Selecting and buying the right worktop for your kitchen can be very challenging, especially when you do it for the first time. With a wide selection to choose from, you can easily pick something that eventually turns out not to be the best fit for your kitchen or your home in general. When it comes to choosing a worktop for the heart of our home, we only want nothing but the best. Take the following factors as a key to choosing the right worktop for your kitchen.
Assess and Allocate Budget
Kitchen worktops are available at different price points and can fit into any budget. However, cheaper options may not last as long as more durable stones and expensive granites. You can try combining the kitchen worktops if your budget is tight. Your kitchen will look more sophisticated and modern as mixing and matching are on trend.
Set aside extra costs for installation. Natural stone countertops made from granite & marble, or Engineered Stone Benchtops made from Quantum Quartz & YDL stone or some hardwood worktops will require you to hire an expert to cut grooves within the worktops for kitchen appliances.
Consider the Layout of Your Kitchen
After taking your budget into account, focus on what worktop will best suit your kitchen layout. If you have a one-wall or galley kitchen, you may choose straight runs of materials. They are cheaper and easier to fit. If you have a u-shaped or l-shaped kitchen which consists of a lot of corners, look to seamless worktops such as stone composites, granites, and quantum quartz benchtops. Complimenting your kitchen layout with your worktop can make or break your kitchen. So take a considerable amount of time in choosing the best.
Determine Your Profile
The thickness of your chosen worktop can intensely transform the look of your kitchen so think this over before you decide to buy a worktop.
Thinner worktops with 20 mm thickness and thicker worktops with 40mm have become trendy, but 20mm is the standard thickness of worktop. You may explore and compare a variety of options before deciding what to buy.
Choose the Best Material
1. Laminate
This material is made up of high density chipboard, covered with plastic laminate. Laminate worktops come in different sizes, designs, and colours. All of these will help you achieve the look you long for.
Pros: cost-efficient, quick and easy to install, further developments increases the quality of the material.
Cons: sensitive to cuts and chips.
2. Wood
If you want to achieve a classic look, you may use maple, beech, and oak. If you wish to carry out a state-of-the-art kitchen, the best choices include wenge, bamboo, and iroko. Whether your kitchen design is traditional or modern, solid wood worktop can transform its look and can add elegance to the area.
Pros: natural style, provides warmth
Cons: demands massive care and maintenance
3. Minerva
This modern, practical, and solid kitchen work surface material is manufactured using up-to-date technology to produce a cool and pleasing touch.
Pros: looks like marble but more cost-effective, appears like real stone, scratch, scorch, and stain resistant
Cons: colour options are limited
4. Granite
Granite is a highly popular material for worktops because it is immensely sturdy, long-lasting, and worth investing. Stone Interiors installs quality granite kitchen benchtops for our Melbourne clients. Our product comes in bold colors like Black Pearl, Butterfly Green, and Antique Brown, tipping your kitchen’s interior design into the contemporary side.
Pros: scratch, scorch, and stain resistant, sophisticated range of colours, low maintenance
Cons: can’t be repaired if damaged, heavy
5. Quartz
If you want to give your kitchen a more contemporary, minimalist look, quantum quartz benchtops might just be the answer. This is the most preferred material for kitchen worktops because it is made of durable material that is also smooth, glossy, and lustrous, that make sure your kitchen stays stylish for life. Stone Interiors will help you enhance the style and function of your kitchen through our designing, manufacturing, and install quantum quartz benchtops service.
Pros: scratch, scorch, and stain resistant, fabulous color range, non-porous, low-maintenance, durable
Cons: requires you to use trivets because it’s not entirely heatproof
6. Marble
Through a natural process, the original minerals of this type of stone become crystallised, making it durable enough to last a passage of time. Stone Interiors installs quality marble stone benchtops for our Melbourne clients. A marble benchtop is a great addition to your kitchen.
Pros: durable, temperature resistant, pleasant to the eyes, timeless
Cons: scratches and stains easily
7. Stainless Steel
This type of material is commonly used in restaurants for some good reasons. Its resistance to heat and durability are perfect for heavy cooking.
Pros: non-porous, temperature resistant, custom-made, easy to install
Cons: prone to scratch, can acquire dents, can be noisy
8. Cement
Concrete kitchen worktops become trendier than granite or slate because they can be a better fit in modern kitchen designs than natural stones. Moreover, cement can now be sealed to achieve a worktop surface that is unlike any other materials.
Pros: perfect for heavy duty use, full-range of colour options, contemporary
Cons: units may be reinforced due to its heaviness, prone to scratches, porous
9. Corian
In solid surface kitchen worktop market, Corian is the leading brand. The material is produced by combining plastic resin and bauxite pigments. When you want to match and mix worktop to the kitchen layout, Corian will make your kitchen.
Pros: flexible design, invisible joints, moulded upstands and sinks,
Cons: not scratch, scorch, and stain resistant, very expensive
On the whole, selecting and choosing the right worktop for your kitchen is no easy task. But with this useful guide, you’ll be able to find and select the best one.
Work with Us
Stone Interiors stocks only the best stone from the best brands. We supply brands such as Caesarstone, Smartstone, Quantum Quartz, YDL Stone, Dekton, Stone Italiana, and many more. These leading brands have brought the most durable and visually striking products to Australia’s kitchens, proving themselves to be the best in the stone industry. Work with our designer and we will give your kitchen the look you always desire to have.
Feel free to visit us at 67 Killara Rd, Campbellfield, Victoria on Mondays to Fridays from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. You may reach Stone Interiors by ringing us at 03 9357 0096 or mobile 0422 448 494. You may also send an email at stoneinteriors1@optusnet.com.au.