Fun thread: Upgrades

[seattle-relo]

Dark granite in kitchens is hard to keep looking pretty without having to polish it regularly, stainless is a pain too – it scrathes easily and shows finger prints, plus you have to use a special cleaner to keep it shiny looking. I currently have a blackish brown granite and it’s a lot of work. In my last place I had a lighter granite, it looked more like marble and that was much easier to keep looking nice. I personally love the look of wood floors and tall molding, it’s also amazing what great paint colors can do for a room that has more average looking bathrooms, kitchens, etc. Also for stripper poles, make sure that you get the kind that doesn’t need a lot of polishing – it gets too slippery when you are trying to hang upside down, the one in my master bedroom is brass 😉 (joking…maybe)

[Anonymous]

Submitted by carlover on January 18, 2008 – 9:36am.

It’s funny, I always hear people berate granite being used for kitchen countertops but I never understand why. Granite has to be about the most practical of choices for counter-tops. It’s smooth and easy to clean, you can place a hot pan on it without burning or marking, it doesn’t scratch so you can cut on it, you have to try hard to chip it. Compare this with really poor choices for kitchen countertops like Concrete or Soapstone or Marble with which you basically can’t do any of the above because they are all fairly soft.

I pretty much agree with the above. Granite is durable, it has to be sealed but not often and some of the darker colors don’t need to be sealed at all. Soapstone has a rustic, earthy appeal and all, BUT it scratches. I was looking at some soapstone countertops yesterday and the small scratches on new showroom kitchen countertops were very visible. Not saying it looked bad, but they were visible. The scratches show up white against the dark stone and you have to apply mineral oil to get them out. But in a vintage,rustic setting, it’d still look fine.

With granite, the darker colors do require more work, fingerprints and waterspots show. That’s a shame because high polished black galaxy and absolute black will take your breath away. Imo, these colors are worth the maintenance. You can also get black granite in a honed finish and it will look similar to soapstone.

Seattle-relo, I would think brown/blackish granite wouldn’t readily show fingerprints. What color is your kitchen countertop. Is it Baltic Brown?

[Anonymous]

Submitted by carlover on January 18, 2008 – 9:36am.

It’s funny, I always hear people berate granite being used for kitchen countertops but I never understand why. Granite has to be about the most practical of choices for counter-tops. It’s smooth and easy to clean, you can place a hot pan on it without burning or marking, it doesn’t scratch so you can cut on it, you have to try hard to chip it. Compare this with really poor choices for kitchen countertops like Concrete or Soapstone or Marble with which you basically can’t do any of the above because they are all fairly soft.

I pretty much agree with the above. Granite is durable, it has to be sealed but not often and some of the darker colors don’t need to be sealed at all. Soapstone has a rustic, earthy appeal and all, BUT it scratches. I was looking at some soapstone countertops yesterday and the small scratches on new showroom kitchen countertops were very visible. Not saying it looked bad, but they were visible. The scratches show up white against the dark stone and you have to apply mineral oil to get them out. But in a vintage,rustic setting, it’d still look fine.

With granite, the darker colors do require more work, fingerprints and waterspots show. That’s a shame because high polished black galaxy and absolute black will take your breath away. Imo, these colors are worth the maintenance. You can also get black granite in a honed finish and it will look similar to soapstone.

Seattle-relo, I would think brown/blackish granite wouldn’t readily show fingerprints. What color is your kitchen countertop. Is it Baltic Brown?

[Anonymous]

Submitted by carlover on January 18, 2008 – 9:36am.

It’s funny, I always hear people berate granite being used for kitchen countertops but I never understand why. Granite has to be about the most practical of choices for counter-tops. It’s smooth and easy to clean, you can place a hot pan on it without burning or marking, it doesn’t scratch so you can cut on it, you have to try hard to chip it. Compare this with really poor choices for kitchen countertops like Concrete or Soapstone or Marble with which you basically can’t do any of the above because they are all fairly soft.

I pretty much agree with the above. Granite is durable, it has to be sealed but not often and some of the darker colors don’t need to be sealed at all. Soapstone has a rustic, earthy appeal and all, BUT it scratches. I was looking at some soapstone countertops yesterday and the small scratches on new showroom kitchen countertops were very visible. Not saying it looked bad, but they were visible. The scratches show up white against the dark stone and you have to apply mineral oil to get them out. But in a vintage,rustic setting, it’d still look fine.

With granite, the darker colors do require more work, fingerprints and waterspots show. That’s a shame because high polished black galaxy and absolute black will take your breath away. Imo, these colors are worth the maintenance. You can also get black granite in a honed finish and it will look similar to soapstone.

Seattle-relo, I would think brown/blackish granite wouldn’t readily show fingerprints. What color is your kitchen countertop. Is it Baltic Brown?

[Anonymous]

Submitted by carlover on January 18, 2008 – 9:36am.

It’s funny, I always hear people berate granite being used for kitchen countertops but I never understand why. Granite has to be about the most practical of choices for counter-tops. It’s smooth and easy to clean, you can place a hot pan on it without burning or marking, it doesn’t scratch so you can cut on it, you have to try hard to chip it. Compare this with really poor choices for kitchen countertops like Concrete or Soapstone or Marble with which you basically can’t do any of the above because they are all fairly soft.

I pretty much agree with the above. Granite is durable, it has to be sealed but not often and some of the darker colors don’t need to be sealed at all. Soapstone has a rustic, earthy appeal and all, BUT it scratches. I was looking at some soapstone countertops yesterday and the small scratches on new showroom kitchen countertops were very visible. Not saying it looked bad, but they were visible. The scratches show up white against the dark stone and you have to apply mineral oil to get them out. But in a vintage,rustic setting, it’d still look fine.

