Thursday, August 1, 2013

So those countertops? Here's what I'm thinking.

Well, I finally (FINALLY) got the counter top estimates. It took entirely too long. As many would have guessed, the Cambria manufactured stone I really liked is twice as expensive as laminate. I took a good hard look at what I wanted and how much money I had and the Cambria just isn't worth it.

But that's not bad news. I'm a person that likes color, and once a person is freed from the constraint of having something look like/ be like stone, it's a big bright world out there. To review, I love this glass tile:


It is pricey ($35 a sheet) so I will cut it into three strips (vertically in this photo) that measure 4" x 12" and lay them end to end to have a 4" high strip running parallel to the counter, with two rows of white subway tile above and below the colored tile strip. To match the Cambria, I was going to border it with 1" strips of 1" x 3" clear blue tile, but now I'm not sure about that. As far as installation goes (which I'm going to do myself) it might be better to have 6" of glass tile (or thereabouts, with joints) so that I cut less subway tile (which measures 3" x 6", and there's usually 18" of backsplash space). (Lots of parentheses in this paragraph).

OK, so now what to do for countertops? Nevamar has many, many kinds of laminate to choose from. And if one is not trying to make it look like stone, as I am repeating, one can have some fun with the choice. Here's what I'm thinking:


There will still be plenty of white because the backsplash is mostly white, but I thought this would be a fun choice. It's called Extreme Bamboo Green.

Here's another picture of it:


So then this leaves me with new decisions as to sink color and faucet color. I thought ivory for the sink and a dark faucet, but will need to try to picture in my mind how it will all look. 

I just saw this color palette on Pinterest today - lovely!!







7 comments:

  1. So many (good) choices! I am very partial to green of any shade - and I love that Extreme Bamboo Green. What is the material? And I really like those glass tiles. I am going to be tiling around my guest bath shower stall, so I am taking notes and following your process(es) with interest.

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    1. Susan, it's laminate - "high pressure laminate" they call it.

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  2. I love your taste and I'm sure it will all look gorgeous.

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    1. Thanks, J. It's been a long process and having too much time to decide isn't always the best thing for me. They're coming to do the demo work next Thursday, so I think this is IT. :-)

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  3. I love the look, but laminate always winds up chipping, etc. We're looking to get some kind of new kitchen counter in the next year or so, something solid...

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    1. That's interesting. I took a look at the 10+ year old laminate that is in my kitchen now, and aside from stains (it's white) I've apparently been pretty easy on it. Good to consider, though, if there are a lot of people using the kitchen.

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  4. Oh, gosh, LOVE the countertop color you decided on! I never would have "gone there" (with that color) but think it's VERY attractive. (Do ya think we have waaay too many choices in everything in our life these days?? When we were doing our kitchen remodel I wondered if it would have been easier to make a choice if money were no object . . . what do you think?)

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Hi, sorry to make the humans do an extra step.