Countertops – A Simple Guide to Help You Choose the Best

$30 – $50 per sq. ft.

Looks and feels like wood

Very light blond color but can be darkened

Since it is actually a grass, there are many layers glued together to form a slab

Have to watch out for volatile chemicals and if you have a nut allergy you might have an allergic reaction to it

Needs oil maintenance

Has anti-bacterial properties

Very green, sustainable and durable

It can scratch, dent and burn

Modern, unique look and feel

$30 – $200 per sq. ft.

Homey, quiet and forgiving

Wood countertops were always used in the butler’s pantry to keep preparation quiet and easy on the china and glassware.

Naturally bacteria resistant, scratches, cuts and burns look like they belong

Need to seal and oil

Green choice

$75 – $200 per sq. ft.

Hard and heavy

Can chip and crack

Can stain and etch

Cool looks by stamping, staining and polishing

$100 – $150 per sq. ft.

Looks good in farm houses to contemporary houses

Can scratch and dent but it can handle the heat

It is a living finish that evolves over time and what it is exposed to, though some prefer to polish. That would not be me.

Sanitary, antimicrobial and inhibits the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms

Make sure you use 24 gauge

I had a copper faucet in California. It was a beautiful verdigris color

$90 – $250 per sq. ft.

Strong, heavy, durable

Heat and scratch resistant

Porous, can stain and etch even when sealed

Loud and be careful setting down a stemmed glass

Can break and crack. Mine did in the 1994 Northridge California earthquake. Also, had a client standing on her bar to change a light bulb, she was standing in the middle of a drawer below it and it cracked.

Not very green unless locally sourced. At this writing, most is coming from Brazil, Italy, India, and China.

Super hard on little ones heads when running and looking back at siblings chasing them. Many hematomas and stitches.

$20 – $50 per sq. ft.

Affordable

Very resistant to etching and stains

3D printing has added a great variety of looks and some surface texture

Can scratch and burn

Can fade with a lot of direct light

Not very green

$250 – $400 per sq. ft.

Beautiful, colorful and most expensive

Natural occurring resource that is environmentally friendly

Super easy maintenance

Heat, cold, temperature fluctuation, stain, chemical and impact resistant

Will not fade so use indoors and out

Non-porous

Love it! Interested? Check out Pyrolave, LavArte and MGO

$120 – $300 per sq. ft.

Stays cold so great for rolling dough or laying on when hot

Heat resistant

Porous, can harbor bacteria

Recommend a honed finish

If you have a red wine tasting party, have a clear acrylic top made for it to protect it

My favorite: Blue Lumen

$40 – $80 per sq. ft.

Stronger than oak

Affordable and recyclable

Comes from old palms past their fruit bearing age

Very green

$100 – $200 per sq. ft.

Very similar to Zinc

Non-porous and easy to clean

Matte look but shinier than Zinc

$90 – $200 per sq. ft.

Many varieties

Carefree marble look

Very durable and hard but can scratch and burn

Non-porous

Easy to clean

Green if sourced locally, but most are sourced from India at this time

Love it!

$90 – $250 per sq. ft.

True quartzite is harder, denser, and less porous than granite

Very heat, etch, and scratch resistant

Needs to be sealed once per year

Use pH balanced soaps to prolong finish and sealer

Beautiful natural stone in a vast array of colors

Super white is a good choice if you want the look of marble without the upkeep

$50 – $100 per sq. ft.

Salvaged wood from old buildings are turned into countertops

Easy to recycle

Many looks are easily achieved

Have to watch out for chemicals

Reclaimed wine barrels are being used too

$50 – $130 per sq. ft.

Strong and durable

Hard and loud, mostly green in color and green for the planet

Easy to clean

$50 – $80 per sq. ft.

Hard, durable, impervious to water

Made from post consumer and construction products that would end up in landfills

HDPE is shredded, compressed and bound with resin to form countertops

Very green

$40 – $100 per sq. ft.

This stuff looks super cool and it’s green

Eco friendly and easy to work with, super tight seams (LOVE)

Non-porous, strong, durable indoors and out

Scratch, dent and chip resistant

Heat resistant to 350 deg and no bleach or alkaline soaps because they can dull the surface

I’m into it, if you are too, check out PaperStone and Richlite

$50 – $130 per sq. ft.

Lots of variety

Durable, impact resistant

Make sure you are buying an acrylic or epoxy resin and not a polyester resin

$40 – $50 per sq. ft.

Sintered stone is made with a mixture of minerals, metals and ceramic powders processed under heat and pressure to create a very dense and strong product.

Comes in many finishes

Can look like marble, concrete, copper, etc.

Panels come in different thicknesses

Very resistant to heat, stains, chemicals and abrasions. Can be used inside and out.

Eco-friendly and 100 percent natural. It is completely recyclable and it is common to find that up to 52 percent of sintered stone is made of recycled natural content.

Want to know more? Check out Lapitec, Neolith, DuraLosa, and Dekton.

$100 – $200 per sq. ft.

This stone is a cousin of Soapstone. It only comes in dark, matte colors but you can use lemon oil to get a wet look.

I have had a couple of houses with slate floors. They are cool to the touch. One house had black and the other had a combination of green, gold and blue. They were easy to keep clean, my dogs could get pretty good traction on them without too much scratching but they are hard and not forgiving if you fall or drop a glass.

$70 – $120 per sq. ft.

Limited colors from light gray to charcoal, some with beautiful veining

Needs to be oiled

Non-porous, heat, chemical, stain and etch resistant. Very chemical resistant, That is why it is used in chemical labs

It will dent and scratch but won’t chip or crack. It is a very forgiving natural stone and sanitary. I love it

When it gets wet and you rub it, it foams up like there is dish soap in it

It’s green, if you buy from Alberene Soapstone Company in Virginia. This quarry was founded in 1883 and is the only remaining supplier of American soapstone.

Originally used by American Indians to carve bowls and cooking slabs, after the industrial revolution soapstone became the go-to material for chemistry labs, hospitals, even famed jewelers Tiffany’s used soapstone for their acid tanks. As the 20th-century progressed soapstone made its way into homes as laundry tubs and griddles and was used commercially for electrical components.

$70- $145 per sq. ft.

Wont’ rust, etch or stain

Heat and impact resistant

Can scratch and shows fingerprints and smudges

I don’t really like it

$3 – $100 per sq. ft.

Affordable

Unlimited choices allowing for creativity

Doesn’t etch or stain (talking tile here not grout)

Can crack with high impact

Can handle heat

Environmentally friendly

$150 – $200 per sq. ft.

Another living finish that ages to a soft, powdery gray blue

Can be carved into beautiful motifs

Can scratch and dent

Extreme heat will warp the metal and even melt it

It is used in Europe’s finest kitchens

Most use simple beeswax for maintenance

Like copper it has antiseptic properties that kill bacteria on contact