These days, there's a countertop available for every taste. The sheer number of choices — natural and manufactured — combined with qualities such as color, texture, shape and feel can make each kitchen singular and personal.



As far as what's popular, "granite is still number one; nothing comes close," says Richard Doyle, owner of Bryce & Doyle, a design-build remodeling company and showroom in Rochester. "But wood countertops, especially the exotics, are becoming popular."



Doyle has created and installed various species of wood countertops and has clients asking for bamboo.

Chris Newcomer, owner of Prism Home Improvement and Restoration, a design-build remodeling company in Pittsford, recently installed a mahogany countertop and has also used teak and Ipe, a Brazilian hardwood.



"Wood offers a hard, durable surface," Newcomer says. "It's natural, and the exotics add a richness to a room. People are decorating in a lot of strong earth tones, and the natural wood feeds into that look." Using reclaimed wood from wine casks, railroad ties, old schools and barns can bring interesting color variations to your countertop and can add an equally intriguing history to your kitchen's story.

Stone, too — marble, soapstone, quartz, granite — can create that natural, organic feel. While a granite top may be cool to the touch, the rich variations in color and the movement of the stone through its veins add warmth and charm.



"It's 'living art,'" says certified kitchen and bath designer Dani Polidor, owner of Suite Artistry in Pittsford. "The more imperfections, the better."



Even with traditional materials, new options are cropping up. At one Pittsford home, Newcomer installed a "leathered granite" countertop, with an orange-peel texture and leather feel. Since the stone is not highly polished, it doesn't have reflective issues or show streaks. "It tends to appear cleaner," Newcomer says.

But when it comes to strength, probably no current countertop material will beat concrete — a relative newcomer to kitchen design.



"You can smack a frozen turkey on it and nothing will happen to your countertop," says Alan Oratz, owner of Kula Concrete Design in Pittsford.



Oratz calls the material "visually unique, tactile and eco-friendly." It's also versatile and can be fabricated in any shape or color, polished smooth, or left with exposed aggregate. You can even embed things in the design. Oratz has inlaid Russian coins, mother-of-pearl and shells from Belize for various clients. The sink also can be made of concrete and integrated into the countertop.



Concrete costs slightly more than basic granite — around $65 to $135 per square foot. Prices vary with the intricacy of design and color choice. New GFRC (glass fiber reinforced concrete), which uses a spray technique as opposed to being poured, means pieces are lighter yet stronger, with faster cure times than pre-cast.



Quartz-based composite materials such as Caesarstone, Silestone and Cambria still have their fans, with many colors, textures and finishes that are low-maintenance and nonporous. The makers of such materials promote their environmentally-friendly manufacturing processes, which include recycling water and scrap material. Locally, Solid Surfaces Inc. in Henrietta fabricates Cambria.



In fact, eco-friendly products are becoming a huge category, and they're no longer about compromising style for virtue. IceStone and Vetrazzo, for example, are recycled glass composites made from things like water and liquor bottles, traffic lights and industrial glass. They can bring color, sparkle and a contemporary look to a kitchen.



Or consider the unlikeliest of "green" materials for a durable countertop: paper. Essentially, pulp and resin are pressed together to create a material that feels something like wood. Color is shot all the way through, so you don’t have to worry about scratches showing. The counters are heavy and feel warm to the touch, and they can fit both contemporary and traditional designs. Richlite and PaperStone are two companies making paper-based countertops.



Other eco-options include Eco by Cosentino, which uses recycled porcelain, glass, mirrors, stone and ash, and Squak Mountain Stone, a fibrous-cement material that looks like soapstone or limestone, made from recycled paper, recycled glass, coal fly-ash and cement.



And the new choices just keep coming. Doyle for one is constantly reading and researching what's available.



"I'm really excited about some of the new products just coming out now, like old lab table tops with a low, flat luster." Clients come to his showroom on Jay Street with ideas in mind, but the samples open new doors once customers see the options.



As Polidor says, "There really is something for everyone."