old country house blog

MONDAY MAKEOVER – FORMICA 180x CALACATTA MARBLE COUNTER TOPS – ROUND TWO

Last week we finally closed the chapter on the Kitchen Renovation!

 Whats that you say? Didn’t you finish your Kitchen makeover a year ago? Yes…we did.

but last week….our Formica 180x counter tops were replaced with the SAME counter tops…. but in a different edge profile ……the edge profile I had originally wanted.

FORMICA, in what can only be called…INCREDIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE…got wind, via my blog that I was told that I could not get my first choice – the AEGEAN EDGE. I like the AE because I felt it resembled the edge I would prefer if I were choosing REAL marble.

Instead I got the AMORE edge…which I fell l in love with…

KITCHEN AND THE LONG COUNTERTOP
FORMICA CALACATTA MARBLE IN AMORE EDGE ON THE LONG COUNTERTOP

Let me remind you…THEY came to me… I actually was fine with the AMORE…but when I had to opportunity to get..on their dime, my 1st choice..I said “Sure!….OKAY!”

calacattamarble9

One year later…..AEGEAN EDGE or AMORE…I still LOVE these counter tops….they are attractive, durable and practical counter tops…that don’t break the bank…

FORMICA 180X IN CALACATTA MARBLE WITH THE AEGEAN EDGE.
FORMICA 180X IN CALACATTA MARBLE WITH THE AEGEAN EDGE.

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The NUMBER ONE question I have gotten about these counter tops has been

“Do they stain?”

Answer- NO.

FORMICA CALACATTA MARBLE COUNTER TOPS IN AEGEAN EDGE...I had the shutter stay open long enough for Gus to sneak into the photo....
FORMICA CALACATTA MARBLE COUNTER TOPS IN AEGEAN EDGE…I had the shutter stay open long enough for Gus to sneak into the photo….

I have not had a problem with staining. I  prepare food, like fruit and meats directly on a cutting board NOT directly upon them, but we have spilled juice and red wine and the clean up has been a snap! NO stains.

 

In my HUMBLE opinion, the biggest issue with the FORMICA CALACATTA MARBLE COUNTER TOPS has nothing to do with the counter tops themselves but instead altering PUBLIC perceptions.agean edge

Once upon a time, FORMICA was the bomb…it transformed kitchens!!!…But over time…with the influx and popularity of Granite and various stones and stone like products and solid surfacing…somehow Formica was moved to the back of the class…and became “old-fashioned” and “the thing you get when you cannot afford the “REAL thing”.

God forbid!

When did it become a negative thing to try to save money?

FORMICA180XAEGEAN2

  Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE REAL MARBLE. But it was just not in our budget.

FORMICA180XAEGEAN8

I BELIEVE that the Formica 180x  it is a VIABLE and beautiful counter top OPTION. I have still had many reports from readers who have been told at Lowes and Home Depot and even by High End Kitchen Designers that they should NOT get Formica…highlighting its’ shortcomings and telling them that it is cheap.

FORMICA 180X IN CALACATTA MARBLE WITH THE AEGEAN EDGE. THE CORNER UNIT LOOKS AMAZING!
FORMICA 180X IN CALACATTA MARBLE WITH THE AEGEAN EDGE. THE CORNER UNIT LOOKS AMAZING!

FORMICA 180X may be cost effective but it is anything but cheap! It is an attractive and durable and affordable counter top option!

If you run into  difficulty purchasing or even just getting adequate information about these counter tops, please do not hesitate to let me know and I will forward you to my friends at Formica!

and on that note…..

C’est fini!

31 thoughts on “MONDAY MAKEOVER – FORMICA 180x CALACATTA MARBLE COUNTER TOPS – ROUND TWO

  1. The counters are beautiful. I agree with you that the Formica 180FX can look really good with easy maintenance, unlike real marble. and for a much more affordable price. I have 22 year old matte white formica counters in my kitchen and they still look wonderful. They clean up like a charm with Vim. I just have three questions. The Calacatta Marble 180FX has a bit of a shiny surface. Have you found that it has gotten scuffed at all or did it look just as shiny as when it was installed originally? Is your corner unit seamed or is the entire corner unit and the runs in both directions cut from one large sheet? I’m in Canada and when I looked into this at Home Depot I was told the corner would have to be seamed on an angle, which would look absolutely awful in the Calacatta Marble. I know that Formica has large sheets available so corner units can be cut in one piece, just not sure if the large sheet is available in Canada. And lastly, do you find cleaning your sink is easy or a bit of a pain because of the sharp corners? Does dirt get stuck in the corners? Thanks Lesli!

