Reply #2: I design restaurant kitchens for a living ......

[Stinky The Clown]

My wife and I just put in stainless steel counters at home and would not have anything else. We considered everything out there ... and I mean everything! I had always wanted stainless (having a great deal of experience with it) but she just wasn't sure. After a great deal of consideration and investigation, she actually came to *want* the stainless.

Our new counters have integral sinks that are extra deep and extra large. That's a real plus!

The counters actually do clean up very well, but, as is the nature of metal, they scratch. In time, the scratching turns to an attractive patina. That takes maybe a year or so, depending on how much you use the kitchen (we use ours a lot and we use it hard ... we're both foodies). While they clean up well and are easy to care for, they will **never** look like they do when they're new. To some this is a downside, to others, it is a plus. I guess this is why they have red cars and blue cars .... yanno?

In any case, we love the stainless. You can wipe it down regularly and at the end of the meal you just spray it with some cleaner (we use Windex) and wipe it clean. We don't worry about scratching, so we also use a little cleanser or scratchy pad (but only the non-scratch blue ones) from time to time. You can put hot pans on it. You can roll dough on it. There's simply no way to do it any harm.

Now, there are some alternates for home use that also have proven themselves in the commercial arena. You say you have a country French thing going on. While the stainless would actually go well with that (it isn't just for contemporary - our kitchen is a kinda Italian/Tuscan look) you might also consider galvanized steel or tin. Both are food safe, but the galvanized will eventually wear off. Tin is great. In many ways it looks like slate and has a real European/country look to it. No shine at all. Easy to form, but also a bit pricey. There's also copper, but for my money it is simply too fussy to care for.

Granite is a good choice and also comes in many light colors. It isn't all dark. Marble is waaaaay too prone to staining, even if sealed, and it can't take a hot pan's heat very well. By the way, unlike you may have heard, granite also needs annual sealing.

The quartz counters are a good choice if you like the look of granite but not the care (the cost is about the same).

I personally do not like Corain, and never did. It just looks ... plastic. But that's a personal thing. It has some good characteristics, too. It can be sanded to remove stains and scratches. Apart from stainless steel it is the only other material that can have seamless integral sinks. Any other material that can have "same material" sinks fabricated all have seams in them ... hard to clean. Corian can also have some interesting designs or contrast edges fabricated into it.

Then there are the unusual, but not necessarily more expensive choices.

Soapstone is one. This is the same material they make high school laboratory counters from - the blackish material. Again, it looks a lot like slate. IT starts out a light gray but quickly goes dark. The dark can and should be hastened by oiling the surface. In short order it will become its natural dark color and will require little care.

Wood ... butcher block .... but not around water as it will darken to black if it stays wet.

Concrete .... very au courant but also very, very pricey. My business partner has it in her kitchen and she loves it. It looks terrific, too. It is hand cast and brought to your site. As such, it can assume many shapes ... curves and angles are no problem - and can be had in a rainbow of colors due to the ability to add stain/colorants to the concrete mix. But again .... VERY pricey.

Here's the last one ... and a very unusual one, to boot - Richlite. This material has been around for a bazillion years, it seems. It was used almost exclusively in restaurants for cutting boards. I know you've seen it, but probably are not aware of what it was. It is often the long narrow cutting board where they make sandwiches. It would have been the color of a brown paper bag ... sorta looking like some kind of wood. They're now greatly expanded their line and have many colors available. It comes in sheet form, from small sizes up to (as I recall) 5 feet x 12 feet. It can tolerate hot pots, is unaffected by water and is worked just like wood, with the same tools. I am certain this would work in your French look, too, depending on the color you choose. I think their website is www.richlite.com but am not certain.

Anyway, the choices are bewildering. So have fun ..... and lemme know what you decide.