Granite my choice too
 

I have had both Corian and Granite - the Corian for less than a year (moved) and the granite for about 5 years in our home up north. Have never resealed. Also have an undermount sink (stainless steel).

The Corian sink stained easily, and the countertop got scratched by and unnamed someone's keys (I think - best to move on).

Our granite is a dark sandy color (tannish), hard to see anything unless you get down to eyelevel. No chips/stains, love it.

In TV, we still have formica, won't replace until it shows wear/tear or is damaged. It's 5 years old as well. Once I do, will probably go with a granite even lighter than sand color, just for something different.

As for the sink, I might do the black/brown one (not sure of the material) as both ceramic and stainless also show stains/scratches. My sister and a friend have one, and it looks brand new after several years.

I had gorgeous black-and-green granite up north. It was a struggle to keep it looking gorgeous. Needs more than just a daily wipe. Also if a glass tips over on the granite it will shatter.

Granite for me
 

I have had granite twice and Corian once. I prefer granite for several reasons. One, you can take a pan right off the stove and place it on granite...not so with Corian. Granite doesn't scratch anf Corian does. My corian sink got stained and it had to be polished out. Granite sparkles! I have never had trouble cleaning either one. Granite acts as a cutting board if you so desire...Corian gets knife marks if a knife is used on it. The granite I chose was permanently sealed so I am not supposed to have to seal it again. However, sealing is very simple. You just wipe over it as if you are cleaning it, then you polish it off. It takes about five minutes. I give granite a :thumbup:. The granite we got was reduced by 50% so it was even cheaper than Corian.

Satisfied Sally:BigApplause:

Thank you for all the replies. It will help in my decision making.

When building a new home in TV do we have to choose what the builder or designer team offers? If so, do we have many choices or are we limited?

Hummingbird - I know your original post was regarding Corian versus granite. Others have mentioned quartz which, in the mix of things, you might want to review and consider as well. We have it in our current home in OH and really like it. The fact that it requires no sealing and is also non-porous were pluses to us.

If it's simply the beauty of natural stone that you're after, granite beats out quartz. Quartz priced out less than granite when we installed it three years ago - things might have changed since then.

Quartz-based countertops are manufactured under a variety of brand names: Caesarstone, HanStone, Silestone, and Zodiaq to name a few.

Bill :)

HGTV has been advertising surfaces from Wilsonart recently. Does anyone have any experience with this for countertops?

We put Wilsonart in the kitchen 3 years ago. It still looks brand new. Hard to scratch, tough, and beautiful. Tons of designs. We went with a darker color, but next time I would go with something neutral and light. Ours has a granite look to it, but has a mix of shiny and dull texturing (hard to explain). I love it. My daughter put the black in her bathroom. All you have to do is wipe it off. You might want to Google "Wilsonart" and check out the samples. Also can be found at any large hardware store, and most cabinet stores. I would buy Wilsonart again if building a new home.

Granite!
 

Granite and stainless, especially if you might want to sell in a few years. Here is what we did last year and I have not found my granite to be any more care than the formica that was there before.

Your spot on. We have granite and it requires too much care for my taste. We had silestone iin our last home and it was kitchen-user friendly

Thank you, SukiChu, I will definitely research further.

rubicon, I disagree about granite being a fad. It was one of the first solid surface counter tops and it's been around for at least 30 years that I know of and will be here long after you and I have departed. Many of the others are newer, quartz, Corian, silestone and concrete. All are nice and each to their own. I really like the natural look of granite. It's the only one that has it. Every thing else is manufactured and looks manufactured. Granite is natural, is real and looks real. But that's why they make so many different ones. Everyone has their own preference. But granite is not a fad.

Granite
 

We had granite installed by All Star Granite, next to Publix on 466, and love it. The install was quick and perfect. Picked out samples and then went to their storage yard to pick out the exact piece we wanted. Install in the bathrooms was free! We love it and would certainly recommend these folks. Plus they are in The Villages.:thumbup: We also ordered the deep black granite double sink in the kitchen and wife loves it...

dwbevin
 

the laminite Wilsonart has really improved over the past years....now they take a picture of a slab of granite and it looks pretty close!