Countertops

Whew, counters can be expensive! We priced up using quartz in the kitchen and granite remnants in the bathroom, but it was still too high. 

We went with cultured marble in the bathrooms (white on white). This is what the last house had and I was fine with it. We can always upgrade later if we really want. 

We could pick out our bowl styles, too. I chose the standard for all the upstairs bathrooms. 

Mom got a large bowl in her’s.

And the master got larger, more boxy bowls. I couldn’t use undermount sinks with the cultured marble. I had some beautiful ones picked out, but this is fine.

The laundry counter was just a standard formica.

I like the WilsonArt HD collection because it is more upscale looking. However, my first pick was on back-order (the story they are telling me) and I had to pick out something different that was in stock. They only told me of this three days before they were to install. NICE!

When they installed the counters, they installed the sinks. I had to provide the sinks before-hand for cabinet spacing on the island and also for the counter templates. 

The kitchen counters are by far my favorite. And they were Mr. JCrew’s pick. They are Caesarstone Calcutta Nuva. It’s fairly new, but we loved it. I couldn’t find many examples online. Which I like, but made it hard to have to trust my gut.

This type comes in thin sheets. I was okay with that. I love the look of thick slabs, but I would work with whatever I needed to. 

The island size had to be reduced because of the slab size. If the island was any larger, the countertop would have a seam. So I shrunk my island size to accommodate the counter slab size. It’s little things like that you have to think about.

And the installers saved the island for last. They really wanted the island pendants to be installed to ensure electricians wouldn't be standing on it and crack it. I understood that. 

Overall, I am really happy with the counters. Now the plumber can come in and hook up the faucets. 

YAY!