All about GRANITE countertops | Are they dated and boring?

[@Trenchant468]

Thumbs up for addressing environmental impact.

[@mapratt]

Yes, I do appreciate pointing out the environmental challenges with the options discussed. I installed black granite in the kitchen of a home I built 20 years ago and did love it; the new owners have kept the kitchen as installed. It's gorgeous. In my current kitchen I installed a countertop made of recycled cardboard. It's also solid black ( there are other options, I just prefer to keep that element simple so design choices can be made at a whim). I've had it for a couple of years now and it's doing great.

[@candycane1275]

If you don't mind me asking, what was the cost for the cardboard counter top? It sounds really interesting.

[@mapratt]

@Candy Cane I don't mind, but I don't remember! It wasn't the cheapest option, but also wasn't outrageous. Somewhere in the middle... It came in really large slabs. We mapped the needed pieces onto the slabs and cut as needed.

[@wakemewhenitsover2010]

I just bought a house with granite countertops, and haven’t been 100% certain if this option is practical or not. It’s a kitchen, I want to cook in it, not stress out about staining / unsealing fancy-a$$ counters. This video makes me feel a little better about the material. I kind of think it gives the kitchen a too-fancy / antiseptic look, and would probably have preferred something more cozy, but at least these countertops aren’t as high maintenance as I feared. Thank you for making this video, it’s very informative and helpful! PS:: I do love the idea of a green granite for a bar, I’ll bet that looks incredibly gorgeous!

[@auzblake69]

I install granite countertops everyday. Different colors are amazing. I ran a waterjet for many months cutting. Whenever i found great spots in certain spots i tried to make it into the customers pieces. Yet most of the times they hated it..

[@auzblake69]

Edit: the darker granite i recommend every 5 years. The lighter color every 3 years. If bleach and other harsh chemicals do it every year.

[@tlibrary2741]

What do you think of Pitaya granite as a kitchen countertop choice? Are "white" granites still good choices when it comes to stain resistance, strength, heat resistance compared to medium and darker granites in the kitchen?

[@hsdesignstudio]

Yes white granites are still a good choice. Generally I look elsewhere though in lighter colour palettes, like quartzite.

[@le7062]

Good content. Is there any price difference in using granite as a whole slab for the backsplash vs using it for the countertop where it needs cutting.

[@hsdesignstudio]

There will fabrication fees either way because even a backsplash will likely need cuts. However, a countertop typically requires more fabrication (cutting, polishing, etc) and that would increase it's cost. The basic cost of the stone per square foot won't likely change.

[@draconus003]

What was the approximate cost for your clients granite countertops in the amazonite granite slab choice, it's something I've been looking into as it's really gorgeous...

[@hsdesignstudio]

I'll get back to you with a more accurate slab cost, that doesn't include installation as that car vary wildly depending on your locale.

[@5610winston]

I'm doing blue pearl (a gabbroic anorthosite) for the horizontal surfaces and a gray-white gneiss with garnet crystals (leaning toward jasmine white) for the backsplashes.

[@hsdesignstudio]

That's pretty unique. Are you at all worried about the two surfaces competing?

[@5610winston]

@@hsdesignstudio I don't think so, certainly no more than a contrasting tile or glass backsplash. I'm thinking that the down-lighting will reflect off the sparkling labradorite-bytownite feldspars in the blue pearl and the gray foliation streaks of the mostly white gneiss I'm considering is pretty subtle. There are a lot of white "granites" with garnets in the matrix. The garnets, if visitors notice them, will pick up the colors of some of my countertop appliances (e.g., the empire red Kitchenaid mixer and blender, the red Dash toaster, the black can opener, etc.) Above all, I don't want to deal with grout lines that never seem to seal as well as the promoters promise. And yes, I'm fairly sure the laminate I'm having to remove was as cheap as could be had at the time. On the other hand, it is almost forty years old, but it's been raveling since the day it was installed. The rancid vanilla pudding color never endeared it, either. I like the look of marble, but it has insurmountable disadvantages. And by the way, the brown granites can look pretty cool, especially to the nerdy scientists. Look at those big pink potassium-rich feldspar crystals with contrasting nuclei and compositional zoning, and the different appearance of the crystals depending on the angle they were polished. I like the blue pearl over the brownish (even "Volga blue"), because food spills will be more evident against the blue than against the brown, and staining would be less evident than on a white surface.

