More Kitchen Countertop Talk

Last week I asked for your guys’ opinions on which laminate countertops we should go with in our kitchen. If you were a naughty reader and missed it, you can catch up here.

I put the options up for a vote, and marble won.

countertop votes

On Monday I took a trip to the countertop place to see some options in person.

And to pet the office puppy, Olive. We became instant besties. (I snuck this pic like a total creeper but I had to text it to Brad and brag about my bonding experience with Olive. She’s totally judging me. Just look at her face.)

photo (27) copy

While I showed you the Wilsonart Calcutta Marble in the example photo last week, the Formica 180fx Calacatta Marble, which is very similar, must be quite popular because they had quite a few real countertops and remnants in the shop.

marble laminate countertop

They were nice enough to give me a sheet of the Formica 180fx Calacutta Marble laminate to take home and see how it would look in our kitchen. This was beyond helpful because if you’ve seen laminate samples they’re no bigger than 2 in. by 3 in.– not the best for visualizing.

So I brought the sheet home and put it in different spots of our kitchen to get an idea of how it will look.

kitchen countertops test 1

 Let me reiterate, this is laminate, not real marble.

It’s farble– faux marble. People on social media kept saying, “You don’t want marble in your kitchen!” And I was all, “It’s all good– it’s laminate.”

kitchen countertop test 2

But doesn’t it look like real marble? Tricky, tricky.

kitchen countertop test 7

This photo gives you a good idea of how the marble will look with our black appliances and the white cabinets.

kitchen countertop test 6

Now, remember, you have to visualize the countertops with no backsplash lip because we plan to eventually tile the backsplash from the countertops to the cabinets.

kitchen countertop test 5

kitchen countertop test 3

kitchen countertop test 4

So, what do you think?

Making big, somewhat expensive decisions, like this, are debilitating to me. Brad is all, “Just go with the marble”, and I’m all, “Maybe I’ll ask if I can go back to the countertop place and see more options.”

I figure if you guys weigh in and I go with marble and hate it I can blame you and say the peer pressure got the best of me.

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34 Comments

  1. I didn’t vote for marble, I was option #1 but-but! Seeing it, as a real piece rather than photo shopped, I gotta say that it looks really nice!! I feel like the photo shopped version had such dark linear veins it just didn’t fit. The sample, while still dark in places, seems to have a more natural flow to the veins.

  2. Kelsey Barstad says:

    I love the marble look! I think it definitely goes with the crisp and clean kitchen look you’re going for!

  3. I love the marble option! It looks so good with your white cabinets and black appliances. Don’t hesitate any longer. I will totally let you blame me if you don’t like it, but I honestly don’t think that’ll be a problem. It looks amazing!

  4. Christine F. says:

    I like it but really was smitten with the slightly darker grey that seemed to ground the kitchen more. Not surprising…my kitchen has white cabinets and black marble. 🙂

  5. I was totally Team #1, but seeing the farble kinda changed my mind. It looks great!! Can’t wait to see what you end up going with. It will be beautiful!

  6. Amanda Brodnik says:

    I still love the farble! It looks even better than the pics. Go with it!

  7. I know exactly how you feel! We put solid surface counters in our kitchen earlier this year and it took me forever to make up my mind. My husband felt the same as Brad – you know what you want, just go for it.

    And of course, after looking through tons of samples, we ended up going with the first sample we ever looked at! We had to make our decision off those tiny 2 x 2 samples and luckily it worked out well! But, wow it was stressful!

  8. Love the farble!! And the word farble.. I’m going to start using it daily in conversation.

  9. We are in the search for new countertops for our kitchen as well. Does the sale price of homes in your neighborhood not demand granite or a real stone? We are debating whether to do laminate or real stone (so pricy!) and just wondering if we do laminate if it will fit the sale prices of the neighborhood. Just curious as to your thoughts. Thanks!

    1. We definitely don’t live in a stone countertop neighborhood. It’s not a bad neighborhood– it’s just mostly “starter homes” so granite/stone countertops are not expected AT ALL. If we put real stone in we wouldn’t make our money back in the selling price. And since we only plan on staying another 2-3 years in this house we’re going with a premium laminate.

  10. Voted for the farble but was not sure that you didn’t need to look at other samples. However now that you have that handy large sample I really like how it pulls the black from the appliances and the white of the cabinets together! Plus it looks great with the chrome/silver tones. Go for it!