    1. My counter tops and not shiny, but kind of between matte and eggshell type sheen. With a texture that is hard to explain. The corner unit is done in two pieces with a seam and it looks fine. I will try to get a better photo of the seam when I get home from vacation. The sink is a breeze to clean the corners do not bother me. Thanks for stopping by.

      1. I absolutely love the formica marble look alike countertops and would really appreciate if you could forward my information to formica. Your country home is beautiful and reminds me of mine. My country home is 75 years old and has been in my husband family for the past 50 years. We recently gave the kitchen a facelift. I restained the cabinets to a deep brown rustic look and for the countertop I had no choice but to do a really quick and really cheap fix because I had 2 days before Thanksgiving company would arrive. So a friend turned me on to contact paper that looks like marble let me tell you it was a lifesaver. Everyone loved it but I knew that the contact paper would not be for the long haul. I have considered quartz but it’s still more than I need to spend. With having 2 young boys in a Christian school now money is really tight. So formica it is and I love it! I love the look and the price.

    1. Kim…the first time I saw these counter tops I was in Lowes and a large piece was sitting waiting to be picked up and installed. I asked the person working there “I bet that marble is pretty pricey…but just out of curiosity how much would those real marble counter tops be…” She smiled and said…”They are NOT marble! They are formica!”

      ha!

  2. Here’s another thing that bothers me with people and their choices in countertops — granite became the big thing to install in kitchens — bold colour ways, crazy patterns, etc. One comment you would hear time and again is that it is durable and long lasting. So people go ahead and install $15,000 worth of granite in their kitchens but then guess what? Tastes change, styles change, colour choices change and then the granite (not biodegradable) gets ripped out. I feel that granite is such a permanent, expensive choice, that it is simply smarter to go with a Formica product because it is easy to change out 10 years down the road when your kitchen is ready to be refreshed. Remember the time when a house would be built and would remain virtually untouched for 25 years? Well, that doesn’t happen anymore. Magazines and the internet have opened a world of design possibility and people are wanting to change things up! Looks great Lesli!

    1. Thank you Brenda and you articulate perfectly the conversation I have had so many times…

      One thing is for certain, I will never regret saving money and getting these counter tops to do so…where as, my friends who have been wronged by their very expensive counter top and decorating choices get sad every time they walk into their kitchens…and I spend WAY TOO much time in my kitchen for that!

      xo

  3. We just ordered our formica countertops as part of our kitchen reno, and I would not have done it had I not read about your kitchen renovation on you blog. You have great taste and always tell us how to do things on a budget, which I LOVE. Thanks for the tips. Your kitchen – and the rest of your home – is beautiful! 🙂

    1. Jen, Comments like these make me so happy. And you are so kind to stop by and say such sweet things! Send me pics of your kitchen when you finish !
      xo

  4. I agree. They are gorgeous. I have been considering the same tops. Why do we suddenly have to spend a fortune on counters that take extra work to maintain and are cold to the touch? We are going to be putting our house on the market and a friend said “You will never be able to sell a house without granite tops.” How did we get to this point? Ridiculous. If I was looking at homes and walked into your kitchen I would be sold in an instant! I love it.

  5. I really enjoyed this post, and agree with you totally. Your kitchen is beautiful! I was a kitchen designer at Home Depot for a while, and I never dissed on Formica. I always thought it was a great product. I always think of the great big gaping holes in the earth caused by people’s need for granite countertops and it makes me sad. Anyone contemplating granite countertops should be required to visit a quarry and see where they come from, and then visit a Formica plant and see how it is made, so they make informed choices. I personally chose butcherblock and Silestone, responsible choices that reflected the character of my 150 yr old farmhouse.

  6. I just have one other thing to add- to the commenter asking about the sink, I have an undermount sink in my Silestone, and it gathers crap around the “underlip” the part where the seam between sink and countertop is. Gross. I had a drop in sink in my Formica tops previous to this, and the drop in was easier to clean. There are aspects of the undermount I like, but all in all, the 2 style sinks are about even on ease of care. Besides, I am always paranoid that my sink is going to drop through if I put something heavy in there.

