Countertops: Look for form and function Natural and manufactured materials abound. And many kitchens feature more than one type.

When you remodel a kitchen, there are literally dozens of decisions to make. But none seems as intimidating or fraught with peril as choosing countertops.

At first, this doesn't seem to make much sense. There are at least as many options for appliances and cabinets, their costs are often higher, and their features are just as varied and complex.

But appliances can be swapped out easily, and once you get a handle on the material choices and finish options for cabinets, that decision proves to be a straightforward one. In some kitchen renovations, the existing cabinets can be renewed with paint, new doors and drawer fronts, or new hardware.

Countertops are different, though - large surfaces that make one of the biggest style statements in a kitchen. And whether you're preparing a holiday meal for family or simply enjoying your morning coffee and the newspaper, your connection with your countertops is a direct one.

From their color and cleanability to the tactile sensations on your fingertips, they involve nuances that can make you love 'em or hate 'em.

Complicating matters further is that at this stage of countertop evolution, there's hardly a bad one in the bunch. Crazy experiments with papier-mache or moose pelts might have emerged somewhere along the way, but by now the survivors have all been thoroughly vetted, and newcomers have to run the marketplace gauntlet before showrooms will pitch them as the latest and greatest.

Standbys such as marble slabs, ceramic tile, hardwood and high-pressure laminates, while still plentiful and worthy, now share space with honed granite, stainless steel, engineered quartz, concrete, and solid-surface materials made from plastic resins, as well as a handful of other high-tech engineered materials.

Aside from the obvious benefit of having more options, this steadily growing field has yielded more competitive pricing and happens to dovetail nicely with an increasingly popular design trend - using more than one countertop material in the same kitchen.

It doesn't really matter if you can't narrow your choice to a single favorite. You can simply pick two or three that give you the looks and features you want.

If your kitchen is big enough to have specialized work zones such as a baking center or a stir-fry station, the countertops can be selected accordingly. A laminated maple block is flour-friendly and great for working bread dough, while stainless steel is a tough and practical choice for the hot oils used in wok cooking.