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A few years back we renovated the kitchen in our 1916 Craftsman home, and for the first time, I had granite countertops. The granite we selected, a beautiful green and black speckled combination, gave the entire kitchen a wonderful rich, warm feel.

However, we learned that granite also had its drawbacks. The edges were susceptible to chipping, glassware shattered into a thousand little pieces when dropped from the shortest distance and every little hand and fingerprint showed up as a smudge on the surface.

When we decided to build this house, we chose to put the majority of our budget into making the house as energy-efficient as possible. Using less expensive materials such as laminates for countertops was a way to save money, and stay in keeping with our modern design.

To our surprise, there is a great range of laminate options beyond the faux granite, or busy patterns with a '50s nuclear-age twist from years past. We were also pleased that these laminates are more durable.

Some of the new options, like the solid and semitransparent colors from Abet (an Italian manufacturer) and a green-friendly line called Tefor, can be a bit pricey.

For the kitchen and boys bathroom, we're looking for flat colors with low sheen; Formica, a name almost interchangeable with the word laminate, and Nevamar offer a range of colors in simple matte finishes.

For the master bath and powder room, we've decided to use a completely recycled, low-cost material we found at the local home-improvement center called HDPE (high density polyethylene). It's made from 100 percent recycled plastic containers such as milk, laundry and pop bottles.

I will post images next week when the cabinets and countertops are installed.

Jason Hammond is at hammond@mojosolo.com