I’ve made some easy decisions in my life — getting married, having babies, buying a house.
Picking out countertops, though, is driving me crazy.
My husband decided it’s time to get rid of the hunter-green laminate.
Who am I to argue? He cooks, chops, slices, dices, mixes and makes messes on the counter, so if he wants something new, I think he should have it.
I did the research and tore out pages from decorating magazines. I thought I knew what I wanted.
I found The Guy. He’s been around the butcher block, let’s just say.
I trust him, and he came to my house right away. Early. Big points.
He brought a box of samples. Dozens of itty-bitty squares of stone with names like Aragon and Lincolnshire.
After pulling out just about every one — even the Cardinal red — and putting it on my counter, then laying it on my tile floor to match, my husband and I narrowed it to two.
I set them on the counter, side by side. I’d walk in the room and glance.
“It’s the light one!” I decided. Then, I’d walk in later and think, “Definitely the dark one!”
I went to websites and read comments, pros and cons, about colors and brands.
I looked at pictures and went to the manufacturers’ websites. I texted a picture of three to my mother and my decorator friend, who agreed with my two favorites.
As a test, I put breadcrumbs, sugar and a few drops of coffee on these samples. (Might not shoulda confessed that.)
They sure showed on the dark stone, of course.
But, not any more obvious than on my hunter-green countertops.
The Guy suggested we buy a piece of light poster board and a piece of dark, and lay them on the counter to see what we like.
Good idea, but we haven’t done it.
My husband and I went to a home-improvement store, and he picked out his four favorites but didn’t tell me what they were. I picked out what I liked, and we agreed on three out of four.
We got home and decided on the dark one. Williston, I think it was.
So, we called The Guy. Told him the name of what we liked, and he’s getting us a bigger sample.
This is not a cheap project. My husband, unbeknownst to me until the past couple of weeks, has been saving and finagling to afford it.
He said, “No matter what we put on there, I’m not gonna lose any sleep over it.”
“Well, I am!” I told him. “It’s a lot of money, and we’ll have to live with it.”
If I thought countertops were hard, a backsplash is going to be impossible.
Then there’s the sink — stainless? Composite? Cast iron? Double equal? Undermount? Overmount?
The faucet — pull-down sprayer? Separate soap dispenser?
Hunter-green laminate looks better all the time.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.