Wow that is a nice looking kitchen. What wood are the cabnets made from?

As for counter tops my wife and I have been looking for a little while. We started looking at solid surface but my wife wanted something a little dark. The dark solid surface shows scratches and is not resistant to heat. The mold in sink is sweet though. The quartz was the most durable Zodiac is the one we looked at but seattled on granite because of the natural random lines that flow through it. The granite also matches the travitine floor. We haven't got it installed yet we are waiting on a couple more shifts of over time to pay for it. It went a little over 100.00 a square ft. We found granite from around 50.00 up to what ever you wanted to spend. To get anything that was "flowing" had good natural lines we were looking at 100.00+ and with a log house I wanted as much natural stone as we could afford.
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:-)

Buyers want to see granite tops in kitchens. You won't regret the decision.
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granite is available with a life time seal polished into it (For a few bucks more per square)eliminating the need for sealing , in todays market I put in all surfaces and the are all good, I like all of them and the all have good benefits the only true thing to stay away from is sharp blades and extreme heat!!!
We went with a new laminate that looks and feels like stone due to our budget and we have been extremely happy with it. Most people think we have granite
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Increasing Your Home Value With Granite Countertops
By Ryan Frank

(I am not sure about the 10% added value shwon in the article but it definitely adds value) There is a reason why virtually every house over $1 million has granite everywhere ..... it is highly desirable and it sells! But it may be a budget buster in which case there are several good lower cost quality alternatives. Beware of the $50 granites, they are much more porous than the more expensive polished granites. Probably the $80-100 range stuff is the minimum quality range you would want to use as an alternative to some of the other materials, I have had Silestone in another house and it performed well. Granite is also not suitable for the do-it-yourselfer to install.


http://ezinearticles.com/?Increasing...ops&id=3006819

Here is another good article about the added value of granite:

http://www.kitchendesignersideas.com...untertops.html
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Thanks.... The cabinets are Knotty Alder with a chestnut black glaze.
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