful of the water but it makes the kitchen "softer".

we love our wood -- but with no varnish. a simple light sanding mineral oil make sit look brand new!

I have never replaced a countertop, but if I did, I think I might like polished concrete.

meaning, of course -- a simple light sanding AND a little mineral oil makes it look brand new!

I have a combination of stainless steel and butcher block. Love them both!

I would never, ever consider using polyurethane or any other varnish on the wood, though. Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of the butcher block? Proper maintenance with a foodsafe oil is all you need to keep them looking GREAT.

I love honed marble, too -- anything that ages/develops a patina over time is appealing to me, really.

Hmm, my stainless appliances are such a pain to keep clean I shudder to think what a stainless counter would be like to maintain. And I h8 a stainless sink. As for wood, no WAY a slob like me could handle that - yes, my counter is no stranger to standing water ;-).

When I renovated my last kitchen I did something super-impractical and chose concrete; it was much easier to maintain than I expected, partially because I got a finish that embedded tiny flecks of mother-of-pearl in the surface; it made it much harder to detect stains. But it is not cheap, unfortunately. I also love the look of marble but figure it will attract copious red wine and tomato stains in my kitchen. . .

Soapstone.

It is much more sturdy than granite and marble, chemically inert and impervious to just about anything (which is why they use it in labs), and ages gracefully. Plus, it has a warm and soft hand (it is the regular oiling that does it). We just love our soaptstone sink and counter.

well-oiled teak; copper sink with a sink grid. stainless i find way too hard to keep clean-looking

Ceasarstone. That's just the name for the 93% quartz countertops. They come in a range of colors, are very sturdy, scratch- and heat-resistant, and the company is dedicated to the environment. It's the first quartz surface company worldwide to carry the ISO 14001 environmental standard, a global standard framed specifically for environmental protection in industry.
see www.caesarstoneaustralia.com/pdfs/CaesarStone%20Environmental%20%20-%20June%202007.pdf

I don't get why people are all over soapstone and say "It's used in labs" as an example of why it's good. All the labs I have ever been in have the most stained and grubby countertops you will ever see, no matter how much time I spend trying to clean them. I am in the marked for a nice laminate in a muted green and the Corian in Moss looks really good to me. Has anyone had any experience with Corian?

I have concrete countertops, and boy do I regret it! I love the look of it, but contrary to popular belief, it is not simply polished- it undergoes a finishing process, which means that the finish is prone to scratches, peeling and cracking. Just the act of placing my bamboo cutting block on it created multiple scratches!

In the future, I would go with a product that does not require any kind of surface coating or finish and is also impervious to water. I am tending to think that those composite quartz countertops like Silestone, Caesarstone, etc. are the way to go. You can even get them in a honed finish, which is not so in-your-face bling-bling.

Just like how you wouldn't want to cut on stone or even stainless steel intentionally, I wouldn't want to cut foods on my wooden counters. Besides, since it is fitted over the sink, I would like to protect it for as long as possible - and I don't know how well it would hold up if it were only well-oiled. For baking and chopping purposes, I do have a lovely butcher block which is kept happy with mineral oil.

i have butcher block...and last weekend i resanded/reoiled it for the first time since installation (2 years ago). it had some funky spots (blackened under the dish rack!)

i don't know if i'd choose butcher block now that i know the pros/cons firsthand. but then, my fave choices would be concrete or stainless, and those have an equal amount of issues, it seems.

nothing's perfect.

(but i'd have to say stainless steel cuz it's hot. yeah.)

eeeck: the beauty of the stainless steel is that with time, scratches and signs of cleaning become almost homogeneous and give it a great polished look. In our new house we chose stainless steel (reminds me of my old days when I was a chef), but now we're renting and have a kitchen with Corian. I hate the plastic look of it: it's blue, and wants to be modern but fails. However, the surface is really practical to use and clean. If it were white maybe...

Sol, I think you must be a much better housekeeper than I am - my stainless steel dining table (which I've had for 6 years now) constantly looks smudgy :-(.

And Anne, fyi Corian is not a laminate like Formica; it is solid-surface, so in theory if you had a stain you could sand it out and polish it (although i don't know if anyone has successfully done this). Corian is very "in" at some of the new condos here in NYC, if done very thick (2-3 inches, typically in white or gray). I'm mixed on it myself, my mother has it in her house and it is very plastic-y as Sol noted, plus the white version she has does stain from time to time.

