IMHO. i think it would be jarring. before my reno i had a mix of formica and corian. it went together. maybe you could find a corian you like? or even a quartz?

I'm confused. You said you were thinking of using it on a peninsula - how would you rectify the seam between the two? Wouldn't it be touching the formica?

It might look a bit out of place but I'd want to see the layout and the rest of the kitchen before making the call.

I would not make counter decisions around an old stove. You'll really enjoy cooking on a better stove, so I'd encourage you to replace it. I only have a GE glass top, but it was a big improvement over coil.

Are you not going with the U layout?

I love the formica. What pattern is it and who is it from?

I think you need contrast when using two counters in one kitchen. That and it needs to look like you have a reason for it (other than costs). That is why (example) butcher block works in a prep area with tile near the stove, they contrast in color and texture and each is positioned where it functions best. So, marble on the island/peninsula and a darker contrasting surface elsewhere would work. If you really love the marble, just do it. You can put off a new frig or backsplash to counter the costs. You will replace your stove before you are ready to replace the counter.

If you have an unfitted kitchen, I believe you can mix many materials...and often quite successfully :)

I would hesitate to combine JUST marble and Formica, unless it makes sense in the overall scheme. Like 1920's kitchen with Formica countertops and a wood island/marble top that looks like a table and might have been an older piece, in that kitchen. Maybe add in a few 'modern' touches, such as a fridge (LOL).

Seriously, if you like the Formica, what about one that looks like marble? You won't have the upkeep issues, no worries about etching and it will work with your range. If you decide to update the range in the future, it will still look nice.

Elizabeth - I'll have to think about the Corian and formica combo. I think this would look nice. I guess this combo works because they're both plastics.

Swen - the peninsula I'm talking about is an island, but one side is attached to the wall. So there are two separate countertop areas.

May_flowers: Yah, OK, I agree that I shouldn't decorate around an old stove. I just don't like spending money on appliances when the old ones work. My 2012 kitchenaid glasstop heated up slower than this coil stove.

Also, after all the suggestions to 'go U', I mocked it up, and it didn't look right. It pushes the kitchen too much into the living room. It just looks and feels wrong to me. This isn't noticeable from the drawings, but when you're standing in the living room, it is noticeable. It feels like a McMansion kitchen. The need to get to the back door is overstated: it's actually a side door that nobody but the cook uses to go do some BBQing.

Lavendar: I've looked at the laminate marbles and I don't care for them. I LOVE unfitted kitchens. They're my favourite.

Lanne : I see what you mean about needing contrast between the counters, and having a purpose to them. The laminate is Arborite 'Nuno Pearl'. I really like it because the pattern is a bit more evident than some of the linen-look laminates.

So far, it looks like it's a 'no' on the marble + laminate combo :-)
I might be trying too hard to be 'original' with this kitchen by having different countertop surfaces.

I think I need to just decide between: formica+metal strip, or marble. I like marble better; but the formica is a really close second.

**edited for spelling

This post was edited by Hydragea on Thu, Oct 9, 14 at 16:00

I agree that designing around an old stove isn't a great plan. A stove is SUCH an easy thing to change. Old stoves don't last forever, so when this one breaks and gets replaced, you'll have lost the reason for your design choices. Also anybody who buys your house would probably replace the stove, so they'd be looking for the more expensive, harder-to-change features of the kitchen to be nice (cabinets, sink, counters).

Don't make everything look older and cheaper just so the stove doesn't look out of place. I think almost everybody would prefer a nice kitchen with a bad stove because the stove is so temporary.

And if it helps, marble can be fancy, or it can be kind of vintage and friendly and casual. Like this:

{{!gwi}}

You might just get a marble-topped baking table and push it again the wall where you wanted to have a peninsula. That would be a much more casual look and probably cheaper than building it in.

"You might just get a marble-topped baking table and push it again the wall where you wanted to have a peninsula. That would be a much more casual look and probably cheaper than building it in."

This!

Tiny kitchen. She needs the peninsula for her sink and DW.

Haven't read the responses...but you're thinking of basing your kitchen remodel around your admitted "old stove"? hmmm

I understand not wanting to get rid of things that work...but, you are spending thousands (likely tens of thousands) on a new kitchen and keeping a stove that is going to look out of place in the new kitchen??? Why not place it on Craigslist and give it a new home where it will be needed and loved and get a new one that will fit in with the rest of what you are looking at getting for the remodel?

Ok, so the use of formica is not _based_ around the stove. I'm afraid I introduced a bit of a red herring there. Sorry about that.

The kitchen is a modest 1950's house. The kitchen would look 'right' with formica. The formica would have the effect of keeping the kitchen in line with the look of the *house*. That is the primary reason for using it; and also, I like it.

The question is: does it look OK with marble?
Does it cheapen things? Does it look weird? Should I maybe use a different colour? Am I making things too complicated? :-)

Your gut is directing you well. Natural stone and plastic are not a beautiful mix of materials. They are at odds with each other.