    1. Thank you Pam! I appreciate everything you shared and I agree… Formica is a viable option..not the thing we all should avoid…but a choice that should be considered, for many reasons…come back soon!

      1. I also have no issues with the sink and gunk…just wipe it down when I am cleaning the countertops…We used a gray silicone caulk when applying and that has kept if very tightly sealed.

  7. I KNEW it!! I KNEW Formica made laminate in a better edge without the seam. Two salespeople at Lowe’s told me on separate occasions that there was nothing close to a 90 degree edge that was seamless even though I’d seen pictures. This is EXACTLY what I wanted, but all they showed available were a couple of rounded and bullnose options. We went ahead and ordered a straight 90 degree edge and I just planned to paint the seams. They should arrive tomorrow (a week late). I should have tried Home Depot. It’s so frustrating knowing that I COULD have had these amazing counters if it weren’t for the ignorance of the salespeople at Lowe’s. UGH.

  8. Hey, I was wondering if you could tell me about how much it actually cost to purchase and install these countertops? Also, where would you recommend buying them?
    Thanks!

    1. I think they run around $14 sq ft (you install them yourself or pay someone to do so which is what we did ) or $30 installed from Lowes and Home Depot. Either of those stores is fine. I have heard of folks who by the sheets and do them themselves but that is out of my area of expertise.

  9. Hi, love your countertops and kitchen! Can you please share the backsplash details if possible? I’m looking into doing a simple white subway tile also with my Formica 180FX calacatta marble. I got them installed with an ogee edge and clipped corners, they are beautiful.

  10. Love the countertops! This is what I’m looking for as well! No one in my area seems to know about Formica without the brown lines!! Been to lowes etc and smaller stores. They are telling me that without the line it will cost about double the price and seem confused. Question … The 180x line doesn’t have the brown lines as is? Do you know the difference between that and the Ideal Edge that I’ve seen on their website? Also I see you did an over mount sink. Did they say no under mount with the Formica? Thanks so much!!

    1. It astounds me that anyone at Lowes would give out such misinformation but this is what I know. Formica 180x is a PATTERN and is just one in many choices of patterns formica can be ordered. They have DOZENS of edge profiles that do not have the line…DOZENS. Now , all formica will have A line on two of the 4 sides of any four SIDED counter top unless you get ideal edge BUT I have yet to see consistent results with regard to ideal edge. Problem is that the edge results are dependent on individual fabricators…all local to whatever area you reside. And I am going to be honest here …I do not care for the bullnose edge, it is too rounded for my liking…and that is the edge profile I have see ideal edge IN.

      IF you want the calacatta marble pattern like I have you should be able to get it with your LONG edge in any of the profiles. If you continue to run into problems …consult Formica customer service..they may be able to assist you in your area. Steve.Hammelrath@formica.com

  11. Thank you so much! I called Home Depot this time and they say they have the 180x. They told me the only edges are square and beveled. Is the Aegean different than square? Like you said, I want it to look most like real marble would be cut. Thanks!!!!

  12. Hi ,
    We are building a house and were told to check out formica. Thanks to this blog via pinterest I’m excited to look more into formica. My husband was wondering about the texture and feel of the countertops. Thank you for you feed back!

    1. THE texture is fine…never gave it much thought until folks asked me – but it feels great! The ONlY real visible difference between it and real marble is that it is not cold to the touch. I have had people ask me about “etched vs glossy”. I prefer etched…not so much because to the etching but the more matte finish. good luck! 5 years in our countertops are still rocking!

  13. Hi Lesli –
    I got a sample of the 180FX and it almost looks like it has a green tinge to it. It might be the shine – is your’s the shiny one or do they have different levels of shine. Home Depot wasn’t all that helpful with it. Did you order it directly though Formica? Thank you so much! Having a hard time finding resources.

    1. We got our countertops through Home Depot. Unfortunately the staff at Home Depot often are not well trained and thus know more about the more expensive counter-tops that they might sell more than any that are less expensive.All you need to know are your measurements and your edge profile.

      Ours is the etched finish. That was the only option then and I love it .

  14. I absolutely love your countertop. Do you by chance have any pics that are closer? I’m curious about the seams in the corners. Are they beveled or perpendicular? Also, do you have a closer pic of the new edge? You can’t see any details with the pictures. Thanks you if you can help.

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