Countertop Confidential
Sleuth out the material that fits you best
Finding the right Countertop is like hunting for Mr. Right—there’s some homework involved, and there’s always the temptation to let good looks carry away your brain. Here’s one cautionary tale: A young mother in St. Paul hired an award-winning modernist architect and asked for unpolished concrete countertops because she loved the industrial verve, and she knew this particular architect did concrete well. But after just a few months, she found herself cringing at the white-ish rings that glasses left on the surface. She started avoiding flour so she wouldn’t have to scrub it out of the countertops’ natural fissures and lava-like pocks. When she went back to the architect, he gave her no sympathy—he had very explicitly told her that unpolished concrete was like this.
Finding the countertop that works for you is really an exercise in parsing out a material that fits your personality. Do you adore the idea of a material that develops a patina as it’s used? Or do you need a countertop that looks exactly the same as the day it was installed five years on? Are you prepared to baby a more delicate material? Are you excited about having 500 colors to choose from, or do even the espresso options at Caribou make your head spin? Whatever your personality peccadilloes, we bet you’ll see a glimmer of yourself in at least one of these countertop case files. Learn what you can live with now to save yourself a costly re-do later.
CASE FILE: ECO
Subject: Jenney Stevens, St. Paul
The attraction: Jenney and her husband, Lucas Alm, have long believed that all people need to pitch in if we’re going to solve the world’s climate crisis. When they purchased their bungalow in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul, they saw a perfect opportunity to live what they preach, and that included finding an eco-sensitive countertop for the kitchen. Lucas, himself a licensed architect and owner of Alm Design Studio in St. Paul, researched some of the major eco brands including Richlite and PaperStone, but decided on Trespa, a sustainably harvested wood-and-resin countertop used mostly in laboratory settings, because it was about a third of the cost.
Use and abuse: Jenney is a fairly organized cook, and mostly uses trivets and cutting boards, but not always. After three years of use, she says, the Trespa top—a black smooth surface with a slight sheen—looks exactly as it did when it was installed.
Why it’s a good fit: Trespa fulfills the couple’s eco requirements, but it’s also simple and pristine, like the rest of their home. Plus, it’s an edgy, unusual choice—good for this pair of designers and creative thinkers.
Personality markers: Creative, surprising, sensitive
Photo by Todd Buchanan
CASE FILE: SOAPSTONE
Photo by Todd Buchanan
Subject: Deb Rodgers, Excelsior
The attraction: Rodgers, whose home is filled with works by local artists and watercolor paintings by her mom, wanted a countertop for her kitchen that would go with the imaginative vibe of her 1940s lake cottage. “Everywhere you go, it’s granite, granite, granite,” she says. “I wanted something a little unique, and something that would mesh well with the white enameled cabinetry.”
Use and abuse: Like many a European cook, Rodgers puts hot pans right on the surface, but she mostly uses a cutting board. The counter was installed in early 2009, so it has yet to show any wear.
Why it’s a good fit: Her kitchen designer, Susan Septer, owner of the Cambria countertops in this story, talked Rodgers through soapstone’s characteristic patina: darker coloring, depressions, pits, blotches, and other little love marks. Rodgers can’t wait. “It’s going to look like this house has been lived in and thrown a lot of great parties,” she says.
Personality markers: Idiosyncratic, rooted, flexible
Photo by Todd Buchanan
CASE FILE: LAMINATE
Photo by Todd Buchanan
Subject: Mary Hanson, Rochester
The attraction: When Mayo Clinic retiree Hanson moved in with her beau, Bob Ratzlaff, travel editor at the Rochester Post-Bulletin, she took on the job of redoing each and every corner of Ratzlaff’s aging condo. One of her first tasks was the kitchen, which she tackled with help from Diane Quinn, owner of Beyond Kitchens in Rochester. They put a bit of granite on the island, but most of the kitchen has laminate countertops, specifically WilsonArt High Definition. Hanson liked the price point—there’s a lot of condo still left to do—and the fact that she could pick a pattern that resembles the granite.
Use and abuse: Cooking isn’t a big part of Hanson’s life. She makes the occasional meal or bakes every now and then, but she and Ratzlaff travel a lot.
Why it’s a good fit: “The kitchen was just phase one of my master plan for the condo,” says Hanson. “The laminate looks fine and doesn’t completely blow my budget. It was an easy pick.”
Personality markers: Pragmatic, commonsensical, disciplined
Photo by Todd Buchanan
CASE FILE: ENGINEERED STONE
Photo by Todd Buchanan
Subject: Susan Septer, Victoria
The attraction: When Susan Septer, owner of Susan Septer Design in Victoria, was choosing a new countertop for herself about five years ago, she researched engineered stone, then a relatively new countertop material made of pulverized quartz and high performance resin. Septer, a very organized and put-together person, liked its consistency and durability profile, as well as the fact that the stone looks somewhat similar to granite. She picked the midnight black “Kensington” pattern from Cambria with flecks of camoflage green and golden tan.
