The countertop often acts as your bathroom’s focal point, so it’s crucial to choose the best counter material for your bathroom. Typical bathroom countertops include tile, quartz, oriented strand board (OSB), and concrete.
To choose the best counter material for your bathroom remodel, consider the things you prioritize. Do you value function over aesthetics or appearance over function? Are you alright with doing occasional maintenance or little to none? More importantly, what’s your budget?
We compiled a brief list of typical bathroom counter materials to help you decide:
Tile
Tile has been a go-to counter material for bathrooms for generations. They’re pretty, easy to clean and come in different sizes, colors, and patterns. You can install small tiles to enhance your bathroom’s aesthetics or install big tiles to reduce the grout you’ll need to clean.
You’ll need to consider the need for maintenance when using tile as your bathroom countertop. You can quickly clean stains on tile countertops, but you’ll need to be wary of dirt accumulation on your tiles’ grout lines. You can solve this issue by using colored grout to reduce dirt marks, but you still need regular cleaning.
If you use tiles as your bathroom counter material, you have various types to choose from. These include glass, porcelain, ceramic, or granite. Glass offers a classy look but tends to attract dirt. Porcelain provides higher durability than ceramic tiles and designs that mimic other materials. At the same time, granite looks luxurious on a bathroom and often increases a home’s value.
Quartz
If you can splurge during your bathroom remodel, quartz can provide you with a durable, aesthetic countertop. It can look like granite, marble, or limestone and give you better scratch and stain resistance. It’s more expensive than natural stone bathroom countertops. Still, it’s worth your money if you’re looking for a sturdy and low-maintenance material.
Oriented Strand Board
If you want your bathroom to have an edgy look, you can opt to use oriented strand board for your counter. OSBs are composite boards made of compressed wood bits bound with adhesive resin. They’re cheaper than plywood or hardwood, and they’re easy to work with, making them ideal materials for DIY countertops. Moreover, they can be stunning to look at. Although they’re resistant to water, their one disadvantage is they need extra waterproofing if used in a high-moisture area like a bathroom. That’s because they tend to expand when exposed to too much moisture. Additionally, if you want to paint them, you’ll need oil-based paint and a primer.
Concrete
Contrary to the first image that may come into mind, concrete countertops in bathrooms are beautiful. Pigmented or stained concrete countertops can have any shade or look like natural stone, and they can even have tile, glass, shells, or rocks embedded in them.
Concrete bathroom countertops are highly durable and scratch-resistant, but they tend to require high maintenance. You’ll need to reseal them every one to three years, and their initial installation may cost you quite a lot.
Choosing the Best Counter Material for Your Bathroom Remodel
Tile still reigns as the most popular bathroom countertop. But materials like quartz, OSB, and concrete are steadily gaining popularity as well. If you’re under a tight budget, you can stick to using tiles in your bathroom remodeling project.
But if you’re willing to spend more, you can choose quartz for its durability and elegance. For a touch of uniqueness, pick OSB or concrete as your bathroom counter material. Of course, you can contact a home remodeling company like Illume Property Partners for more customized advice and a better remodeling outcome, too.