Why do almost all houses have tiled countertops? (for sale, apartments)

[Mounty]

This is so weird. Every house for sale I look at has tiled counters. Same looking tile. Beige/white, about 4x4. Not just one house. About 9 out of 10 do.

Looks like this:



The house I stayed at during my recent visit also had that tile.

It's absolutely ugly and probably hard to clean (grout lines) yet everyone has it.

What's going on?

[thelopez2]

It is cheaper and easier to install than natural stone.

[NewToCA]

Just a local style norm, and I believe this basic style is probably prevalent throughout pretty much all of California.

Back in the East and Midwest where I had always lived, the basic counter tops were laminate from Formica or Wilsonart. Though they came in dozens, maybe even hundreds of patterns, designs and colors they are usually considered to be somewhat tacky today, though still the prevalent counter top in most older houses and apartments. I don't recall ever seeing tile counter tops back in those regions.

The basic tile out here is more durable than the laminate counter top, but the grout does make it a bit harder to keep clean.

[caligirlz]

That's an older house. Mine was built in 2003 & has matching grout. Grout is really not that hard to maintain. If that doesn't work for you, it's not that expensive to put a granite overlay on top. However, many people don't like granite which is so common nowadays (highly promoted by HGTV). I hate the standard builders grade & would never put it in my house. There a lot of newer choices such as quartz, concrete, marble...

[NickB1967]

It also varies with the decade the house was built. Once upon a time, it was all avocado greens, then it was harvest golds.

[smpliving]

Tile countertops were very popular in the 1980s, at least in southern California. A lot of people I knew from that time period had redone their kitchens from formica to tile (older homes from 1960's-1970s). My mother was one of them. She wishes now she never went with tile. Hates it. Much harder to keep clean. I have no clue if new homes have tile countertops in California, but they are very outdated in the Midwest now.

[NinaN]

It's the age of the home and prevailing style when the home was buit. Still using tile if not upgraded to granite but a bigger, nicer tile w skinnier grout.

[webdev]

This was common in many homes built in the 80's and 90's in Sac. Today the trend with new homes is granite counter tops.

[Kathy_9591]

Originally Posted by Mounty

This is so weird. Every house for sale I look at has tiled counters. Same looking tile. Beige/white, about 4x4. Not just one house. About 9 out of 10 do.

Looks like this:



The house I stayed at during my recent visit also had that tile.

It's absolutely ugly and probably hard to clean (grout lines) yet everyone has it.

What's going on?

I’m finding these tile counter and builder grade honey oak cabinets quite frustrating. Id take laminate over tile anyway. By the time you buy the house there’s no money left over to change these things.

[mixxalot]

Mine has quartz counters