My Wilsonart HD counters have been installed about a year now. I love them. My DH is the one who wanted them initially. Maintenance is a breeze. I chose "flint." It's difficult to judge these surfaces from the small sample because the texture seems a bit odd and plastic-like, but on a counter, this material looks beautiful.

My Kitchen

Hello,

My counters are Wilsonart Premium Laminate as well. We have been very pleased with them. They are black with flecks of white, they look like a starry night.

and

Elaine

Thank you for the replies! amcofar, your kitchen is beautiful! I love how you decorated the soffets. The house we are remodeling has soffets and I wasn't sure what do w/ them. I love the molding and contrasting colors! What is your flooring? I love that too! momtosethc, the beveled edge looks great. The sample in the store looked a little worn and you could see white showing through the seams so I was a little worried. We have to go w/ a beveled edge b/c the one end of our cabinets are going to be angeled so I am so relieved at how nice your countertop looks. Thank you both for your help!

kylan: My floors are ceramic tile by Daltile, but that particular tile has been discontinued. It's called "French Quarter-Cobblestone."

My countertop is also beveled. I've bumped it with my ladder while I was DIYing and with pots, but the edge remains undamaged.

Here's a close-up view of the edge:

amcofar- I love your countertops...I can really see the detail in the close up. Thanks for the info about your floors. I have so many decisions to make and its so overwhelming but exciting at the same time! I really appreciate your input!

p.s. How frustrating is it to pick out an entire countertop based on those tiny samples they have?!

Photo of Bella Capri countertop at the link.

Cut & paste addy to see photo of Deepstar Fossil:

http://ericandhelen.smugmug.com/photos/112751941_37sxw-S.jpg

Here is a link that might be useful: Bella Capri

Your good...thx!

Kylan -- I love my Deepstar Fossil -- ci lantro posted a link to it above (thanks Ci lantro). I get comments on it all the time. I've also seen the Bella Capri and love that as well, hard decision for you!! Have fun with your kitchen remodel.

kylan,
if you call Wilsonart they'll send you a pretty good sized sample of the colors you're interested in.

We are still in the planning stages, but I like the Wilsonart Laminate Deepstar Slate. Seriously, if for some reason Blue Pearl granite is not going to work out, I'd want the laminate over Corian or Silestone. I just don't like the look of the Corian or Sileston when I've seen a full counter done in the pattern I liked in a small swatch.

Sorry for the highjack, but amcofar -- what kind of sink is that? I love your kitchen.

sarschlos: Thank you. My sink is a Blanco silgranit super-single in metallic grey. I have so enjoyed this sink. I bought it from a plumber's supply for a great price. I purchased the Blanco grid for it from an eBay seller.

I have Bella Capri. We had a local cabinet maker do ours and he gave me a sample that was 3'x3' which really gave a good idea what it would look like.

{{!gwi}}

Oh I love it! Thanks for the pic!

deepstar flint in my kitchen:

bella reale in my laundry room:

Thanks for all the great pictures. I've also been considering using Wilsonart HD laminate in Deepstar agate but was getting worried about how shiny it may look (agree that it's hard to tell with the small samples!).

I noticed that some people aren't installing backsplashes with the laminate and think it adds an upscale look. However, is there any issues with water by the sink area? Or is it recommended to do a tile backsplash?

No problems with water seeping behind my sink etc. My hubby did caulk between the countertop and the tile backsplash.

Our laminate is Formica's Basalt Slate. We have square edges (don't love the white layer!):

We opted NOT to get the laminate backsplash. The window trim is extra wide to also serve as a backsplash:

Clear caulk at counter-trim joint, and no water damage so far.

Laminate countertops have come a long way, I had to get up close to a HD exhibit to tell that the Wilsonart HD wasn't granite. Formica makes one called "Oiled Soapstone" that I especially love, kind of similar to the Basalt Slate pictured above. Jade D., I'm going with the exact same door pulls for my kitchen (I start in two days, wish me luck). Can't wait for my new kitchen to be done and get rid of the early 70's decor I currently love (am replacing browns, olives and mustards with light maple cabs, Silestone in a creamy color called Blanco Maple, light bamboo floors, SS appliances and a celedon green tile backsplash. Should really brighten up my small, windowless NYC kitchen.

I posted my counters and kitchen photos previously in this thread. My countertop installer highly recommended that I NOT install a typical laminate backsplash. After my counter was installed, I applied a bead of clear silicone. After my DH installed beaded-board paneling as our backsplash, I again applied a silicone seal where the paneling met the counter. We finished off the transition with a piece of waterproof quarter-round molding. I haven't had any issues with water, although I have accidentally flooded that area behind my sink a couple of times. I just wick the water away with a paper towel. Concerning the shine, my counters don't seem to have as much shine in person as they do in photos, probably because the flash of the camera bounces off the counter.

Amcofar - thanks for the feedback. I'm not sure what I'll be doing with the backsplash right now. I'm considering either tiling it or just painting it an accent color to make it pop from the rest of the room.

However, I'm concerned that if I skip the laminate backsplash and just do paint on the walls, I'm going to have a water problem! Has anyone run into this issue before?

Hi-
We installed formica counters 10.5 years ago with NO backsplash. We installed tin as a backsplash and just ran a bead of caulk (silicone) where the formica meets the backsplash. I agree with others here that it's a slightly more "upscale" or I guess "modern" look. Not one water problem in all this time...we use our kitchen heavily. Hope that helps...
B

I just stumbled across this thread in the 11th hour of my search for the perfect laminate countertop. I love the pics in this thread. If anyone can offer a photo of Wilsonart Milano Quartz 4726-52, I would be thrilled! I've been struggling for months with the countertop issue but now it's become urgent. Help? Anyone?

Thanks for your time!

You can order the large samples from Wilsonart and Home Depot has the 3 x 4 samples. When I was picking out countertops, I picked up 4 samples of each that I was considering and taped them to a sheet of paper. It really helped me.