I think it also speaks to how much money you have for pity sake. You can value a $14,000 countertop all you want in your mind, but that doesn’t mean it’s a smart use of your budget.

Quartzite is my choice. Granite benefits and today’s style.

My mom had soapstone installed in her kitchen about 25 years ago. It still looks brand new.

Have I ever hugged my quartzite countertop? ….maybe. Hey, it feels great on a hot day.

My husband installed formica for years. He was sold. Our house is 22 yr old and the countertop still looks great.

I have a beautiful Formica (gasp) countertop for years. It looks as good as the day it was delivered. In travertine look, slightly polished looking. After cooking, planting, so much use, it still looks good, and all I have to do is clean it off.

Butcher block, naturally oiled, is my favorite countertop by far. And it’s affordable.

Grandma with a spouse & 5 grandkids, laminate counters and butcher block island works for me!

You left out solid surface (Corian). We’ve had this product for over 30 years, love it, was cost effective and still looks like new.

I recently renovated my kitchen using Mark’s consultation service.  It was a really great experience and my kitchen is beautiful with almost 50% more storage using the same footprint.  I chose quartz for my countertops and IKEA cabinets.  Highly recommended Mark, IKEA, and drawers for lower cabinets.

LOL about to put in large format tile and couldn't be more excited. You can put hot stuff on it.

There is soapstone and then all the other stuff a distant 2nd. OK quartzite is quite nice too! 😁

Soapstone is perfect for me. 20 years in and I still love my Fantasia island top, patina and all. Now I want a 72" soapstone sink with built-in drain boards, because, yes, I AM an old soul.

I’m a soapstone girl….yes, I secretly miss my lab tables.  (Retired high school science teacher). If I ever have the chance to renovate…..that’s my dream.

Thanks for exploring different countertops. I have less than a decade left living in this house, and an incorrectly installed dishwasher means that I need to replace my laminate countertop. Part of me wants to just smack down some more laminate and be done with it, but then I think of how the original owners of this house made the choice to get ogee countertops and how much more work that made for me in cleaning. I don't want to do something like that to anyone.

Oh, and I have no problem with two of my kids. It's the 0.5 kid who drives me crazy. It's like he's only got half a brain or something.

I went from formica to quartz 14 years ago, so I have never set a hot pan down on a countertop without a trivet or thick pad.

Nailed it matching personality types to countertop preferences!

I’ve had granite for many years and never seal it. Maybe it was resealed from the company. Still looks great

If I had money - soapstone or slate. But I don't so IKEA laminate for the win. Tough as nails, I have had it in my current kitchen for a decade and it looks like new. In the dark concrete color, many people have asked me if it is stone. Doing the exact same in my new house kitchen, did the whole kitchen, with the same as the backsplashes for *$700*. Unfortunately, they have no discontinued that color, but they have a dark terrazzo that is similar.

Another interesting choice is compact laminate. Basically, laminate without the particle board substrate. Also really tough, with the advantage of being 100% waterproof so you can use it with undermount sinks. But it's a LOT more expensive, and kind of hard to find in the US at least. And it's usually only about 1/2-1in thick, so you have to like a very modern thin look.

I/ve always leaned towards laminate if I ever got a kitchen reso again.  So many choices, durable, and you can change it out in a few years without worrying about someting that was as costly as granite or marble..