When designer Lathem Gordon of the Atlanta firm GordonDunning bought the house that she shares with her family in Decatur, Ga., its kitchen had black laminate countertops fringed with a stainless steel perimeter. “When we first walked in, I thought, ‘Well, that’s going,’” she recalls. And then something funny happened: After Gordon began tweaking things around the existing counters, such as and hardware, and installing an inexpensive ceramic tile backsplash, the black laminate became a winner. “As I started to work through the design process and changed other things, they strangely seemed to be just fine,” she says.
Gordon is among many designers who have recently kept, installed or just found themselves gravitating toward finishes in the kitchen that might typically be thought of as lower-end. Often when you’re working with a tight budget, plain and basic materials can look more elevated than something fussy yet cheap, and are more durable and long-lasting to boot. “Labor costs are generally fixed, so you can save money by selecting more approachable materials,” says Houston-based designer Mary Patton.
Here, designers share the budget-friendly materials that, applied correctly, can look anything but.
Laminate countertops and cabinets
Laminate countertops tend to conjure visions of the orange and avocado green cookspace in “The Brady Bunch,” but the latest iterations are challenging those tired perceptions. “Formica just came out with a new collection for 2024 called Living Impressions,” says Hannah Goldberg of D.C.-based Hannah Charlotte Interiors. “They’re really upping their game on the beautiful imagery that they’re able to print on the laminate, and they have also come out with a complete collection of edge profiles.” Stone-mimicking options include Fractured Marble, Prosecco Quartzite and Hazelnut Travertine.
Formica has also rectified a long-standing aesthetic bugaboo with laminate. “In the past, you always had that square mitered corner with a little brown edge, which was the brown paper of the laminate, and now you don’t have that at all,” Goldberg says. The designer also appreciates that it’s an antimicrobial surface, pointing out: “They’ve used it in doctor’s offices forever.”
Jennifer Gilmer, of Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath in Chevy Chase, Md., has turned toward this new generation of laminate for some of her client projects, noting that laminate cabinets can save 10 to 15-percent over real wood veneer. “It’s a much higher quality than the laminates from the past,” she writes via email. “Since high pressure laminate uses many layers in its production, it’s possible to create textures that mimic the feel of real wood.” She adds that while it’s not more durable than, it is more durable as a vertical surface such as a cabinet front. “It’s very impact resistant and cannot stain.”
Beadboard backsplashes
This groovy paneling is for more than just chair rails. “You can always use a beadboard as a backsplash,” Gordon says. “It can be painted; it can be sealed with a semigloss or gloss finish; it can be stained. It can really go timeless and classic and really fit into almost any kitchen style you want.” Bonus: It adds both texture and architectural lines. Home Depot currently has MDF beadboard on offer for $27.98 for an 8-by-4-foot panel, making it a mere 87 cents per square foot.
Silgranit sinks
Jeanne Barber of West Hartford, Conn., firm Camden Grace Interiors has a thing for Silgranit sinks. Starting at about $500, these aren’t exactly inexpensive, but given their extreme durability, Barber argues they’re one of the best values around. Typical porcelain sinks cost roughly the same amount, but unlike Silgranit, they can chip and discolor.
“I love introducing my clients to these sinks,” Barber writes via email. “The Blanco Silgranit sinks are the things dreams are made of — no staining, no scratching and affordable.” Barber likes that their granite composite surface isn’t porous (so it’s scratch-proof, stain-proof and hygienic); you can plop a scalding pan in it and it won’t leave a mark. “I used a farmhouse one in my own kitchen and chose the color Anthracite to match my soapstone-looking counters,” she says. “Zero cons.”
Quartz counters
If you’re interested in a premium stone slab, such as calacatta marble imported from Italy, man-made quartz counters can provide a lot of the same benefits (including a largely stone makeup) at a lesser price. “Quartz has been around for a long time, and it’s still the best value for a solid surface countertop that’s most like real stone,” Gilmer says.
That being said, designers do have a few suggestions about maximizing its look. Designer Tami Ramsay of Cloth + Kind, with offices in Athens, Ga., and Ann Arbor, Mich., avoids surfaces that are meant to mimic an actual stone, such as a veined marble. “I would really advise against that,” Ramsay says, because she feels it’s difficult to capture veining in an authentic way. “The key to making something that you don’t want to spend a lot of money on still look higher-end is to just stick with something that’s plain.”
Metallic laminates
Gilmer has paneled refrigerators and their surrounding cabinetry with gleaming metallic laminates that look very high-end without the accompanying price tag. (You can buy a for $13.46 per square foot, while a in a satin finish is $3 per square foot.) “I’ve been using laminates [from ] that look like stainless steel,” says Gilmer. “Brass or bronze is popular now, and this can make a great backsplash.”
Ramsay touts Wilsonart’s metallic laminates in particular. “They have a variety of metal finishes that we have used for countertops when we do kind of commercial spaces that are extremely durable and very cleanable surfaces that can take a harsh cleanser. They have a finish that looks almost like zinc.”
Plain tile
“I’m almost embarrassed to say it because it’s been used a gazillion times, but honestly, subway tile,” says Ramsay, when asked which swaps are worth considering for affordability in a kitchen revamp. “Subway tile at Home Depot is like $1.27 a square foot. I mean, it’s insanely affordable. You can use it in a variety of different types of patterns, and there are lots of different colors.” Patton often looks for the glass version. “A really good hack is the clear glass, white-backed subway tile,” she says. “It adds another level of dimension.”
In her Decatur cookspace, Gordon installed a more affordable spin on zellige for her backsplash. “I am very far from a chef … so it was not the space that I wanted to pour money, but I wanted it to be durable and look nice,” she says. “And so we went with a really inexpensive version of what we jokingly call the ‘Weebledy Wobbledy White Tile,’ from Floor & Decor.” Like handmade Moroccan zellige, it has an uneven texture that catches the light, but for a fraction of the price, at . By comparison, real zellige from Zia Tile costs for a 2-by-6-inch piece. It adds up fast.
Kathryn O’Shea-Evans is a design and travel writer in Colorado.