With granite, the darker colors do require more work, fingerprints and waterspots show. That’s a shame because high polished black galaxy and absolute black will take your breath away. Imo, these colors are worth the maintenance. You can also get black granite in a honed finish and it will look similar to soapstone.

Seattle-relo, I would think brown/blackish granite wouldn’t readily show fingerprints. What color is your kitchen countertop. Is it Baltic Brown?

[Anonymous]

Submitted by carlover on January 18, 2008 – 9:36am.

It’s funny, I always hear people berate granite being used for kitchen countertops but I never understand why. Granite has to be about the most practical of choices for counter-tops. It’s smooth and easy to clean, you can place a hot pan on it without burning or marking, it doesn’t scratch so you can cut on it, you have to try hard to chip it. Compare this with really poor choices for kitchen countertops like Concrete or Soapstone or Marble with which you basically can’t do any of the above because they are all fairly soft.

I pretty much agree with the above. Granite is durable, it has to be sealed but not often and some of the darker colors don’t need to be sealed at all. Soapstone has a rustic, earthy appeal and all, BUT it scratches. I was looking at some soapstone countertops yesterday and the small scratches on new showroom kitchen countertops were very visible. Not saying it looked bad, but they were visible. The scratches show up white against the dark stone and you have to apply mineral oil to get them out. But in a vintage,rustic setting, it’d still look fine.

With granite, the darker colors do require more work, fingerprints and waterspots show. That’s a shame because high polished black galaxy and absolute black will take your breath away. Imo, these colors are worth the maintenance. You can also get black granite in a honed finish and it will look similar to soapstone.

Seattle-relo, I would think brown/blackish granite wouldn’t readily show fingerprints. What color is your kitchen countertop. Is it Baltic Brown?

[Anonymous]

Are you planning on marrying up or something Marion?

Um, No. Meandandale, what makes you think I can’t afford a nice house with granite in it? I can. Do you know what my profession is?

I won’t be affording a million dollar house in San Diego, but I like Temecula just fine. If I ever did move to San Diego, a nice condo or small, SFR would do me just fine.

I’m a little concerned about my retirement because I’m starting late in the game, but there are worse things.

[Anonymous]

Are you planning on marrying up or something Marion?

Um, No. Meandandale, what makes you think I can’t afford a nice house with granite in it? I can. Do you know what my profession is?

I won’t be affording a million dollar house in San Diego, but I like Temecula just fine. If I ever did move to San Diego, a nice condo or small, SFR would do me just fine.

I’m a little concerned about my retirement because I’m starting late in the game, but there are worse things.

[Anonymous]

Are you planning on marrying up or something Marion?

Um, No. Meandandale, what makes you think I can’t afford a nice house with granite in it? I can. Do you know what my profession is?

I won’t be affording a million dollar house in San Diego, but I like Temecula just fine. If I ever did move to San Diego, a nice condo or small, SFR would do me just fine.

I’m a little concerned about my retirement because I’m starting late in the game, but there are worse things.

[Anonymous]

Are you planning on marrying up or something Marion?

Um, No. Meandandale, what makes you think I can’t afford a nice house with granite in it? I can. Do you know what my profession is?

I won’t be affording a million dollar house in San Diego, but I like Temecula just fine. If I ever did move to San Diego, a nice condo or small, SFR would do me just fine.

I’m a little concerned about my retirement because I’m starting late in the game, but there are worse things.

[Anonymous]

Are you planning on marrying up or something Marion?

Um, No. Meandandale, what makes you think I can’t afford a nice house with granite in it? I can. Do you know what my profession is?

I won’t be affording a million dollar house in San Diego, but I like Temecula just fine. If I ever did move to San Diego, a nice condo or small, SFR would do me just fine.

I’m a little concerned about my retirement because I’m starting late in the game, but there are worse things.

[kaycee]

I HATE my Granite countertops. It is cold, shows water spots, even though its sealed and when you clean it its streaky. Plus the sound it makes when you put a plate on it, well, sounds like two stones banging together. I’m always afraid the plate just cracked. I had Corian in my last two houses and I loved it. It was easy to clean, always looked great, looked clean when it was dirty, and was truly indestructable with no maintenance. I did really like the teak end grain countertop that they just put in the “This old house” house last week. That was sweet! With the double roman ogee edge. Awesome.

[kaycee]

I HATE my Granite countertops. It is cold, shows water spots, even though its sealed and when you clean it its streaky. Plus the sound it makes when you put a plate on it, well, sounds like two stones banging together. I’m always afraid the plate just cracked. I had Corian in my last two houses and I loved it. It was easy to clean, always looked great, looked clean when it was dirty, and was truly indestructable with no maintenance. I did really like the teak end grain countertop that they just put in the “This old house” house last week. That was sweet! With the double roman ogee edge. Awesome.

[kaycee]

I HATE my Granite countertops. It is cold, shows water spots, even though its sealed and when you clean it its streaky. Plus the sound it makes when you put a plate on it, well, sounds like two stones banging together. I’m always afraid the plate just cracked. I had Corian in my last two houses and I loved it. It was easy to clean, always looked great, looked clean when it was dirty, and was truly indestructable with no maintenance. I did really like the teak end grain countertop that they just put in the “This old house” house last week. That was sweet! With the double roman ogee edge. Awesome.

[kaycee]

I HATE my Granite countertops. It is cold, shows water spots, even though its sealed and when you clean it its streaky. Plus the sound it makes when you put a plate on it, well, sounds like two stones banging together. I’m always afraid the plate just cracked. I had Corian in my last two houses and I loved it. It was easy to clean, always looked great, looked clean when it was dirty, and was truly indestructable with no maintenance. I did really like the teak end grain countertop that they just put in the “This old house” house last week. That was sweet! With the double roman ogee edge. Awesome.

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