Marble is, literally an old stone. I would use it in your kitchen with your coil stove and not look back - no formica.

The only concern I see is the mixing of the whites - the white stove, the white in the marble and the white in the cabinets. You'll have to be careful.

And when we were doing our reno, if I could've found a high end coil stove that is what I would have chosen.

Since you say that you have a small kitchen, I would do only one surface. I think that mixing countertops in a small space is going to look busy and make the space feel even smaller.

In a modest 50's home, Formica is very much an appropriate choice. (Metal edging would look cool on the Formica.) Nothing says that you can't have a nice marble pastry slab--to satisfy your lust for marble. :)

And I like your cool old stove. I wouldn't give it up for a new one until it was beyond repair. Chances are it will still be humming along after a new one would need a new control board or something equally expensive.

I agree with ci_lantro. IMHO, One or the other, but not both. Especially if it's a small kitchen. There is such a thing as "too much" and all it does is create chaos in a small space.

Great, thanks for your input. I'll use one or the other.

blfenton - I forgot to mention 'thank you' for your comments on getting the whites right. I hadn't thought of that.

I really like the idea of using laminate with metal edging to maintain the 50s look of your home. The marble cutting board or pastry slab to get that marble hit would be perfect.

I love vintage stoves. Is yours a standard size? Since your kitchen is unfitted, is it possible to allow enough wiggle room for the day your old stove needs to be replaced? Then you could consider a new vintage-look range or a refurbished original.

Chances are if you were to sell, the buyers would change things anyway, so I wouldn't try to second guess what they want. Go with what you love!

I love your vintage stove and clearly it's lasted much longer than the crummy new one that came with my kitchen in 2001.

I love your formica choice with metal trim. I also think marble could look great, but done casual style (no fussy edge detailing).

I really like the idea of using laminate with metal edging to maintain the 50s look of your home. The marble cutting board or pastry slab to get that marble hit would be perfect.

I love vintage stoves. Is yours a standard size? Since your kitchen is unfitted, is it possible to allow enough wiggle room for the day your old stove needs to be replaced? Then you could consider a new vintage-look range or a refurbished original.

Chances are if you were to sell, the buyers would change things anyway, so I wouldn't try to second guess what they want. Go with what you love!

thanks, re: stove. The stove coils are great. I guess they're good quality because they heat up all the way to the outside. They heat my pots faster than my ceramic cooktop.

I think it would be really cute to do formica :-) It would be less expensive-looking, but it would add a sweetness factor.

Here is a pic of my harvest table. The antique Canadiana furniture is really my style. It's one style that I've consistently liked for a long time. Does the formica or marble work better with this type of furniture?

duplicate

This post was edited by Hydragea on Sat, Oct 11, 14 at 9:00

I have Formica in the color "Curry" on my perimeter counters, bullnose edge with maple cabinets and Ubatuba granite on my large island. I love the combination. I like strong colors and contrast (have an orange Marmoleum floor), but even if it weren't so contrasting, it looks good. I like having the two different surfaces. The Formica is warmer and not as reflective as the granite and is easier to keep clean. I'm doing a remodel now and although I could do whatever counter tops I want (except glass, which I really love), I think I'll do Formica again, but a different color. That was one reason we went with Formica when we built--it's affordable enough that you can change it when you get tired of it.

I like your old stove.

I would just do Formica everywhere, I saw some new homes last December with it on the counters and vanities and it looked as nice as the finest counter tops money can buy. I read in here about all of the cleaning problems with other counter tops and in all my years I have never had a problem with it. I want low maintenance so I can sit around watching movies, reading and doing jigsaw puzzles instead of cleaning and scrubbing.

At first thought I don't think the formica/marble combo sounds great to me but I can sometimes suffer from a lack of imagination.....

Regarding designing around the stove....I respect not wanting to replace something that works. (I'm too shallow to do it, but I respect it) So, I say keep the stove just don't make your expensive and hard to replace design decisions around it. Make those decisions as if the stove were going to break in 3-5 years and you were going to be forced to buy a new one. What would you get?

I think you could do marble everywhere and keep the stove. Just accent with a few retro things to keep the overall look kind of casual and tie the stove in. When it comes right down to it, marble is just a light counter top. If that looks good with your cabinets and floor and everything else I don't think the stove will be a deal breaker.

thanks, beanpiele. I think your suggestions are very sensible, re: marble is just a colour of countertop, lol :-) So true.

The other thing I was thinking was: the dual countertop look seems to work better if there is an island. The island can be a different colour. In my case, my 'island' is attached at one end to the wall, so although it *could* have a different countertop material, I think because it's attached to the wall, that it reads as 'one' with the perimeter. Hope that makes sense.

Update on the stove. I've purchased a new BlueStar range. Oven on old stove didn't work properly.