The kitchen, by far, is the most expensive room in the house in terms of updating. It’s also the room in which we spend most of our waking hours! If done well, a new kitchen can add value to your home making it a worthy investment. Choosing the various elements to your new kitchen, including kitchen worktops, can be a bit of a minefield. There are so many options available at a vast variety of budgets that it can be quite overwhelming! Once you start drilling down through the options, however, you can eliminate a lot because of budget, style and space constraints. I’ve put together this handy guide to kitchen worktops to help you through the elimination process…
White marble solid laminate worktop
Laminate and solid laminate worktops
The most popular kitchen worktop material currently in the UK. Laminate and solid laminate worktops are cost-effective and low-maintenance. Solid laminate worktops contain several layers of laminate and have a more contemporary, thinner finish to traditional laminate kitchen worktops. Because both are manufactured, they can come in pretty much any finish you can imagine. Giving you the look or real stone or wood without the maintenance and cost.
Real wood worktops
Hard wood worktops are a great compromise between laminate and stone. Real wood is more durable than laminate and cheaper and easier to maintain compared to stone. Real wood ages beautifully and can be sanded and re-oiled to change the look or to just give it a new lease of life. As wood is naturally porous to water damage, it does need to be kept oiled every couple of years at least.
Natural stone worktops
Granite and marble are the most popular types of natural stone worktops. Both are completely unique in their natural markings and shades and need sealing to protect from liquid damage. Marble is naturally more porous than granite but both are naturally antibacterial and easy to clean. Natural stone worktops are very durable and heavy and can take a lot in terms of daily wear and tear. But can’t be repaired once cracked or chipped and are also expensive. Natural stone is the most popular worktop material in Cyprus where I grew up, and it’s such a beautiful material to work on. It’s particularly useful for baking as the cool surface is perfect for working dough on!
Marble-effect worktops paired with Formentera petal blue tiles
Manmade stone worktops
Manmade stone worktops, such as quartz, can compare to natural stone worktops in terms of price but are far more durable. Because of this, manmade stone worktops can often have a thinner finish and look much sleeker. Each manufacturer will have slightly varying methods of producing manmade stone worktops, but generally natural stone pieces are bonded together with resin to create the solid surface. The result is a beautiful smooth finish, but you will need to use trivets for hot pots as it’s not as heat-resistant as natural stone. Other examples of manmade stone worktops are corian, earthstone, terazzo and silestone.
Amy suspension light handmade in brass
Glass worktops
Whatever comes to your head when you think of glass, clear it all out. Toughened glass is harder than stone, heat-proof and non-porous meaning it’s very low maintenance. Glass worktops can be made to any finish – you could even have glitter or artwork sealed in! Take a look at my post on glass splashbacks to find out more about glass worktops.
It wouldn’t be a guide to kitchen worktops if I didn’t mention metal worktops too. I know that copper is still popular and that stainless steel worktops are also a ‘thing’. But just don’t go there… honestly! Unless you have a commercial kitchen, just stay away from metal worktops in your home. Apart from being naturally antibacterial, there’s just nothing positive to say about metal worktops. This is probably after my 6 years of waitressing as a student. But commercial kitchens are hot, loud, echoey and stressful places and this is really not the vibe anyone would want in their own home!
Budget aside, other elements to consider when choosing kitchen worktops is the architecture of your home and style of your kitchen cabinets. Many suppliers now provide visualisation options so you can see what your new kitchen will end up looking like.
Natalia xo
Ooh there’s some gorgeous kitchens here isn’t there! Notes made for when I get my dream home (and/or lottery win!)
Ooo you’ve included some lovely ones here! And I must say, the problem these days is that we are spoiled for choice haha the only thing which helped me narrow down on my first reno was the budget otherwise I never would have made a decision ha!
A lovely selection of kitchens and great advice on the different types of worktop. I had Corian installed 2 years ago and I’ve been pretty pleased with it.
This is fab and as I’m about to undergo a mini kitchen facelift I’m so glad to see laminate included! I’ve opted for a marble laminate worktop as this won’t be our forever kitchen and it’s definitely budget friendly. Can’t wait to get started X
This is a great guide to kitchen worktops. There’s so much choice out there, but it often comes down to budget – it’s so good though that there are good quality laminates that look so realistic.
In an ideal world we’d have gone for marble but we went for a manmade version called Minerva and I love it. Cold to touch, natural veining and non-porous. Love it!
Fabulous ideas and images here. I’ve had to rip out a couple of wooden worktops in my time – I don’t think people realise how much maintenance it actually needs. There is so much choice now its quite daunting for most people
I am pretty fixed on terrazo. I used it 10 years ago at a fraction of the cost, way less than inflation rises now it is so popular. I still love it though
A great roundup of kitchen worktops and points to consider. We had a black granite worktop installed in our kitchen and although it looks fabulous and is great for popping hot pans on etc., I wish we had gone for a granite top that had flecks in it as plain black shows every wipe mark because of its shiny surface. Flecked granite tops show less marks from cleaning.