Silestone countertops for kitchen

[Lucia]

We just recently purchased a house and will be re-modeling the kitchen. Anyone have silestone for their countertops? Any feedback? Easy to keep clean? Durable? We like the look and are trying to swallow the cost (vs laminate)...would hate to spend the money and then find out there were some negatives to having silestone.

Thanks!

[ellies mom]

We don't have Silestone but I'm currently drooling over Dupont's Zodiac (the same thing basically). At anyrate, when we were considering countertops recently, this website listed pros and cons for a bunch of different types.

http://interiordec.about.com/od/kitchencounters/tp/tp_countertops.htm

We decided to just postpone the whole countertop decision but will probably end up with Zodiac when we are ready to take the plunge.

[kelly ann]

We had our countertops done around Christmas with Zodiaq. At first we thought we would go with Silestone, but then I changed my mind about the pattern and we went with Zodiaq. The countertops are so easy to maintain and they are very durable. I have put hot dishes on the countertops, but not that often...just a habit for us to use a trivet. I love how I don't worry about scratches or stains (we had Corain in our previous house).

Is it worth the money? It was hard for us to justify $9000 for new countertops, but as the PP said, we just took the plunge. I am sure we could have used the money in a more practical way, but we intend to be in our house for awhile and we will see and use those countertops over and over every single day. We also told ourselves that we needed something pretty durable when having kids aruond the house. We thought Zodiaq (or the other similar products) would be able to stand up to possible wear and tear from kids.

If you can afford the Silestone, then I would go ahead and do it. Shop around for prices and wait for a sale to come up. We got out Zodiaq at The Great Indoors during a pretty good sale. It actually was quite a bit cheaper than Lowes even though The Great Indoors is more upscale.

[Melanie]

We have caesarstone which is the same as silestone but silestone is exclusive to Home Depot. We LOVE them!

[annex]

FYI, the newest (August) issue of Consumer Reports is all about kitchen re-models. Quartz/Silestone was actually their highest rated countertop surface. It's summary said "Best for high traffic kitchens. Many colors. Needn’t be sealed. But can appear too uniform. Edges can chip."

[BaileyBea]

I have Silestone Countertops in the Kitchen and bathroom. I love them!

They are very durable. We have had no problems with them. I can move hot stuff from the stove or oven straight to the Silestone no problem. They are easy to clean. I haven't had any problem w/scratches. etc..

I saved money buy going to a direct Silestone dealer and not going through Home Depot. HD was going to charge me 2K more than a local dealer would. Just a suggestion that may help you save some bucks.

[Lucia]

Thanks for the responses! I will have to investigate Zodiaq and now I can't wait to get our August issue of Consumer Reports...perfect timing. I hope we will be able to afford some type of engineered stone counter. If not, does anyone have new laminate counters that they love? or suggestions for a website with ideas for countertops (with photos)?

Thanks again!

[Drag0nflygirl]

I just did a high-end laminate counter, and I like it very much. Here's the thing though - my home is an investment property. If it were my "forever" home, or even my 5 year home, I would have gone solid surface. Unless you are in a situation where you want to put more money into the cabinets and upgrade the counters in 5 years or so, splurge. IMHO if you don't you'll regret it. A bad counter top in a sparkling new kitchen is like wrapping an elegant gift with a burlap bow.

Nancy

Cara Flynn 10/25/05

[dules]

We were interested in Silestone but ended up getting granite cheaper (MUCH cheaper) at Lowe's. We've been happy with it but it does need to be sealed.

Just another to consider. I never thought it would be within our budget but it was.

Best,
Mary

[Rachels]

We're planning to put in Silestone, also through an independent dealer.

-Rachel
Mama to Abigail Rose
5/18/02
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_amethyst_36m.gif
Nursed for three years!

and Ethan James
10/19/05
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/bf.jpg


"When you know better, you do better."
Maya

[Melanie]

>We were interested in Silestone but ended up getting granite
>cheaper (MUCH cheaper) at Lowe's. We've been happy with it but
>it does need to be sealed.
>
>Just another to consider. I never thought it would be within
>our budget but it was.


Actually our contractors also charged the same for our caesarstone (manufactured quartz, just like silestone) as granite. It definitely was not a cost-saving choice for us, just preference.

[ShayleighCarsensMom]

WE have silestone and LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! We had it installed about 6 months ago and it looks brand new. It does not scratch, you can put hot pots on it, and you can clean it with ANYTHING...
I can add a pic if you can tell me how ;)

Ours is the tea leaf color.
When we were getting it my sister was gettting corian...we both tried to convice the other to get the opposite...I almost caved and got corian because she raved about how much better it was. Well my sister HATES it, as it shows every spot, and scratches so easily!
She was shocked when she saw me run a knife accross my counter to prove it didnt scratch!
Valerie

[Lucia]

So good to hear you love yours so much. It does sound like the option we would like to do...now to decide on color. Any suggestions? The cabinets will be white, Shaker style, with silver/metal bin drawer pulls. I am thinking about a yellow or green for the walls. Also, haven't got any ideas yet about what to do for backsplash. Any suggestions on colors? Right now we are making all of these decisions while living overseas and with the help of a kitchen designer who has sent us samples. So we are mostly going by her suggestions and what we have seen in recent magazines and on-line. So any real life input would be great! Thanks for all of the feedback so far!