Stephanie Allen No it cannot. Nothing beats the look of real stone. Stone never gets dated either. Laminates can chip where stone is difficult to damage. Stone is also much more functional when it comes to practical use in the kitchen. Skimp on something else.
goeselville Real stone would be wonderful ,there are some nice laminates out there,depends on your budget .I have had my laminate butcherblock countertops for 25 years and they have held up very well,no cracks or chips ,has a no spill upturned edge ,very user friendly too.
bojaby Yes, laminate can look great. The key is the edging. I recently remodeled my kitchen and my budget just did not allow for granite. I chose a laminate that looks like slate. It is not shiny and has a raised surface and slightly variegated color. It really does look like slate. Because I have maple cabinets I had the countertops edged in maple. The wood edging is not that much more and it really makes the counter look finished. I love my new countertops. My budget didn't allow for an expensive back splash so I had the matching 4" slate back splash edged in maple as well and will paint the area from the top of the backslash to bottom of cabinets with a muted red. I am using Glidden's new high gloss gel paint. Hope this gives you some ideas. Good luck!
Laminate can be gorgeous, there are so many great choices out there. Any countertop material (including natural stone) can look dated if its one of the more ubiquitous examples. Look for something subtle or unique, depending on where it will fit visually when combined with the other fixtures and finishes in your kitchen (i.e. prominent or receding). A great designer can really help to make this happen. Here are a few nice examples:
However, I agree that laminate is nowhere near as practical as stone, so I'd encourage you to also price for both materials and decide whether the difference between the two is something which is worth waiting for. (Presuming that's an option). Bear in mind that laminate varies greatly in cost as does stone, so take the time to research your options. Also, keeping the edge profile simple (especially on stone) will keep the cost down, as well as choosing a lower group number
Cancork Floor Inc. Laminates are excellent choices on a budget. You want the best fixtures you can afford (fridge, stove, dishwasher, facets, etc). Once they have been purchases/removed from the budget, one of the few places left to "save" are on counter tops.
Get the prettiest counter top you can afford, and if you have the money in a few years time, you can always have a new counter top put in. If the money never comes available, or other things come into play then you will have a beautiful, functional - all be it a laminate counter top!
I think it's a "win-win" situation!
BTW: Cancork Floor and icorkfloor.com have Stone-cork glue down "tiles". These tiles have 1.5mm of slate or mica laid over top 1.5mm of cork. It can be glued into place using a cork adhesive (water based - 0 VOC; 0 Formaldehyde formula) that looks and acts like SLATE! All for $4.99/sf!!!! The tiles are 1.5ft x 2ft (rough estimate) and can be cut with regular saw. You can seal the edges with water based polyurethane to make the whole business water proof!
With the extra left over, you can make a back splash as well!!! No need to try to match!
Now you can have BOTH an inexpensive "faux" stone counter top that is ACTUAL stone! How cool is that.
Prairie Point Interiors Inc Go with what you can afford. There are hundreds of laminates to choose from and plenty of stone patterns. I would recommend adding a wooden front edging if you can afford to, something that picks up the colour of your existing kitchen.
onthefence There are some great looking laminates now. However, it seems some of the newer looks are a bit pricey.
Depending on where you're located, check some local stone yards. Many have some of the less exotic granites done as prefab and the price can be comparable to a high end laminate.
[houzz=Kitchens by Formica Group]
Here's an ideabook about today's laminate countertops: Ideabook: Kitchen Counters: Plastic Laminate Offers Options Aplenty
Laminate can be gorgeous, there are so many great choices out there. Any countertop material (including natural stone) can look dated if its one of the more ubiquitous examples. Look for something subtle or unique, depending on where it will fit visually when combined with the other fixtures and finishes in your kitchen (i.e. prominent or receding). A great designer can really help to make this happen. Here are a few nice examples:
However, I agree that laminate is nowhere near as practical as stone, so I'd encourage you to also price for both materials and decide whether the difference between the two is something which is worth waiting for. (Presuming that's an option). Bear in mind that laminate varies greatly in cost as does stone, so take the time to research your options. Also, keeping the edge profile simple (especially on stone) will keep the cost down, as well as choosing a lower group number
~Steve
Get the prettiest counter top you can afford, and if you have the money in a few years time, you can always have a new counter top put in. If the money never comes available, or other things come into play then you will have a beautiful, functional - all be it a laminate counter top!
I think it's a "win-win" situation!
BTW: Cancork Floor and icorkfloor.com have Stone-cork glue down "tiles". These tiles have 1.5mm of slate or mica laid over top 1.5mm of cork. It can be glued into place using a cork adhesive (water based - 0 VOC; 0 Formaldehyde formula) that looks and acts like SLATE! All for $4.99/sf!!!! The tiles are 1.5ft x 2ft (rough estimate) and can be cut with regular saw. You can seal the edges with water based polyurethane to make the whole business water proof!
With the extra left over, you can make a back splash as well!!! No need to try to match!
Now you can have BOTH an inexpensive "faux" stone counter top that is ACTUAL stone! How cool is that.
Depending on where you're located, check some local stone yards. Many have some of the less exotic granites done as prefab and the price can be comparable to a high end laminate.