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I have white Silestone and it goes very well with the look of my kitchen. It was more expensive than any granite I liked. I didn't want to deal with having to seal it every couple of years, and the claim of it being naturally anti-microbial appealed to me.
However, I am the only person on my block with Silestone. Everyone else has granite. I have had people ask why I didn't 'spend the extra' to get granite. Realtors have told me that I will have to rip it out and get granite if I want to sell my home because regardless of how the Silestone looks, buyers in my market expect granite.
I know people say to put in what you like, but if resale is something you may consider down the road, you should take these things into account.
At the risk of repeating what many others have said over several similar threads...
"Granite" is not some magic, uniform stone that always looks good and wears well. There's such a wide variety of granite from the bland to the wildly exotic in terms of color, pattern, etc. that it's a bit silly to just say that "granite" is always the right application.
It's like saying "wood" is always the better choice. Well, there's soft woods I'd NEVER use for flooring and aromatic woods I'd not use for a countertop, etc.
Haven't we all seen the cheesy flip kitchen where the builder just slapped in some off-key (color and pattern) granite that doesn't play well with any other part of the kitchen?
The same can be said for quartz...or any other counter material for that matter.
We used both a natural stone and a quartz product in our kitchen, both chosen on the basis of their location and daily use.
We just finished a remodel - we went for a really sleek and modern look. Granite just wouldn't have looked right, so we used quartz. However, were we to be remodeling a craftsman in the burbs, I probably would have gone for granite because that's what's expected in that market for that style of house. They're both lovely, both functional. I find quartz to be a bit more easygoing for maintenance than when we lived in places with granite, but not so much easier that I wouldn't go for granite if I really wanted it.
One of the reasons I chose quartz was that I wanted a more subtle look. I put in a dark gray "slate" (was really porcelain tile that looks like slate) tile that has some movement of other colors and is thus a little dramatic. I didn't want the countertop to compete with it, so the quartz I picked worked the best. I did also look at granite, but nothing was quite right for the look I wanted. Had I chosen a hardwood floor, I would have put in soapstone. I love the way my kitchen turned out, it works for me and that's all I care about.
I have white Silestone and it goes very well with the look of my kitchen. It was more expensive than any granite I liked. I didn't want to deal with having to seal it every couple of years, and the claim of it being naturally anti-microbial appealed to me.
However, I am the only person on my block with Silestone. Everyone else has granite. I have had people ask why I didn't 'spend the extra' to get granite. Realtors have told me that I will have to rip it out and get granite if I want to sell my home because regardless of how the Silestone looks, buyers in my market expect granite.
I know people say to put in what you like, but if resale is something you may consider down the road, you should take these things into account.
^This.
I am actually bored with granite. Where I came from on the East Coast, granite started being standard in the high-end luxury market in the early 2000's. It started filtering down to the rest of us mid-2000s, which is when I replaced my Formica with granite. In a different home in 2010, I went with a contemporary remodel to match the mid-century modern style of the home and used a white speckled Silestone called Mont Blanc. LOVED IT.
I do think it depends on your market, if there is any chance you will re-sell the house in the future. In some markets, granite is still IT. In my former East Coast area, the high-end traditional homes are going soapstone and the urban contemporaries are going quartz. I know everyone disagrees with me but I think granite is on its way out. NOTHING stays in style forever, and once "everybody" has it, the trend will be for something unique and different.
I am now contemplating this for my kitchen remodel & am undecided between quartz & possibly formica tops that are styled like Calcatta marble. (I have only seen pics of the Formica product, not in person yet.) Actual marble is too expensive & needs too much care but the quartz ripoffs are very close, you would have to really know stone to know the difference, and they are fairly easy to care for.
Granite has many good qualities no doubt, but it's almost universal presence in kitchens over the last 30 years has given it a "cliche" sameness look that I think will become more of a negative factor in resale in the future for some buyers. It reminds me of the knotty pine paneling popularity in the 40's-50's, or tiled counters like I have now
(Edited to add: Perhaps it is a regional taste thing since I am from the northeast & in an urban area.)
One needs to consider that granite needs to be sealed at least annually, and is not as impervious to things like hot pots as one may think.
That's an old myth dispelled many years ago.
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