How Do You Pick A Countertop?

For kitchen remodeling, one of the big decisions you may be making is getting a new countertop. This is not a choice you should be entering into lightly. Like everything else about a kitchen, a countertop needs to meet at an intersection between form and function that you’re happy with.

However, where that intersection lies depends a lot on your preferences and the kind of lifestyle you undertake in the kitchen. Someone is more concerned with efficiently putting together a meal for a family of five is going to have very different kitchen needs from someone living alone who chooses not to do much cooking at home.

So how do you go about picking a countertop that meets your lifestyle needs? Here’s what you should be looking at.

Kitchen Remodeling Placement

With a kitchen remodeling one of the big questions that you need to ask yourself is, are you happy with where the countertop currently is, or do you want to change its location? Some people living in older homes may find a single, continuous countertop running along one wall of the kitchen. You may be perfectly fine with this, but others may want to move that location right to the center of the kitchen area, and get away from the walls.

Picking a countertop may also mean, especially with a relocation to an island counter configuration, having to pick new dimensions as well. Once you’ve decided to get a new countertop and put it in a new location, you have to ensure that it’s still accessible and allows free movement.

Maintenance

Another thing you need to consider is what level of maintenance you’re willing to commit to when it comes to a countertop. Granite, for example, is one of the most popular choices for a countertop because, as natural stone, it has proven itself over the millennia as a reliable, durable material that largely takes care of itself. With stone, you don’t have much to worry about.

Wood, on the other hand, brings warmth to the appearance of the kitchen and can be a very pleasurable surface to prepare food on, thanks to its softness, but it also requires a bit more care. Wood, unlike stone, can get saturated by water, oils and other fluids, so there’s a bit more care involved in keeping wood safe for food preparation versus stone.

Picking Your Edge

Another important aspect of your countertop is the type of edge that you’d like. Some homeowners prefer the sleek, angular look of a traditional countertop with sharp corners. Others, however, prefer something a little safer, especially if there are children or animals to worry about.

Some people prefer a completely flat edge, while others prefer a “lip” to be on edge, slightly raised, which can help with preventing liquids from spilling over the side and onto the floor. All of this is entirely dependent on what kind of preferences you have, and how you use your kitchen. So when you think about getting a new countertop for your kitchen remodeling, look at your current counter situation and see if there are things about it you’d like to change or improve.