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Because there are people who LOVE granite but cannot afford granite so they opt for the next best thing, something that LOOKS like granite. Personally i would rather spend my money on something other than a countertop for my kitchen. I'm not into cooking and baking and I don't care if my friends and family have a better kitchen than me. My laminate countertop works perfectly for me and my coffee maker. What more can I ask of my countertop. Now if I could wear my countertop then absolutely I would have granite.
I agree with Maia160. The point of owning a luxury item is to distinguish one's self from the commoners who can't afford it. Granite countertops seems to have reached critical mass. If everyone has them .. and from reading these posts I gather they are a "must have" for upper middle, middle and uh-oh .. even the lower middle and working classes ... the truly rich aren't going to want them anymore. In five years, even if nothing has replaced granite as a better material for kitchen countertops, GCs still will not occupy the same cultural space they do today, as an item that announces to the world and to one's self that you have arrived.
If you have granite and really like it, well good. Enjoy it. I personally avoided putting them into my kitchen because I thought that they were just a little too ubiquitous.. I don't want to be stuck with the 21st century's shag carpet and natural stone and brick finishings. That said, I still paid several thousand dollars for hardwood floors. I have a feeling the same thing is going to happen with hardwood floors as well. They are just too prominent not to become a major identifier of an early 21st century house and thus one day soon seem dated.
I was reading old real estate ads the other day, I noticed that all of the ads from the 1940s boasted "hardwood throughout" ... but not from the 30s and 20s or 50s. So it seems floor styles come and go too. If I sell this place at all, which is questionable, it will probably be in 10 years from now or so .. I can just imagine potentional homebuyers going .. ick, hardwood. Regardless, I happen to enjoy hardwood floors, so who cares, really. Houses in most areas (California, Flordia, New York, etc. excepted) really aren't much of an investment IMO. They are a place to live.
I agree with Maia160. The point of owning a luxury item is to distinguish one's self from the commoners who can't afford it. Granite countertops seems to have reached critical mass. If everyone has them .. and from reading these posts I gather they are a "must have" for upper middle, middle and uh-oh .. even the lower middle and working classes ... the truly rich aren't going to want them anymore. In five years, even if nothing has replaced granite as a better material for kitchen countertops, GCs still will not occupy the same cultural space they do today, as an item that announces to the world and to one's self that you have arrived.
If you have granite and really like it, well good. Enjoy it. I personally avoided putting them into my kitchen because I thought that they were just a little too ubiquitous.. I don't want to be stuck with the 21st century's shag carpet and natural stone and brick finishings. That said, I still paid several thousand dollars for hardwood floors. I have a feeling the same thing is going to happen with hardwood floors as well. They are just too prominent not to become a major identifier of an early 21st century house and thus one day soon seem dated.
I was reading old real estate ads the other day, I noticed that all of the ads from the 1940s boasted "hardwood throughout" ... but not from the 30s and 20s or 50s. So it seems floor styles come and go too. If I sell this place at all, which is questionable, it will probably be in 10 years from now or so .. I can just imagine potentional homebuyers going .. ick, hardwood. Regardless, I happen to enjoy hardwood floors, so who cares, really. Houses in most areas (California, Flordia, New York, etc. excepted) really aren't much of an investment IMO. They are a place to live.
I don't know that I really agree with this in its entirety, altho I do understand your reasoning.
Well built homes have always included substantial materials. What I consider a well-built home is NOT what we typically see - a "tricked out" custom home that has bells and whistles but short cuts on such things as exterior materials.
If one is following a trend . . . or trying to be "fashionable" . . . then of course, things will look dated. So I do agree w/ your comments about following trends.
However, some materials in a home have always meant quality. People who value enduring qualities and "classic detailing" end up w/ homes that are not dated. The less wealthy amongst us can do the same thing . . . if they rely on classic standards, good design and substantial materials.
"Old monied" people stick w/ quality and the classics. All wood floors w/ expensive turkish rugs, oriental carpets . . . slate, limestone, granite, marble in kitchen and baths (possibly foyers). . . exteriors that are all brick, or rock w/ a premium wood. . . cedar siding . . . it all depends on what part of the country as to what materials . . . but the exterior of the home will always reflect the highest in quality products.
An earlier poster stated that wallpaper in their neighborhood was "out," yet hand printed French/Italian paper is still seen (and expected in certain areas) in many high end homes. Decorators still order plenty of the really expensive stuff, LOL. (Not saying that wallpaper isn't "out"as a trend right now . . . but in an 18th C home - one would expect it as it is in keeping w/ the period).
