[leeannem978]

Can anybody tell me what the counter top is used in this photo from an IKEA store in Utah? I have the lidi doors, and I'm going w/a Maple flooring and I'm not sure what to do for my counters.

Am thinking of a dark black/grey granite-look laminate, but liked this one too ... any ideas??

Note, I got a little confused when trying to save this pic to my gallery to link it, so I just saved it and uploaded it, lol. If you search 'lidingo' in galleries it's one of the first pictures that come up under the results.

[DesignDiva]

Looks like one of the solid surface items, maybe Ceasarstone or possibly Silestone. Hard to tell without a closer pic of the texture.

[leeannem978]

Originally Posted by DesignDiva

Looks like one of the solid surface items, maybe Ceasarstone or possibly Silestone. Hard to tell without a closer pic of the texture.

Ah, didn't realize that IKEA would have offerings like that @ their stores. I thought they only did their stuff.

I was wondering why it looked so snazzy :-)

[Dave of the Coonties]

Ikea sells two branded "quartz" countertops at Orlando. I think the main one is Silestone; Caesarstone arrived recently. It's attractive.

[leeannem978]

Originally Posted by Dave of the Coonties

Ikea sells two branded "quartz" countertops at Orlando. I think the main one is Silestone; Caesarstone arrived recently. It's attractive.

Any idea how pricey vs laminate? I'm hearing that people are "shocked" at how expensive laminate can be. I like a nice black/grey granite look, but I know that Wilsonart has some great laminate product and was hoping for "the look for less" (aren't we all??)

[DesignDiva]

They are comparable to granite, unfortunately. Some IKEAs subcontract other services such as countertops to local companies, just like Home Depot and Lowe's do.

[Harpy]

These days they are more than many granites, alas. (With the housing industry in the state it's in and the amount of really cheap stone coming from India and China, you can get granite very inexpensively if you're willing to deal with limited color choices.)

EDIT and I don't know about Caesarstone, but our local Ikea (Sunrise) is way over the price of going directly to a local fabricator for granite and silestone. I'm really happy to hear that Orlando has Caesarstone, since I haven't been able to find any place to see it locally. I may have to take a run up there to take a look.

[Sailormann]

We found that it was more economical to go directly to a countertop fabricator than it was to buy through Ikea. The trade-off is that you don't get the Ikea warranty and customer service, but you can save a $ignificant amount.

In the case of natural stone, the cheapest option is to purchase the slab, have it cut and then install it your self or hire a general handyman. Not a difficult proposition if you have straight runs of countertops or islands - not quite so easy to template if you have corners or need seams, probably worth paying a fabricator in case the slab gets ruined..

We also found that metal countertops are comparable to the price of solidsurfacing.

[Harpy]

Originally Posted by Sailormann

In the case of natural stone, the cheapest option is to purchase the slab, have it cut and then install it your self or hire a general handyman.

.

Actually, this doesn't work everywhere. There are places where you can buy stone separate from fabrication, but there are also many places in the US where stone is only available via the fabricator (unless you order it online or something like that).

[Dave of the Coonties]

Orlando offers granite at $49 installed (they don't have price classes). Is Sunrise the same?