  11. I dig the marble laminate but if you’re still not sure go back to that store and ask for more samples. better to take your time to make sure you’re happy with the end result.

  12. I love it. I think it looks great. That dog is adorable! I love to hear them breathe, so cute!

  13. Yeah… the Formica 180fx Calacutta Marble is totally awesome! So glad you got to see a big sheet of it!! 🙂

  14. So I hate to be a nay-sayer, but the white Calacutta marble laminate worries me. We have off-white laminate in our townhouse and EVERYTHING stains it. Soda stains it, red wine stains it, etc. And the stains don’t come off easily (or at all -the wine stains are the worst). I’m not sure how the quality of my laminate compares to the quality of the laminate brand you’re looking at, but definitely take permanent staining into consideration. I also agree that the Calacutta marble looks the best of the options you Photoshopped, but my own personal experiences made me want to at least warn you of the staining issues we’ve had with our light-colored laminate counter tops.

    1. Thanks for the warning, Jen. I know what you mean, our current light-colored laminate stains easily, but the stains typically fade with 24-48 hours. The Formica 180fx laminate is a premium laminate so it’s guaranteed to be stain-resistant.

      1. Sounds like it’s a winner, then! I really did think that option was the prettiest one 🙂

  15. Just not crazy about the way this looks. Sorry!!!

  16. Shirley Lupton says:

    Looks great! I chose #3 last week but now that I see this I think you have made the right choice. Thanks for sharing.

  17. What type of sink are your planning to use? Did you know that even though you are using laminate you can now install under mounts with laminate countertops? Your comment about your kitchen not being a granite kitchen resonated very strongly with me. Kudos to you for being practical and understanding your house, lifestyle, and neighborhood.

    1. April L Babin says:

      If you don’t mind me asking, how do you install an undermount with laminate?

  18. Well the sample you brought home is the one I voted for. Just sayin…

  19. This looks great! I voted for the ‘farble’, and it works really well with your black appliances and white cabinet doors, plus your hardware blends well with it. All in all i would say this is a winner! Plus i like that it adds visual interest with out being too busy in the event you ever want to change the colour of your kitchen, or start adding coloured accessories (maybe a red toaster?!). You’re just not limited with this choice! Great pic and good luck!

  20. This. Is. Perfect. It just goes in the room so beautifully. Also, to echo the clean lines of your cabinets, I would vote for the “flat polish” finish.

  21. i think it will look great! go for it!

  22. We put the Formica Calcutta Marble in our kitchen remodel and I love, love, love it! Looks amazing, easy to clean. We have the straight corners (not rounded). Straight corners are how real marble is cut, so it looks more authentic. Hope you love this, too!

  23. I am thinking of choosing this same exact Formica marble for my kitchen counters. My question is (sorry if you addressed this in an earlier blog) who fabricates it? I went to Home Depot but I wasn’t really 100% on going with them – they didn’t seem very knowledgeable. I’m not sure how I find a local fabricator – I’m in the Chicago area.

  24. Beautiful. I am right now in the middle if a destroyed kitchen trying decide between formica calacutta 180fx. Or the satin looking finish of the wilsonart calcutta laminate. I saw an online pic of the wilsonart and it looked as if the veining all swept in the same direction. And your puc of the formuca looks as uf the veining sweeps across from different directions. Have you noticed this as true? Also I thought the smooth satiny gonish of the formica might look more real than the textured on the formica. Any thoughts on this?

    1. I am also trying to decide which one is best , Formica marble or WilsonArt. I noticed that WilsonArt had some brownish veins with Grey. Have you noticed that? Which one did you choose?

        1. Hi Tammy,
          I checked out your blog and I love your new kitchen! You & your hubby did an amazing job. It looks lovely! I have been debating between the Wilsonart & Formica. I agree the Wilsonart has a one direction pattern whereas the Formica looks more random. So I want to do the same counters as you. May I ask did you do the etchings finish or gloss? Also what edge did you do?(it looks great). I have two corners and I am wondering how the seam in the corner looks? And lastly what paint color? I just love it all.
          Lori
          p.s. I also love your kitchen Chelsea and the countertop you went with and it is also a contender for my kitchen but I am leaning towards the farble.

          1. Thank you so much for such a sweet reply. I believe the finish was etchings as it is textured.i will add a pic of the corners as i cant remember for sure what they are called and i will have to look up the paint color.

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