I don't know anything about Corian - can you call a shop that sells it? go visit one and look at them and ask around there? they might have samples of that curve down you'd like to have.

also, post on kitchens and ask for info from those who have it or had it in the past.

I'll look in the phone book and see if I can find anyone. I sooooo don't want to do this right now.

You can have runnels cut into Corian like for a drainboard. It would work behind your sink too. I know most here don't seem to like Corian, but I've put it in 2 kitchens and a bath, so obviously I like it. I've never gotten that into granite. Corian is softer and easily repaired and you can have invisible seams. Really invisible, not like they claim a good granite installer can do. Those aren't invisible at all.

I have granite and it is one of the kinds that doesn't have to be sealed -- Verde Peacock. However because it is dark and shiny, I have to keep after it to keep it looking its best.

Corian can burn, like Formica. You cannot put a hot pan or pot on it as you can with granite, but you are probably used to that now anyway.

There are a lot of other choices out there now besides Corian, Formica and granite, such as Silestone and even polished concrete. Be sure to look into all your options!

Oh rafor, that's a wonderful idea!

dedtired, I like the look of granite, but it's the noise issue for me.

Marti- We're your internet family! I know exactly what your DH means...my husband says 'ask your internet friends' all the time!

Corian sounds like a great choice, especially for a quieter material. I've seen that some people on the kitchen forum, who have it in their homes, really like it :)

what do you think of soapstone? I've seen some on here I really like. don't know about it's hardness tho - but think it can have runnels. i'd love to have runnels!

I do agree on the noise - I sure wouldn't like that! or to drop something on granite.

I know that corian CAN be fabricated so that it has curves, but finding someone who is willing to do it and has expertise will be the hard part. I have never run into any discussion of making the TOP of the corian surface slope down toward a sink. It sure makes sense, though.

Most of my ovenware is glass. I remember reading that a cool solid surface like stone or tile can cause your hot glass ovenware to crack and break from cooling off too quickly when you take it out of the oven and set it on a cold surface. So I use a yarn trivet or towel under the casserole dish even on my porcelain island. Geeze! Is NO surface truly worry-free?

I like the look of soapstone too, but don't really know anything about it. I figure it's out of my price range right now though, considering I didn't have counters in the budget at all.

Steph, I used to have a pyrex glass cutting board beside my oven and set glass pans on it all the time. Or I set them on the glass stove top, which was probably not really cold.

I'd really like to bury my head in the sand and make this all go away, but I don't think that's going to happen. Dh isn't happy about this at all. He wants all the attention on the dining room, not the kitchen. I keep telling him I didn't plan on doing it at this time, and if HE had put the door in right to begin with, we would never have had the problems that started it. Not a good idea. No wonder he doesn't want to help me. ;)

'it's out of my price range right now though'

I have read some posts saying it's more than some granites. guess it depends on which of each.

hopefully, more on kitchens will reply and give more ideas! there are so many different materials used for the counter on that forum!

I know! There are really too many choices for an indecisive person. Give me 3, and make 2 of them ugly. Or I could be like dh and buy the first one I see.

"There are really too many choices for an indecisive person. Give me 3, and make 2 of them ugly."

that's what I say about most things we have to buy! Too many decisions. And decisions within decisions! No wonder I'm nutso and stressed - lol!

Me too. I asked dh last night why none of these house repairs are ever simple. But no, they all have to escalate to the point that something else HAS to be done before the original job can be done right.

Am going through the same thing with my bathroom. Can't decide anything.

We've had an Avonite counter in my kitchen for over 10 years which is like corian. It's been great, but we went with a matte finish & the color & style we picked doesn't show scratches. One problem we did have was when we put our new crockpot on it, it cracked the surface. When it cooled it kinda went back together. We've had to learn to put really hot things on a footed hotpad. Otherwise it's been great. I priced a Corian I liked at a big box store for my bathroom & found that it was going to be more than the granite I priced at a local fabricator.

We have a really long bathroom counter & I'm having a hard time bringing myself to pay as much as a corian or granite top would cost. Unlike most folks these day, granite isn't what I really want - beautiful but not what I need in my bathroom. Still trying to decide.

Good luck with your kitchen!

Can you do two different surfaces? Maybe something else around the sink and formica on the rest of it? That might save a little bit of money...unless you love the Corian. Just an idea :)

Something to think about LL. I saw a stainless steel wall mount sink with wide sides and not an apron but an edge that matched the counter edge. But I can't find it for sale anywhere. And then there would still be a seam right beside the sink.

I texted a neighbor and asked if I could see her kitchen after work. I am NOT cooking with earplugs in. Bad enough I have to wear them to use the mixer and blender.

Krayers, I knew that solid surface would burn if a hot pan was placed on it, but hadn't heard about a crock pot causing enough heat to damage it. Figures though. My crockpot gets so hot that the little rubber feet melted to the counter one time and now I have to use a towel under it.

Would a vintage-type sink work? I know they make some reproductions, too. Maybe something like this, since it has a higher back? Would that keep the water from splashing down behind the sink?
{{!gwi}}From Kitchen plans

That's similar to the ones I saw LL. But it would have to fit my space since I"m reusing the old cabinets, and none I've seen would work. And I don't have time to find a vintage sink or get it reglazed. So many of them are sold in pretty poor condition.