Honed quartz composite (e.g., Caesarstone, Silestone, etc.).

3/4-inch-thick Silestone (manmade quartz-based slab) -- with big chunks of glitter built in. Reminiscent of certain New York sidewalks that sparkle and sparkle as you walk along.

Paperstone. 100% post consumer recycled newsprint in a low VOC resin. Stain-free, easy to maintain, great colors.

i would choose marble for looks but not for practicality. granite is good and cheaper than quartz based materials...intial cost though i might add. I was at neocon in chicago and saw an enormous table made of finely ground white quartz and fell in love. I would use this in a heartbeat with an amazing contrast in cabinetry colors.

Below is a pretty helpful article that compares the maintenance, durability, cost etc. of most options:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20051027/ai_n15836931/pg_1

I like Granite Transformations. Zero demo, cheap, won't stain, won't crack or scratch. And all with no maintenance and a lifetime warranty. I like the "Cristallino" in Polar Ice, or the "Granit" in Nero Galaxy. The style of granite is a little played, but if you go for a more solid color it's nice...

http://www.granitetransformations.com/

Second choice is defiantly Stainless...but is way too expensive for me. Wood is nasty, you might as well carpet your kitchen while you're at it. :-)

that's "definitely" Stainless, not "defiantly". whoops.

Richlite is beautiful and practical. It's a solid surface made from paper, has a natural look and comes in a muted color palette. Beside high heat resistance, it's "quiet" and easier on ceramics because it's not as hard as stone or concrete. It's also quite sanitary and is used in a lot of commercial applications. Your high school lab tables were probably made of it. I'm the practical type so my second choice is laminate for small kitchens. Not the most beautiful, but it has no maintenance issues.

http://www.richlite.com/

I had stainless counters in one of the places I lived overseas, and loved them -- easy to clean, nice simple look. However, it was a rented house, not my own. In our house in the Catskills I chose limestone, expecting it to stain and weather. I haven't decided what to do about my little apartment down here yet. Small space, no windows.

I just hate the look of stainless. Don't like it for appliances much less expanses of counter, sorry. It can look dramatic in other people's spaces, though, its just the scritches and stuff would drive me insane. (...its a short trip, I know)

I have a soft spot for the vintage appeal of tile, but those with whom I share my kitchen would murder me for the grout lines, so sign me up for one of the composite stones or Paperstone. I'll tile the backsplash.

I like the quartz products, and I like slate. I saw slate counters on some home-reno show recently, and the veining was just beautiful.

My money-is-no-object first choice would be linoleum, the traditional counter material of the early 20th century. All natural, doesn't stain easily, and lasts forever... we had an 80-year-old lino counter in our place in Minneapolis that looked almost new. And that apartment had seen hard usage as a rental.

Next choice is anything dead flat that doesn't stain. Grout is not my friend.

My counter tops are copper. Easy to care for and keep clean, but warmer, I think, than stainless steel. My husband and his father built wooden counter tops and wrapped sheets of copper around them. I never polish it and it is aging to a beautiful patina. It only improves with age.

Depends on the kitchen, of course!

I'm crazy for white marble, but I couldn't afford it and I couldn't manage the upkeep even if I could.

BTW, Corian or CaesarStone are not really the same kind of product.

Corian is seamless, I guess it is 100% plastic/resins. I love how it can be a solid block of color. But apparently it scratches easily.

CaesarStone/Silestone/Avanza are mostly quartz with just a bit of resins. I have Silestone in my house and I love the way it looks and how invincible it is. No upkeep at all, ever. Very modern looking, too.

I'm with Lacey M

Corian ain't in the same league with CeasarStone & Silestone.
(It melts & scratches)

Silestone & CeasarStone win hands down. Undisputed.
We have Silestone in our place & it is indestructable--
in white even.

You can't scratch it,chip it, melt it, stain it &/or crack it.
And it is completely maintence free.

Granite, marble and concrete are a no for a variety of sanitary upkeep reasons. Corian and similar products look interesting but would probably drive me bats rather rapidly. I haven't seen most of the other engineered counter materials, so I can't judge them very well. I'd probably be ok with stainless steel, tho the color isn't really appealing to me *g*.

