Zinc

 

Copper

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of metal countertops may be stainless steel, but there are so many other types available. Stainless is the most durable as it won’t ding as easily as softer metals and it won’t patina. The color can be varied with laminate and finishes can be customized. It is the least expensive of the metals, which is probably why it’s the most popular.

Being an old home buff, I say “Feh” to stainless. Give me something warm and antique looking! Copper is all that and has bacterial properties too. So you can let your cats jump on it while you’re cooking and it will be ok, right? As if I cook. Anyway, the drawbacks are price and the fact that copper is not scratch resistant. Patina is one thing, but scratches may not look so terrific. Bronze has similar qualities.

Zinc and Pewter have similar tones to one another. They differ from stainless in that they have a grayish hue to them, therefore giving them a less modern look. In fact, it’s pewter that is used on many bars in France and Italy. Zinc is often used on Oyster Bar tops for it’s antibacterial qualities.

These are costly countertops if you have a pro fabricate it for you. My thinking is…you buy the sheet and do it yourself. Even better, see if you can find recycled sheet metal! If you screw up the edges, you can put some molding around it and voila, there’s your beautiful, inexpensive metal countertop!

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