Counter help

Just had my kitchen remodeled. I like the granite very much. It does not feel porous to the touch; so maybe it was sealed before installation. It's way better than the 50 year old countertop that it replaced.

I'll be getting a kitchen remodeled in the nearish future so i'm stoked to find this. Lots to consider.

Go for granite... Rolling out doughs and cooking will never be the same. My wife loves the granite I put in... Worth every $$$$

we went with silestone for last year's remodel.  we shopped a crapload, headspining from so many options.  Ultimately, we went with silestone quartz for: 1) little or no maintenance; 2) microban infused = food grade surface for baking prep, etc; and 3) enviro friendly (supposedly LOL).  For smoothness, quartz >> granite.

I think the costs were comparable to the natural stones we considered.

http://www.materialproject.org/wiki/Silestone

http://countertopinvestigator.com/quartz-granite/

Granite does look classier with its long random veins.  Also, seams are really evident in light colored quartz, unlike with granite.  Also, and this is a kind of a bummer, the resin used to make quartz is apparently UV labile.  So over the course of 10 years, degradation will be evident if the surface has direct exposure to ambient light.  But by then, i'll either have moved or be dead so it'll be someone elses issue 

our island is a fairly jumbo sized 11 footer like you may be planning, will post pic later

Granite is the best thing for the $. More expensive optioned include glass set in a matrix and ground down. Granite is great!

Perspective photos of the Appliance side and counter side of the 11 frcooking island

Here's what a seam looks like for our whiteish silestone

For comparison, here's a  marble bathroom counter. Requires sealing annually wut a pita but it has nice veins