Soapstone in a lab seems to be the sturdiest of any counter material I've dealt with. The staining that does develop doesn't really bother me. And keeping it clean to a food safe standard isn't hard. Not cheap, but something that can last through a century of chemical lab abuse probably shouldn't be. I wouldn't use it in a kitchen with poor lighting tho. The sturdiest soapstone tends to come out that very flat black, and it could make a dark kitchen feel very unpleasant.

Tile is a yes if done well (smooth tiles, clean grouting, careful design) and a hell no if done the way my last apartment did. Very late 70s/early 80s tiles, with a textured cream and light brown finish. A tiled in raised lip at the counter edge. Uneven grouting. Pain to clean. Much pain. Also was prone to developing little pools of water.

Butcher's block and Formica seem to be pretty similar to me. I like them both. They both will burn if mistreated with hot pans.
Easy to clean, don't respond well to standing water, easy to stain, can take bleach. And I'm in the habit of treating them right, which makes a big difference for maintenance.

Check out Fireslate, for those who want the look of slate or soapstone but don't have the budget -- and it's available in various colors. I chose it in black for my kitchen redo based on its being warmer (in appearance and feel) than granite, greener than Corian, more visually pleasing than Formica, locally made (Wareham, Mass.), and affordable. I've had it in place for more than a year, and couldn't be happier with it. www.fireslate.com

Soapstone for its purity, sturdiness, and straightforwardness-- granite is overdone and ubiquitous, marble too fussy, wood too permeable, and stainless too cold and clinical.

Real vermont blue/green slate is one of my favorite surfaces. It's denser than granite, and any light, white, scratches which occur are just wiped off with a damp sponge. it's beautiful and has a matte finish.

I also love oiled wood tops such as walnut or teak or mahogany. Sanded and oiled periodically with natural linseed oil, makes it look brand new.

There is no "best" countertop surface, it's all in what is best for your needs and your desired aesthetic. I think stainless looks amazing with an integral sink and drain board. I'm here in Copenhagen at the moment, looking in kitchen showrooms, and Corian is hot here right now! Also, stainless and always, always, wood. I just saw a stainless top in a showroom today that was about 1/4" thick all across the cabinetry and had an integral sink.

I have a combination of white cesarestone and stainless steel. Love them both. The Cesarestone is maintenance free but does not hold its temperature for pastry so I plan to get a marble slab for that

what do you think of honed granite? it has most of the benefits of polished granite, but (thankfully) without the look. it does take a bit more cleaning, but, apparently, it's very difficult to actually damage.

i'm considering it for a brownstone kitchen.

i was considering:
soapstone, but have heard it chips.
limestone, but know it stains easily.
stainless, but worry it might be too much with stainless appliances.
wood, but fear we'd ruin it with water.

i'm surprised at how many of you rave about caeserstone, etc is it alright to cut on it, put hot pots and pans directly on the surface, etc?

We love our butcher block. It helps that my boyfriend enjoys planing and oiling it. We were thinking that part concrete, part butcher block would be perfect.

I have slate countertops. I'm hoping they'll develop a patina over time. For now, every water spot shows unless I oil it down once a week with mineral oil. I heard you can have slate acid washed, which speeds up the aging process. I might spring for that -- after I recover from the renovation costs.

Friends who have marble countertops complain about water spots as well -- and lemon juice and other acidic foods will burn dots right into the finish.

I wish I'd read more about tinted concrete before I went with the slate, though I still like the look of the matte gray against the glossy white euro cabinets. It's a striking contrast. And slate has a certain gravitas...

STAINLESS STEEL TIP: Mrs. Meyers Stainless Steel cleaner. It's expensive ($7.95 for 15 ounces) but a spritz and a swipe will do the trick. The lavendar smells divine.

eeeck, laminate is not what I meant to say, I want a nice solid-surface countertop that is easy to clean (I'm over grout lines, bleah. I don't plan on setting hot pans on it or cutting on it (that's why I have trivets and cutting boards), so I guess it's really Silestone or Caesarstone that I want. Anyone know where to look for a price comparison?

minimal4me, I have3 slate in my new bathroom and I sealed the bejesus out of it which gives it a mild sheen but eliminates the water spotting effect. Also you can get a matte sealer for minimal shine and I think it is just more sanitary (to me, at least, but it's probably not very green).