I guess what I am trying to say is . . . if you have your own style . . . and you know design . . . you won't be influenced by "trends and fashion."
If your home has style and grace . . . and is built using the best materials you can afford and that are in keeping w/ the period of your home . . . (i.e., Craftsman homes should have Craftsman-era detailing!) . . . then your home will be a "classic" and it won't matter a flip what is "in" and what is "out."
Think of a classic Cape Cod . . . stately Georgian . . . warm Craftsman bungalow. Brass may be "out" but not in the Georgian . . . tile countertops may be out, but not in the Craftsman . . . wood siding may be out, but not on the Cape Cod. A classic is a classic.
Now see I like wallpaper, I don't have any in this house as we are on the market, but if we end up staying, I might think about it. Nothing dated, there are some really nice updated paperings...I think borders are passe however..
wow I am tired of beige walls...neutral, neutral, neutral...
I agree with Maia160. The point of owning a luxury item is to distinguish one's self from the commoners who can't afford it. Granite countertops seems to have reached critical mass. If everyone has them .. and from reading these posts I gather they are a "must have" for upper middle, middle and uh-oh .. even the lower middle and working classes ... the truly rich aren't going to want them anymore. In five years, even if nothing has replaced granite as a better material for kitchen countertops, GCs still will not occupy the same cultural space they do today, as an item that announces to the world and to one's self that you have arrived.
If you have granite and really like it, well good. Enjoy it. I personally avoided putting them into my kitchen because I thought that they were just a little too ubiquitous.. I don't want to be stuck with the 21st century's shag carpet and natural stone and brick finishings. That said, I still paid several thousand dollars for hardwood floors. I have a feeling the same thing is going to happen with hardwood floors as well. They are just too prominent not to become a major identifier of an early 21st century house and thus one day soon seem dated.
I was reading old real estate ads the other day, I noticed that all of the ads from the 1940s boasted "hardwood throughout" ... but not from the 30s and 20s or 50s. So it seems floor styles come and go too. If I sell this place at all, which is questionable, it will probably be in 10 years from now or so .. I can just imagine potentional homebuyers going .. ick, hardwood. Regardless, I happen to enjoy hardwood floors, so who cares, really. Houses in most areas (California, Flordia, New York, etc. excepted) really aren't much of an investment IMO. They are a place to live.
Yes, but it is easier to cover hardwood floors rather than remove them. IMO, while the market value of hardwood floors in a home may vary, it won't disappear completely.
As to granite, while the cost recovery has fallen, I am not sure if that is because it is becoming less desirable, or if what was once considered "high end" is now becoming more of a baseline expectation in many markets, similar to power windows or possibly air conditioning in cars.
Yes, but it is easier to cover hardwood floors rather than remove them. IMO, while the market value of hardwood floors in a home may vary, it won't disappear completely.
As to granite, while the cost recovery has fallen, I am not sure if that is because it is becoming less desirable, or if what was once considered "high end" is now becoming more of a baseline expectation in many markets, similar to power windows or possibly air conditioning in cars.
You can't really compare granite to air conditioning or power windows. That would be like saying that central air and heat in houses have had a good run, but they are so widespread now surely they are going to go out of style soon.. that's obviously absurd. Technological convenience items like that are not subject to fashion.. they just get replaced by something more advanced. MP3s are better than CDs which are better than cassettes which are better than 8-tracks which are better than nothing. A few eccentrics might disagree with that statement, but the vast majority would not.
Granite isn't like that. It's more like fur, leather, brick, marble, brass, tile, etc. Some might think that granite is better than composites or quartz, but then some would disagree. It's a matter of taste. As we all know, tastes change. It's silly to say that something is classic and thus will never change. That's just not the case. When I think early 21st century home, I think granite countertops and hardwood floors... so as we move away from the early 21st century, I bet those are exactly the items that are going to signal that a house looks "dated". You probably won't be able to say they look "cheap" to demonstrate your superior taste circa 2011 or whenever, so you will instead say "tacky." As in, that fur coat is so tacky! They killed a fox for that? (They chopped down trees and mined the Earth for that ugly effect in their house?!?)
You can say that granite is natural so it's here to stay, but I bet those folks who put high quality wood panelling on their walls back in the day thought it looked pretty natural and luxurious too.
Finally ! I just hated seeing those granite countertops in 1970 ranch flippers.
It was like granite automatically added 50K+ to the value of the house.
Good to see all remnents of this flipper mentality dropping by the wayside.
My mom and dad's harvest gold appliances and sinks are pretty groovy. There's no way that would ever go out of style or look dated.
LOL! Harvest gold.. now there's a classic. If anything is timeless, surely it is gold.
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