Kitchen Countertop Options

[LiamC]

Looking at countertop options for our new kitchen; apart from laminte, solid wood or granite am I missing any options?

I remember seeing a countertop at the "ideal homes" expo in RDS several years ago that looked like a composite of glass - really smooth & shiny with different flecks of colour through it. Pretty sure it was a Northern Ireland based company that were showing it but can't remember any details.
Anyone recognise what this might have been / who does it?

Thanks!

 

[Dreamerb]

Try this link for generic countertop types:
http://interiordec.about.com/od/kitchencounters/tp/tp_countertops.htm

The material you mention sounds to me like it might have been Corian, which I think is a kind of stone-composite and is available in a range of colours. My mother in law, who has a marble counter-top, swears that's what she'd get if she were doing it again, but I don't know a great deal about it. I've also seen more plastic / resin type countertops recently, but though they looked quite good and were solid rather than the laminated chipboard stuff, they had a very plastic feel I didn't like [yes, also shopping for kitchens! - probably going for polished granite].

Actually, reading more, looks like it could be Silestone, which is a relatively new surface type so hard to know about durability.

 

[shilling]

My mother has Corian, comes in huge variety of colous and you can have a design -e.g a border in it aswell.

 

[LiamC]

Actually, reading more, looks like it could be Silestone, which is a relatively new surface type so hard to know about durability.

Thanks for the link, more food for thought ....
I have silestone countertops in a foreign property, looked fantastic when it was put in - had the place rented out and went back to find that the counters had lost their sparkle & just looked flat. Can only assume that the cleaners that was used on them was too harsh - so I guess they need the same care as granite.