I would go with Corian solid surface. Can get it in one piece, have a slope for drying dishes and the sink is built right in. No seams and it can be sanded if something dumb happens.

My sister put that in . Had 4 repairs in 6 months. She is cussing the day she did that

Maybe a clear enamel on the Corian would do the trick.
ADC, I Googled the enameled lava after your first post, pretty nice stuff. Pick your color.

We redid our kitchen 2 years ago. Looked at dozens of materials and options. Finally went back to formica. It is a fraction of the cost of ANY solid materiel. PLUS the new brands look and feel like granite, or quarts. Read about the poision gas some of the solid materials omit. Yes poision !!! FOR the money can't beat new and improved formica. The whole kitchen counter cost almost 9,000 less than if we had went with granite. ALSO BIG difference in the weight from the solid surface....

Also you ask for BEST LOW mant counter top. It don't get no lower maintenance than formica. Wipe it off done. NO resealing, Sanding out boo boos, repairing cracks...

I have almost the same counter mine is especially cheap right off the shelf at menards exactly 8 feet long one end against the wall and the other open been in place 10 years now and still doing fine , normal stainless steel sink.

bacon

Great suggestions guys, cept the bacon one.

Thats the same as our counter tops . Me and my wife installed it in a weekend . Super tough scratch and chip resistant we have a big family and the bar is the center of everything . The boys arnt religious about using a cutting board when they try cooking somthing like fajitas you cant see or feel where they cut it . Or the time i came home and the yongest son and his friend had a head off a 350 chevy laying upside down on it while they were looking for a crack . Try either with an epoxy coat and somebody's gonna get a but chewing from the boss this stuff you just wipe it off and go on . Ive been thinking about covering one of my work benches in the shop with it

Yea we have 2 grand daughters that think the bar is where crafts are done !! Paint , make slime, cook cup cakes (with food coloring) . Ours would need sanding or sealing every month with solid surface.
I know that white cabinets may be the "in " thing but painting over REAL wood cabinets is Blasphemy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our cabinets are 25 years old but old English furniture polish 2 times a year and they look good as new !!!
The same sister that is cussing her corian said we needed to paint ours white. I said MMMMM No.

Corian scratches, and it doesn't take much to do it, Low cost AND low maintainance? Formica for the win.....

We have corian counter tops. Nice thing about them is you can scratch them and buff a surface scratch out with a rag by hand. A joint can be sanded and you never see it.

We had formica. Scratch formica and it's for keeps. That's why we installed new corian. If it does scratch, you can buff it out by hand.

Let beet juice stay on it for a few minutes and let us know how many weeks it takes you to buff it out...

i'm talkin canadian bacon too,not our good stuff.

We've been well satisfied with Silestone... it's priced comparible to Corian.

Concrete. Cheaper than Formica. They were fun to make, we put our hand prints on the underside. Little labor involved but you’ll love them.

John

Nice kitchen,I hope the wife don't see this post!

Melamine molds, whatever shape/thickness you desire. Mix the concrete with any desired color you want ( we used charcoal color from Cheng). Pour the molds, screed the top. After drying, grind the top smooth before you pop the mold off. This will actually be the bottom of the countertop, the top is exposed when you pull the mold apart and flip it over. Wet sand the surface until you are satisfied, and seal with a food grade sealer.

That looks super nice Jo, thanks for posting that!