Use and abuse: Septer is a careful and deliberate cook, and always uses a chopping board or a trivet under hot pans. But she has a son in his late 20s who loves to cook and is like a tornado in the kitchen. After five years of use, her Cambria top looks exactly like it did the day it was installed, she says.
Why it’s a good fit: Septer enjoys a clean and organized kitchen and a countertop that doesn’t cause her any grief. “It looks perfect after it’s been used, and it’s so easy,” she says.
Personality markers: Responsible, coordinated, well-ordered
Photo by Todd Buchanan
CASE FILE: WOOD
Photo by Todd Buchanan
Subject: Spark & Tara Schneider, Webster
The attraction: He’s an accountant by trade, born and raised in Minneapolis proper, but Spark Schneider has long been fascinated by the agrarian life with its rustic simplicity and warmth. He married a farm girl (his wife, Tara, grew up showing horses and working on her parents’ farm in Dodge Center), and built his own home in Webster with help from his father-in-law. The centerpiece of the kitchen he planned is an 8-foot, reclaimed barn-wood top from Antique Woodworks in Gaylord, full of peg holes and character marks. “This piece really strikes up a conversation,” he says.
Use and abuse: It’s possible to put several coats of hard-as-rock poly sealant on a wood top, but then you lose some of the rustic character of the wood, says Spark. The Schneiders put only two coats of poly on theirs, so Tara is quite gentle with it—she always uses a cutting board and uses the perimeter counters (which are laminate) for harder cooking.
Why it’s a good fit: “We wanted something truly interesting to look at, and something that’s never going to be outdated,” says Tara. “For us, this top is like a piece of history.”
Personality markers: Gentle, agrarian, history-lover
Photo by Todd Buchanan
CASE FILE: CONCRETE
Photo by Todd Buchanan
Subject: Allison Thiesing, Minneapolis
The attraction: Thiesing knew when she rehabbed her home, a 1933 Tudor story-and-a-half, that she wanted concrete for her countertops. “Solid surface seemed too manufactured, granite seemed too trendy. But poured concrete sounded rustic and unexpected,” Thiesing says. She commissioned counters from Zen of Concrete, a Minneapolis firm, and continues to be elated with her sand-colored polished concrete tops, even after a year of use. “They’re calming, but also different,” she says.
Use and abuse: Once every couple of months, Thiesing applies a special beeswax solution to her countertops. She generally uses trivets and cutting boards, but not always.
Why it’s a good fit: Thiesing likes the unusual, granular look, and hasn’t had any problem with discoloration. “I don’t keep up with beeswax as much as I probably should, but I really think they look fantastic,” she says.
Personality markers: Unorthodox, eclectic, determined
Photo by Todd Buchanan
CASE FILE: MARBLE
Photo by Todd Buchanan
Subject: Deb Frederick, Rochester
The attraction: A true aesthete, Frederick fell hard for the look of marble. “It’s just so graceful and pure and lovely, I had to have it,” she says. Five years ago, she selected a honed white Carrara with silvery dark gray veins for her island top, and a black granite for her perimeter counters. “But if I had it to do over again, I’d do marble everywhere,” she says.
Use and abuse: Getting marble installed wasn’t easy—a few retailers pushed her toward other options, telling her that marble is too porous to be used as a kitchen countertop, and would stain and wear terribly. But it hasn’t turned out that way. An intense cook and baker, Frederick has spilled red wine on the marble, cooked up a storm, and let her three teenagers pile on dishes, book bags, and cell phones. It’s gotten a little dry in patches, but otherwise it’s perfect, at least as far as Frederick is concerned.
Why it’s a good fit: As the stone ages naturally and acquires more etches and scratches, Frederick imagines that it will become even more lovely, like a well-loved pastry surface in some European kitchen.
Personality markers: Romantic, classic, come-what-may
Photo by Todd Buchanan
CASE FILE: SOLID SURFACE
Photo by Todd Buchanan
Subject: Deb Schreier, Roseville
The attraction: When Schreier was picking out materials for her new kitchen 15 years ago, she immediately gravitated to solid surface tops because solid surface—unlike any other material on the market—can be entirely seamless. Her backsplash, her sink, and her countertops are all one piece with no grout lines or matched edges. “If I had a floor drain, I could take a garden hose to this kitchen,” she says.