[@5610winston]

You mentioned the two surfaces competing? I just picked up a cabinet catalog; the cover showed a light-color stone countertop with three or four different tile colors and textures that tolerate each other's company like Gladstone and Disraeli. "Is this bad or wonderfully daring?" --- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes's Smarter Brother, line delivered by Roger Moore

[@NicholasANappiNick]

I had silver cloud pu in 3 years ago .never get tired of looking at it

[@hsdesignstudio]

Countertops are a spendy item, so no regrets is the best outcome

[@candycane1275]

To much work for me, I prefer my laminate. I've had it about 15 years and it still looks the same as the day I had it installed. It was only $1,500.00 installed for 32 linear feet and there's no maintenance.

[@hsdesignstudio]

There will always be a use case for laminate or similar materials

[@wakemewhenitsover2010]

I think I agree with you… at least with laminate, I felt I could cook / spill / live-my-life, because it wasn’t pricey, and seemed incredibly durable, having withstood decades of clutziness. These granite counters have me so stressed out, I use a *plate* to put my coffee spoons on after stirring my coffee, instead of putting them right on the counter, for fear of staining. I miss feeling like I could be lazy and messy, it gave me space to worry about more important things .

[@candycane1275]

@@wakemewhenitsover2010 I agree, I feed both my girls, Alaskan malamutes, pumpkin with every meal and the spoon goes on the counter once one of them has licked it...they don't ever get it all off so there usually is a little bit to clean up...wow, that would drive me nuts...you can't even relax and just be... I'm glad you have a pretty kitchen but sad it's not as functional as you need it to be.

[@supanami2241]

Is it possible to over seal your countertops and if so what would be the con for doing so?

[@hsdesignstudio]

I wouldn't think it's possible, as only so much will penetrate the stone. This would be a good question for a fabricator/installer. Next time I chat with my local installer, I'll ask him.

[@supanami2241]

@@hsdesignstudio Ok, thank you very much.

[@barbaras5550]

Yes, I like the part about environmental costs

[@hsdesignstudio]

Great, thanks for letting me know!

[@Card_Crazed]

I agree. Knowing the environmental costs is helpful in determining which countertop material is best.

[@hsdesignstudio]

@@Card_Crazed Thank you! I find it helpful to understand the whole picture as well.

[@mathayam.3160]

I agree too. The environmental cost is, for me, an important part of each decision I have to make for my new house renovation. Looking forward to your sintered stone (Dekton) video, as it is the last choice I have to make for our new kitchen 😃

[@hsdesignstudio]

@@mathayam.3160 Great! It is coming, a few weeks away still. I know these videos don't get as many 'clicks', but I prefer videos that help people and my clients make decisions about more than the current trends.

[@tee4272]

What is the name of the turquoise granite?

[@tee4272]

Amazonite is a beautiful aqua quartzite.

[@JMaxwell1000]

Yes to both: dated AND boring! It's a competition between drab, drabber, and drabbest.

[@DanBlackRacing]

Definitely not dated are boring. Especially since it's considered to hit a 100 billion dollar revenue soon.

[@hsdesignstudio]

Oh I know it’s not. It’s a huge market and we still use it regularly. I was getting more at the fact that the style of granite that is popular now is quite different from the boring stuff of the early 2000s. There are some beautiful slabs available, there are also a lot of really boring slabs. The same goes for pretty much any material.

[@ABCBom4thgen]

Or you could just go for soapstone, which is repairable, looks better with age, and is heat resistant

[@hsdesignstudio]

Yup, a great option. I have an entire video discussing soapstone as well

[@croach69]

Scratches easy

[@triaxe-mmb]

Also marble?

[@hsdesignstudio]

Coming next week!

[@5610winston]

Marble may look nice, but it is extremely vulnerable to chemical degradation and staining. It's fine as long as you don't plan to do anything but look at your kitchen, but if you plan to do something unexpected like cook, there are better options.

[@hsdesignstudio]

@@5610winston I will be getting into all of that in the next video. Though you aren't wrong...

[@triaxe-mmb]

So, soap stone next?

[@hsdesignstudio]

Already done: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHiofYF-ZpeMjKc&t Enjoy 👍

[@triaxe-mmb]

@@hsdesignstudio awesomeness!