Good old laminate countertops are making a comeback.
Cost must be the driving factor: at $20 – $40/sf, it’s really the least expensive material out there. (Butcher block can be close, but everything else – granite, marble, concrete, stainless steel, solid surfacing such as CesarStone or Silestone – is at least double the price: $80 – $100/sf and up. Here’s a decent compliation of countertop prices at OneProjectCloser.com.)
Revelations such as the radioactivity of certain granites could also be a reason, but I’m less confident about that.
Formica is my preferred laminate manufacturer, although there are others, such as Wilsonart and Nevamar. I’m especially fond of Formica’s new Microdot collection: solid colors – and edgy ones at that, such as Cassis (purple), Grenadine (soft red), and Oxygen (greyish blue) – that have a subtle dot texture.
Here’s a kitchen renovation in which we installed Microdot countertops in Vibrant Green. We were working with a tight budget, but the client’s Dorothy Draper obsession meant that bold colors and graphic patterns could play a starring role. These are 3 before/after pairings:
(As an aside, isn’t it amazing what paint can do? It’s the cheapest way to give cabinets a facelift, that’s for sure: we saved thousands by painting these instead of replacing them.)
Here’s a tip: if you’re calling around to see which store carries a particular laminate, be sure and tell them what colors or finishes you’re considering. Ridiculously, stores don’t always carry complete product lines – local Home Depots did not carry Microdot, for example.
The August issue of Domino magazine even featured a kitchen renovation with shiny red Ikea cabinetry and Formica countertops. They kept the countertop edge raw, which looks very cool…I stopped short of doing that in a recent basement kitchen because I wasn’t sure how practical it was – would it eventually warp if it got too wet? But it does look great.
So if you’re doing a low-budget kitchen renovation, and if you (like me) were raised to put hot pans on trivets instead of directly on the counter, don’t write off Formica so hastily. Or at least try not to make that squinched-up-wrinkly-nose face when someone mentions it.