Good point. There are some reproductions, but I don't know if that's what you're looking for, either. I think they sell this one at Lowe's :)
{{gwi:1464004}}From Kitchen plans

Thanks LL. I looked on the Lowe's site earlier and didn't find it, but I looked again just now and found it, and this one.

My only concern is that my cabinets are too modern for a sink like that.

Well, that and I am really spoiled to a single lever faucet. ;)

Dh & I looked at Corian, granite, and quartz today, and we both like quartz. But because of color matching, we have to do the whole kitchen at once. So that means I have to take the whole kitchen apart, strip it, and finish it. Can't do one side and then wait to do the other side when the dining room is finished.

I sure couldn't give up a single lever faucet! I can't wait to get some put in.

doing all of those cabinets? what a job!

Marti- Sounds like time is of the essence...so DH needs to grab some sandpaper and start helping! LOL The quartz will be beautiful :)

Don't know much at all about Corian, except they tout it as possible to sand out scratches and other blemishes. You can also get it with the sink molded right into it, but I'd like my own separate sink, an undermount and stainless like you are getting. Single bowl, deep, and a tall gooseneck single lever faucet set, just ONE HOLE DRILLED in the counter top.
I'm also doing the counter top level window behind my sink, just because we've gone through some leaking issues just like you, Marti.

And that is why I'm ripping out all those cabs around the sink, I think they have mold hidden there, who knows how much it has leaked, and I have this phobia about rats and squirrels coming up around the pipes and nesting comfortably in some hidden compartment under the dishwasher or sink cab. THAT is why I am putting my cabs on LEGS and not having a toe kick!!! Our house is older than yours by many moons, and if the old bathroom was any measure, the same will be true in the kitchen. I'm just planning on it.

You might want to look into the quartz, like Silestone or Caesarstone or whatever. You can set pots on it, it does not need sealing at all, and consider it only for one section of your kitchen. Like around the wet areas. On your cooking side, use butcherblock or whatever else you like. If you have sensitive hearing, consider a softer floor instead of softer countertops.

I'm all for quartz on my sink side of the kitchen. On the cooking side, it will be stainless steel,around the stove, with a piece of butcherblock at the end where I'll have my Vitamixer and KitchenAid stand mixer on those "risers" to lift them up from beneath the base cabs. The toaster and coffee pot will be sort of hidden on the stainless counter top part, behind the raised countertop of the 48" wide 2 seater bar, with its height being 42 inches I think. I know stainless scratches, but after a while it is a uniform look, and the two stainless-topped items (a wheeled cart and a white-painted sort of small buffet cabinet) look just naturally USED. Nothing wrong with having signs of wear.

Marti, have you searched for a sink on OVERSTOCK? That is where I bought my stainless kitchen sink, hole-free undermount deep bowl single sink.

You might also try Vintage Tub & Bath.

I've bought stuff from both places, had good results.

No I haven't really looked anywhere. Why would you want a sink without a hole?

Do you have any pictures of the lift for your mixer? I think the time has come for me to consider that. Besides constant low back pain, my knees and hips have been killing me lately.

You'd want a sink without a hole if it were undermount and you got a solid surface counter top (any of them--soapstone, granite, marble, corian, etc) into which the holes are drilled.

Oh I thought you meant no hole for the drain.

*sigh*
I am in your boat, Marti. I have to think about a countertop for our bathroom, and it has to be something that can have an undermounted sink, so that rules out a couple of options I was entertaining. DH wants an undermount.

Let us know how goes your search. When I think of it, all I see are ginormous $$$$$.

shelayne - can you look for a remnant?

Me too shelayne. The more I do here, the more expensive it gets.

Steph--that's my hope. Then I go look at what we have going down there right now, and I am thinking "oooh, maybe I should also do the tub deck with the same material."

I need to just stop thinking. LOL.

yeah, I did more thinking today than I should have. it's a wonder i don't have a headache. Takes a lot of energy outa my poor brain!

marti - have you checked the price for one at Lee Valley Hdw? I saw a thread on kitchens that they are having free shipping. didn't actually read the thread so don't know how long that'll last.

No I haven't. I think I'm going with just a plain jane under counter stainless steel.

Marti, you cannot go wrong with a stainless steel sink undermounted. I HATE to clean the rims of a kitchen sink which is bedded from the top. Gunk always collects.

And here is the sink I bought from Overstock.com but not yet installed. I have all my appliances out in the Teahouse waiting. That is called "planning ahead," and their cost will not be included in the remodel cost of the kitchen. Been buying things for almost two years now. Still must get the pendant lights, but we'll decide on that a little later. By WE I mean MOI. DH said he was staying out of this.
:)

Just for variety, look at this formica. I saw a post on the Kitchens board and it looks just like granite.
{{!gwi}}

I saw it in the store and it looked great. Although the price is probably higher than regular Formica.

This is the web site

http://formica.com/home/laminate/swatches/

ML That is a beautiful sink.

ML that is a beautiful sink. I've never ordered anything from Overstock. Always afraid it is going to be a 2nd or something with a problem I guess. I like that that one has sound deadening. What gauge is it?

Loretta, I've seen that formica on displays in the store, and it is printed with a big picture so it looks very real. It is expensive, but that's also because of the edges, even an ogee edge.

I checked that new Formica a yr and a half or so ago here locally - it was about double what regular Formica sells for.