My parents installed a CaesarStone counter a few months ago and I just visited and saw/used it for the first time. It definitely vaulted over granite in my mental list for our future kitchen re-do. I loved that it felt cool, like stone (unlike the plastic feel of Corian), but not cold, like metal. My mom prizes practicality and she loves the counters--she said you could spill red wine and leave it overnight (not that she does, she's a neat freak!) and it wouldn't stain. And she said it's a joy to roll out pastry dough on it. Plus it looks great, and more modern than most stone counters since you can get solid colors or very subtle flecking.

Yep, it should be all about the type of kitchen you have.

Really think about the kitchen as a functional workspace. When you do that, you may end up with a range of surface materials.

I would not hesitate for a second when it comes to concrete countertops. But, I would be prepared to have a conversation with the contractor detailing the entire process making sure that the surface has been prepared and sealed properly, a tedious process. Then, I would make sure I know how to treat it on a yearly basis.

I remember when granite started to show up everywhere. Everybody thought you could use it as a cutting board! That is a great way to destroy the surface and your knife. It is also unsanitary.

bebklyn -

If you check the online stone info sites, they strongly warn you against honed granite, especially in black, as it is extremely porous, and shows every fingerprint, glass ring-mark, and spot. Plus, granite does actually chip.

Soapstone is only truly vulnerable to chips at the edges, although it can scratch elsewhere. Being soft however, you can very easily sand the scratches out, and most of them disappear with just an application of mineral oil (we oil ours weekly/biweekly -- no big deal, just like wiping down the counter). That is the difference between soapstone and granite -- soapstone ages gracefully (I like the wear patina it develops), whereas granite doesn't, because it *is* supposed to be absolutely perfect.

And speaking of perfect, with soapstone you can get perfectly invisible seems; my husband (who does not do this for a living!) was able to install our counters with a friend and only regular powertools. Check out the site where we got our soapstone:

http://www.vermontsoapstone.com/

We also have honed everlasting green slate for our bathroom floors, tub decking and counters. It doesn't require mineral oil, but I am wondering how scratched and stained it will get (especially as we have tenants in our house!). Anyways, it is a beautiful material, and so you could check with the manufacturer we used:

http://www.vermontstructuralslate.com/applications/counter-tops

Wood counters are trickier, and make require a little care, but not impossible. I bet William Garvey makes counters as well as sinks...
http://www.williamgarvey.co.uk/page/pdsink.shtml

And instead of stainless steel, have you considered zinc? They have a lovely warmth that stainless lacks, and age beautifully (we used to go to Parisian bistros just for their zinc bars!)
http://www.rotometals.com/_c_3.html
http://www.brookswood.com/Zinc/ZinccountertopFAQ.htm

Good luck, and be bold!

Best cleaner for stainless steel is white vinegar mixed with water. Add a few drops of essential oils to cut down on the vinegar smell (it's a temporary smell anyway). Ever since I started using that mix on my stainless steel countertop, fingerprints haven't been a problem.

I've been in the countertop business for 24 years, and it's fascinating to read all of these comments. Every type of countertop material has its advantages and disadvantages, but DuPont Corian (solid surface) is my personal favorite. Why? Excellent sanitation and stain resistance, option of coved backsplashes and integral sinks, wide range of colors and patterns, very good color consistency from batch to batch, outstanding design versatility, and excellent potential for repair and/or modification if needed. Yes, Corian can be damaged if a very hot pot is placed on it, but it can be repaired. All types of countertops are subject to various kinds of damage, and in many cases are difficult or impossible to repair.

Corian can scratch, but with normal usage, scratches are a minor problem. Scratches will be more visible on darker colors and glossy finishes, but that's true of ALL materials, not just Corian. It is easy for a moderately skilled person to refinish Corian countertops to "like new" condition by a simple sanding and buffing procedure.

If you want maximum heat resistance, get stainless steel countertops. If you want a beautiful natural material, get granite, but be aware that many granites are resin impregnated and/or need regular resealing. Beware of fly-by-night granite dealers. If you want the look of granite without the staining, get quartz (engineered stone). If you want an economical countertop, get plastic laminate. If you just LOVE dirty grout lines, get ceramic tile. If you can live with countertops that can be damaged by wine or lemon juice, install marble in your kitchen. Ask lots of questions of lots of people.

Corian is an all-around great countertop material. But if you really don't like it, don't get it. After you've informed yourself, buy what you like.

Jim Heaphy
www.TopRepair.com

"We lean toward stainless steel because it's what is used in many professional kitchens."

That's the worst reason to get something I've heard in a long time. Why not also get rubber floors, and wear big white hats?