Man-Made Materials Make Remodeling More Affordable

Last year, homeowners spent more than $125 billion on home remodeling, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. Due to the explosion of design and decorating ideas available on the Internet, in magazines and especially on television, consumers are demanding high-end interior designs at mass-market prices. New advances in man-made materials are making it possible to create beautiful, natural-looking interiors that are both on-trend and on-budget.

For example, Formica Corporation, which monitors and shares design trends around the world, has expanded its collections of high-pressure laminate, solid surfacing and stone surfacing materials to incorporate the most popular, trendy colors and textures. “We made it possible for homeowners to fulfill their design dreams and achieve the look of natural materials, while providing flexibility and ease-of-use that grants them the freedom to do more,” says Renée Hytry, senior vice president of global design.

According to Hytry, this year’s design trends reflect a desire for more upbeat and positive interiors. “At the beginning of the millennium, we attempted to insulate ourselves by cocooning in the past. As the decade continues to unfold, we wish to express our creativity and personal style by remodeling our homes, while choosing the latest in advanced technology, convenience and affordability,” she says.

To make your home look current but keep remodeling costs in line, Hytry offers the following tips before starting your project:

* Visualize a look you’d like to achieve.

* Get a general sense of the cost of materials before consulting a design professional.

* Prioritize your spending to balance your aesthetic and monetary needs.

Here is an easy guide to three different types of cost-effective surfacing materials:

* Premium laminates inspired by natural materials

Once thought of as bland and ordinary, today’s high-pressure laminates (HPL) mimic the look and feel of natural materials, but they are still affordable. Choosing high-pressure laminate countertops will allow you to invest in other, higher-end products throughout the home, so you can mix and match and still have the visual appeal of natural stone while staying on budget. For example, if you want to splurge on stainless steel kitchen appliances and can’t quite afford a natural granite countertop, a premium HPL surface that evokes the look and texture of granite might be the answer. It can be replaced easily and less expensively than natural stone surfaces, allowing you to update the look frequently. In addition to traditional installations such as countertops, you can also use high-pressure laminates for vertical surfaces throughout the home -- backsplashes, appliance overlays and cabinet surfaces are just a few of the possibilities.

One of the latest surfaces -- unique to Formica Brand Laminate -- is the Honed Finish Collection. Its low-sheen satin finish has subtle surface clefts and crevices that mimic softly brushed stone, adding warmth and character, and it’s available in trendy patterns such as Baltic Granite, Travertine and Himalayan Slate. Other premium quality laminates include the Etchings Finish Collection, which presents a softly polished and etched surface, dappled with highlights from tiny fractures and fissures, just like those found in real granite and stone.

Sleek metal finishes are made possible with the Authentix Metal Collection, an innovative new high-pressure laminate version of metal that offers the durability and value. Gleaming, realistic aluminum, stainless steel, brass or copper metal looks can bring an ultramodern, sophisticated look to countertops, tables or even walls. You can also choose from several metal-look finishes that can add a brushed, punched, powdered or quilted metal texture to surfaces.

Pricing for laminate surfaces can range from $25 to $50 per linear foot, installed.

* Beautiful, durable solid surfacing

The luxurious look of solid surfacing is more affordable than you might think, and you can even coordinate the most popular laminate designs with solid surfacing for a fun mix-and-match look.

Combining the best features and benefits of acrylic and polyester, solid surfacing is one of the most durable and versatile materials on the market, making it an ideal choice wherever germ and water resistance are priorities. It also resists stains, and scratches can be removed using a mild household abrasive. And because its color goes all the way through the surface, it can be routed, shaped, sculpted, engraved, seamed or sandblasted for endless design, edge and inlay options.

Best of all, solid surfacing is available in a cornucopia of spectacular designs. For example, the Signatures Collection from Formica Solid Surfacing includes patterns such as Deep Blue Ice, which presents an elegant, translucent surface with subtle pearlescent shimmers; Haze Agate, which offers the translucent look of the semiprecious stone; and Crema Terrazzo, which has an opaquely tinted base accented by translucent chips of brown and clear highlighted by pearl.

Pricing for solid surfacing countertops can range from $90 to $130 per linear foot, installed.

* Natural quartz surfacing -- unmatched beauty and fortitude

If you love the aesthetics and durability of granite but don’t want the maintenance, a high-quality option is natural quartz surfacing. Formica Stone Natural Quartz Surfacing translates popular patterns and textures from nature into a new hard surfacing material. Twelve warm, organic stone and rich, gleaming granite looks comprise the new line, and each is a superior alternative for residential and commercial applications where real stone has been specified.

Formica Stone is composed of 93 percent quartz, making it even more durable than natural granite. It resists stains and spills, reduces the potential for bacterial growth and maintains consistent color and texture throughout the slab. Nonporous, it requires no sealing, buffing or polishing, making it ideal for kitchen countertops, backsplashes, bath vanity tops, tabletops, desktops or fireplace surrounds.

A dozen colorful, on-trend patterns offer the elegance and beauty of natural stone. For example, Dakota Copper is a rich, wood-tone graphite with deep crystal formations; Blue Crystalle is a deep sapphire blue granite; and Velvet Green is an almost-black dark moss green granite that looks rich and rare.

Pricing for natural quartz surfacing starts at approximately $130 per linear foot, installed.