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wrote:

We are going to replace our 10 year old kitchen countertops with
something more durable and attractive. We are considering granite, or
maybe silstone. We have 42 square feet to replace. The price for each
is about the same...around $60 a square foot. Can anyone give me some
pros and cons of granite and sistone, or another surface we should
consider? Thanks.

Doug and Patty

I almost bought granite (black) recently, and changed my mind at the
last minute, to stainless steel. We love the way it looks. Our kitchen
is small, so the stainless is really an advantage. It makes the kitchen
brighter (reflective surface) and feel bigger. Looks fantastic with the
birch cabinet fronts we put in. And it goes great with the stainless
appliances we recently got. I can tell you it does not at all feel
industrial, and looks very contemporary, without being unapproachable.

Stainless is not for everyone for sure. If you want to ensure you will
always have a perfectly flawless looking surface, then perhaps it's not
for you. However, we went with what the fabricator called an "orbital
finish", which is basically a random buffed surface. Highly reccomended
for stainless. You can't see any fingerprints, and it hides any
scratches that might occur. Also, stainless is a bit less traditional,
although I can't imagine it would hurt resale at all (likely to help). I
guess i could imagine a kitchen/house that it wouldn't really work in
architecturally.

The one thing I love about it is the fact that the fabricator made the
sink, and welded it in. So that, as well as the backsplash, are
seamless. The coutertop is essentially one piece, which looks
incredible. And I got a coved edge on the backsplash, so it gently
slopes up from the coutertop. And when they make the sink, they can make
it any size, and make it completely integrated with the countertop.

Other nice things are the fact that it is easy to clean (can be
bleached), and is very functional. The minor blemishes are easily
removed with Barkeeper's Friend.

Worth considering.