Choosing the perfect worktop for your kitchen is a big decision as it is one of the hardest working components that you will have. We lean on them, eat from them, chop food, spill liquids. If you have children, there’s also pen, playdoh, paint and other nasties to consider!
As well as the practicality and durability of your surface, you’ll want to consider the look and feel too. It’s also important for you to consider whether it works well aesthetically with your choice of kitchen cabinets and flooring.
To help you choose the best worktop for your kitchen, these are some of the key questions you need to consider …
What’s your budget?
There is a variety of worktop materials available, with options to suit all budgets. It is such a significant element of the design both visually and functionally. As a general rule, we suggest you allocate between 15-20% of your overall budget to the worktops.
The worktop options range from laminate, typically a wood chipboard core with a plastic coating, onto more exotic bespoke options such as hand-poured concrete or semi-precious stones. In the mid range, you’ll find materials such as quartz, sometimes known as engineered stone.
If you want your worktop to stand the test of time and still look incredible years down the line, we recommend you buy the very best quality you can afford.
What style kitchen do you want?
Your worktop is an integral part of the look and feel of your kitchen, setting the tone for the overall design theme. Quartz has become hugely popular in recent years due to its durability and aesthetic appeal. Solid wood works well in very traditional kitchens and laminate surfaces remain a popular choice, offering a range of colours and textures.
How much worktop space will you need?
Are you a keen host? If so would you like to have lots of room to prepare food as well as entertain guests? Will you have an island? Ideally, you want as much worktop space as possible – the last thing you want is to find after it’s all been fitted that there’s scarcely room for your chopping board.
How much time are you prepared to spend on cleaning and maintenance?
Another major factor to consider is how much time you’re willing to put into the cleaning, maintaining and general upkeep of your worktop. As much as you may love the appearance of solid wood, it requires time and money to look after it and keep it looking nice. The same goes for the type of finish you choose. In some instances, a single colour high gloss surface like stainless steel can show up marks and smudges much more than a matte finish.
So which worktop material is best?
Every worktop has its own pros and cons but ultimately the decision is going to depend on your budget, usage and personal taste. If you have an island in your kitchen, there’s no reason why you couldn’t choose a different worktop material for this component. For example, some people choose a solid wood worktop on their islands, and quartz or laminate along walls.
At KH Kitchens, around three quarters of our customers opt for quartz worktops, which join up beautifully with matching upstands and splashbacks.
Quartz
Harder, yet lighter than granite and available in a variety of colours and patterns, quartz worktops are a great choice for those looking for a stylish yet more affordable finish to their kitchen design. Available in both gloss (polished) and matte (honed) finishes, which offer different aesthetics and light reflection. There are a wide variety of colours and patterns, allowing for a customised look.
The combination of natural stone with polymer resin, renders quartz a truly non-porous surface. It is hygienic and resistant to stains and bacteria, as liquids won’t soak into the pores. This also makes it easier to clean as spills easily glide off the surface; making quartz a hard-wearing and low-maintenance choice for kitchens.
The manufacturing process makes quartz highly impact resistant as the resin adds flexibility and elasticity. This serves as a kind of shock absorber if hit with heavy objects.
Granite
Granite work surfaces are a very popular choice. Granite is one of the hardest materials on earth, formed millions of years ago beneath the earth’s surface. Worktops made from granite are extremely hard wearing, heat resistant, won’t scratch under normal use and are easy to clean & maintain, making them ideal work surfaces.
Granite is exceptionally beautiful and unique. Each slab is a detailed network of distinctive patterns and colours ranging from light grey-white to deepest, richest black.
On the downside, granite is naturally porous, so it needs resealing annually. A spillage of acidic liquids such as lemon juice, wine or vinegar could etch the surface and make it more vulnerable to stains.
Wood
Solid wood worktops lend themselves to timeless, cottage style kitchens and sleek natural minimalist designs alike, depending on your personal décor.
With a wooden worktop your kitchen will be unique, because no two pieces of wood are the same. Solid and tough, wood is warm to the touch and durable. Scratches and dents can be sanded out or filled in, extending the lifespan of the worktop.
Wood is a renewable resource, making it a more eco-friendly choice than some other countertop materials.
Wooden worktops require a certain amount of work and care. They must be treated with oil to protect them against the ingress of moisture, every 3 to 6 months, depending on the use.
Laminate
Laminate remains a popular worktop solution offering the widest choice, yet most cost-effective option. Durable, easy to clean and available in a wide range of colours and textures.
The use of authentic textures combined with high resolution technology makes it difficult to differentiate between a laminate worktop and the material it emulates.
Laminate kitchen worktops are antibacterial, scratch resistant and easy to maintain. While prices have increased in recent years, they remain the most cost-effective worktop option.
We would not recommend using marble or limestone for kitchen worktops. It is a natural stone with beautiful grains, but it is not as hard as granite or quartz and is slightly porous, making it less resistant to stains and heat. They are also one of the more costly options.
We hope this helps with your decision. For more detailed information and the opportunity to view and feel the textures of the different materials, visit the KH Kitchens showroom. We look forward to welcoming you!
Arctic White Quartz – www.newforeststone.co.uk
Bianco Misterio Quartz – www.newforeststone.co.uk
Laminate – www.mitchellsworktops.co.uk
www.burbidgekitchenmakers.co.uk
www.sinckitchens.com
www.storicollection.com