Use and abuse: When she purchased her countertop—she picked the “Sierra Aurora” pattern from Corian—her three kids were in sixth, eighth, and tenth grades. She was cooking hot breakfasts everyday and “just using my kitchen to death,” she says. She always uses trivets and cutting boards, and is careful to run hot water in the sink so as to not shock the surface when she’s pouring hot pasta water. When she gets a little scratch on the surface, she just rubs it out with a Scotch Brite pad.
Why it’s a good fit: “It’s just the easiest thing in the world to clean,” she says. “In my main kitchen, I wouldn’t have anything else.”
Personality markers: Realistic, utilitarian, savvy
Photo by Todd Buchanan
CASE FILE: GRANITE
Photo by Todd Buchanan
Subject: Heather Hall, Stillwater
The attraction: When Heather and her husband Joe decided two remodel their red brick home in Stillwater, they decided to make their kitchen virtually indestructible. “With three kids, we didn’t want any part of the kitchen to be too delicate or precious,” says Heather, who just happens to be Mrs. Minnesota 2009. With granite in mind as her material of choice, Heather returned again and again to different stone showrooms, waiting for just the right pattern to jump out and grab her. Eventually, she caught a glimpse of “Exodus,” a wild Brazilian granite with intense striations of tan, gold, black, and cream, and glinting patches of mother of pearl. Her kitchen designers, Tricia Bayer and Jean-Claude Desjardins of Belle Kitchen in Minneapolis, designed a relatively neutral kitchen to go around her intensely patterned granite.
Use and abuse: Heather chops right on the granite, puts hot pans down without trivets, and generally uses the stone without a care in the world. “I just love how tough it is!” she says.
Why it’s a good fit: Heather loves the movement of the natural stone. “We play a little game with our kids where we look into the granite like some people look into the clouds—we pick out faces, shapes, skulls,” says Heather. “Every time we play, we all see something different.”
Personality markers: Detail-oriented, patient, traditional
| OVERALL PROFILE | EXPECTED PATINA | GOOD CARETAKING | INSIDER TIP | COST | |
| WOOD | Warm and natural, makes a surprising kitchen counter. | Cutting marks and water stains add to the look. | Monthly applications of a mineral oil and beeswax blend will maintain the best color. | Can be difficult to disinfect. Use bleach and water to clean. | $33 to $75 per square foot; exotic varieties (zebrawood) can go as high as $180 per square foot |
| CONCRETE | An industrial material that will evolve over time. | Water marks and hairline cracks add to the look. | Apple a special beeswax at least every six months. | Polished concrete is easier to clean and more scratch-resistant. | $75 to $160 per square foot, installed |
| LAMINATE | Indefatigable material that goes easy on the wallet. | None; if laminate begins to wear, it's time for new counters. | Always use a trivet and a cutting board. | There's a huge range in quality in the laminate category. Do your homework. | $25 to $40 per square foot, installed |
| ECO | Emerging category includes materials such as sunflower seed hulls, recycled paper, and more. | Depends on brand. | Depends on brand. | Some materials have been tested more than others. Do your homework. | $30 to $145 per square foot, installed |
| SOLID SURFACE | Bauxite and high-performance acrylic. Brands include Avonite, Corian, Gibraltar, and LivingStone. | None. Should look the same as the day it was installed. | Run hot water when pouring boiling water into a solid surface sink. | Clean solid surfaces in a circular motion to keep them buffed. | $35 to $150 per square foot, installed |
| SOAPSTONE | A friendly, natural stone with a matte look. | Oils will darken the stone; scratches are part of the look. | A quarterly rubdown with mineral oil helps minimize blotchiness. | Some showrooms sell "Indian" or "Italian" soapstone, which is really marble. | $80 to $120 per square foot, installed |
| ENGINEERED STONE | Pulverized quartz crystals and resin. Brands include Cambria, Silestone, Caesarstone, and Zodiaq. | None. Should look the same as the day it was installed. | Hot pans can damage the resin binders. Use a trivet. | Engineered stone is sold in slabs and will have visible seam lines. | $50 to $120 per square foot, installed |
| MARBLE | A porous natural stone with elegant veining. | A subtle patina will develop including small chips, scratches, and stains. | Dry patches are a sign your counters need to be re-sealed. | Marble has a bad reputation as a kitchen product. | $70 to $250 per square foot, installed |
| GRANITE | A crystalline natural stone with lots of personality. | A light sheen will develop over time. | Use and abuse them, granite counters will hold up just fine. | Choose your slab of granite—never rely on a small sample. | $50 to $400 per square foot, installed |
| STAINLESS STEEL | A hygienic material that has earned its keep in many pro kitchens. | Scratches will blend together over time to create a softer look. | Use and abuse it, stainless steel will hold up just fine. | Get the work done by pros who have an extensive residential portfolio. | $65 to $200 per square foot, installed |
6 ISSUES (1 YEAR)
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