Food preparation is done here. It must be easy to clean and sanitize. You want it to be peaceful and colorful. You need to select your counter carefully and deliberately. You want to do it right the first time as it is a major upgrade and expense.

There are any choices to make in selecting counters for your home improvement project. Do you want a natural stone, an engineered stone, wood, tile, Solid Surface Acrylic or Laminate?

Natural stones have a depth and beauty of a polished surface that is hard to match, like granite, limestone, and soapstone. They must be kept cleaned, sealed and waxed as they are porous and will become discolored if not properly cared for.

An engineered stone usually uses quartz as a filler with a resin, to bind it together. They come in many beautiful colors and blends of rock. They are heat, scratch and discoloration resistant. They are easy to clean to make them sterile and do not require waxing.

Solid Surface Acrylic such as Corian or LG Hi-Macs is a fabricated counter that comes in many different colors. It is durable and easy to clean, if the surface becomes discolored, it is easy to take a fine sand paper of 400 grit or higher and lightly sand out the stain. It can also be bonded together at the seams so that it looks and feels like one continuous counter. Even the sink can be built in with out any seams. It makes a lovely counter.

Wood counters have a gorgeous look and feel to them but they require upkeep and care to keep them looking good such as teak, maple, cherry, walnut or mahogany. They are easily scratched, burned or stained.

Tile counters can be assembled in many different colors, patterns and sizes. They are durable and easy to clean, except for the grout between the tiles that can become stained so they need to be sealed. This grout is hard to keep clean. The tiles can be broken or chipped, so you must be careful with them.

You can build a concrete counter in your kitchen in any shape you want. A form is built to hold the wet concrete until it solidifies. It requires a lot of skilled labor to make a quality counter. The concrete is porous and can stain easily so it must be sealed and waxed.

Laminate, such as Formica or Wilsonart, is durable and comes in many styles and colors. It is stain resistant, but can be burnt. It is easy to take care of and to clean.