Concrete is a versatile material that can be molded and shaped into various shapes and finished with a variety of coatings — but keep in mind that it does need to be sealed in order to be water-resistant, and topical sealants are not heat resistant. Furthermore, concrete is easily stained and prone to chips, scratches, and hairline cracks. It is, however, gorgeous, if you’re up to caring for a high-maintenance material. It’s not cheap if you hire professionals to do the job. But, if you love the look but the price gets you down, Chris Loves Julia has a thorough tutorial on how to do it yourself —a labor-intensive but much more affordable route: about $30 per square foot.
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><md>We are preparing for a full kitchen renovation. I would love to do solid white countertops (no veining or flecks), as I love the crisp look of solid white. We thought we were going to go with quartz, but I am struggling to find a solid white quartz that I think is warm enough to match / work well with the paint that we like for our cabinets (kind of a creamy white). Also, many of the quartz samples that I have viewed have small chips around the perimeter, which worries me about the risk of chipping (and the difficulty of repairing chips in solid white quartz if they were to occur). I’m now toying with looking into Corian. I feel like there are more solid white/cream Corian options out there. Also in Corian’s favor: less conspicuous seams and the ability to buff out scratches/fix problem areas.
My questions for those willing to share their wisdom:
(1) anyone out there have solid white quartz countertops and willing to share their feedback as to what they like / don’t like (would love to hear if any of you paired solid white counters with white cabinets and how that worked out / photos). LG Viatera in Porcelain White is my top quartz contender at the moment, but it’s just a hair brighter than the cabinet paint color we like (our cabinet maker thinks they’re close enough that we won’t find a better match if we try to play with different paint colors).
(2) How about Corian folks? My mom and aunt both have solid white Corian in their kitchens, and they’re both beautiful. I had convinced myself that I wanted to break out and be different from them by using quartz
