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When it comes to selecting bathroom countertops, having clear guidelines is key. Even the most popular materials for vanity countertops come with some major flaws. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up buying yourself a headache.
Follow the following guidelines and you’ll save yourself a lot of problems down the road.
Factors to Keep in Mind When Selecting Bathroom Countertops
Different Types of Bathroom Countertops Have Varying Levels of Durability
Durability is one of the key factors that place some types of bathroom countertops leaps and bounds above others.
Vanity countertops made from natural stone like granite or marble need to be resealed frequently. Because bathrooms fluctuate dramatically between levels of high humidity (during and immediately after a shower) and lower levels (all other times), the best materials for bathroom countertops are neither porous nor requiring frequent resealing.
This excludes most types of wood while limiting the usefulness of natural porous stones like granite and marble.
While moisture is the chief concern as far as durability of bathroom countertops goes, it’s not the only concern. You also need to choose a material that won’t crack, chip, or scratch easily. This excludes things like acrylic and recycled glass, at least from the standpoint of durability.
Vanity Countertops Must Be Chosen with Value in Mind
The master bathroom is one of the two most valuable rooms in a house when it comes to resale value, the other being the kitchen.
Bathroom countertops play a key role in deciding whether or not your bathroom increases your house’s resale value or decreases it.
Trends favour the most practical solutions while ruthlessly destroying the market share of bathroom countertops that lose their edge in this department.
As a key example, even the undeniable beauty of granite and marble bathroom countertops has not been enough to spare them from being overtaken by quartz bathroom countertops in popularity.
Even the most passionate interior designers don’t want to have to worry about resealing their granite or marble countertops multiple times a year. This is a major practicality flaw that quartz bathroom countertops eliminates; quartz is not porous and doesn’t need to be resealed, ever.
To discover how quartz countertops greatly enhance bathroom design, click learn more.
Appearance Still Matters
You don’t have to get as adventurous as the designer of the above bathroom countertop did — but use this picture as a reminder to be bold in seeking the appearance you want.
The best types of bathroom countertops offer practicality and beauty. They should be a pleasure to use and look at while also not inhibiting your enjoyment of life. Choosing bathroom countertops that are low maintenance is a key factor here.
Think About Price in a Deeper Way
Don’t fall into the trap of searching for bathroom countertop ideas that align with your preconceived notions of what you can and can’t afford.
You might be surprised to learn that even premium types of bathroom countertops have become significantly cheaper in recent years. That includes quartz, which has become cheap enough to edge granite and marble (which it resembles to a very uncanny degree) out.
You should also take care to think beyond upfront costs alone. Laminate countertops, for example, offer the absolute lowest cost up front but are terrible financially, both because of their undesirability for future buyers and the need to repair and replace them frequently.
Only approaching things from the standpoint of upfront costs is a sure way to cost yourself dearly in terms of maintenance, repair, and damage to your home’s resale value.
Where the Various Bathroom Vanity Countertops Fit into These Guidelines
Now that you know the factors to keep in mind when considering the various bathroom countertop ideas out there, it’d be helpful if we analyzed a few of the most popular countertop materials based on this criteria.
Granite Countertops
Durability: Granite countertops are very durable as long as you maintain the seal on them. Otherwise, the porous rock underneath will soak up water, developing stains and discolouration.
Value: Granite no longer represents the value proposition it once did, thanks to advances in other materials. As such, granite is quickly falling out of favour with potential homebuyers and doesn’t retain value like it used to.
Appearance: This is one area granite shines, as it is a very beautiful natural stone.
Price: Granite bathroom countertops are priced on the higher end, at about $40 to $60 per square foot. Refinishing, which must be done periodically to maintain them, can cost upwards of $1000 for the entire project.
Quartz Countertops
Durability: Quartz is extremely durable and does not require resealing, ever. It’s one of the only countertop materials out there that you can install and then never worry about again.
Value: Quartz bathroom countertops represent major value. They are currently the most popular countertops out there. This desirability is only increasing as quartz becomes available in more colors and patterns, and at lower price points.
Appearance: Quartz countertops are visually stunning and resemble several types of natural stone, including granite and marble. They can also take on extremely unique appearances; this is possible because they’re made from engineered stone.
Price: Quartz bathroom countertops occupy a similar price point as granite; $40 per square foot at the lower end and all the way up to $400 for the ultra-premium and rare custom designs. There are plenty of options at every price point in between that range.
Laminate Bathroom Countertops
Durability: Laminate countertops are the least durable of the various types of bathroom countertops out there. Because they are comprised of several layers of particleboard, moisture can cause the layers to separate very easily. Laminate bathroom countertops are also prone to bubbling due to water damage.
Value: Laminate countertops are undesirable due to their cheapness and perceived lack of quality, which is generally an accurate assessment. In cases where laminate countertops are not cheaply-built, they’re unreasonably expensive in light of the better options out there.
Appearance: This is yet another area in which laminate bathroom countertops fall short. They achieve their appearance through patterns that are printed on the surface. As such, the patterns are two-dimensional and uninspiring.
Price: Laminate bathroom countertops cost between $25 and $35 per square foot for average materials. Premium ones will cost $40 to well beyond $100 per square foot. At that price, you’re better off choosing a material like quartz.
Guide to Selecting Bathroom Countertops: Conclusion
Bathroom countertops are an important investment decision, both for your use day to day and the future value of your home.
In this guide, you’ve learned all about the various factors that one needs to evaluate the various types of bathroom countertops by. We also compared three of the most oft-mentioned bathroom countertop materials to highlight why paying more for one in particular (quartz) up front will save you in the long run, both in terms of repairs and eventual resale value.
