Happy New Year! I hope that on Christmas Day you lovely readers got everything you wished for, and that 2019 will be a happy and healthy one.
I’m praying that 2019 will also be the year that Project Kitchen in the Soeno household is completed. We made an excellent start towards the back end of last year by moving some of the bulky kitchen cupboards into the garage, and installing new worktops. We went for quartz (Remember this post where I was hankering after oak worktops, whereas Rich was all about the quartz? Argh, kicking myself that he won that battle…) and you can see a little sneak peek of the before and afters in the slider above. (Ignore the Christmassy decs in the ‘after’ photo – soz about that).
You may also notice from the ‘after’ image that we decided to go for a waterfall worktop.
What is a Waterfall Worktop?
A waterfall worktop is one which drops vertically down the side of a kitchen cabinet/kitchen island all the way down to the floor, thus creating a ‘waterfall’ effect. As per the gorgeous worktops in the header above. (The first one is of Anna Bond’s kitchen, as in Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co. Predictably, I love everything about the entire house).
Being the indecisive person I am, I had a last minute change of heart in the run up to the worktop installation date, and asked the worktop fitters to stick to a standard worktop rather than a waterfall. They okayed this, however on the big day a waterfall countertops was installed. Thankfully I loved the appearance of it (and could not be doing with more days trying to cater for two hungry kids without kitchen worktops), so it’s here to stay.
For anyone else considering a waterfall worktop here are some inspiration pics, plus my take on the advantages and disadvantages.
The Pros of a Waterfall Worktop
They create a sleek, elegant, ‘flowing’ look – perfect if you’re a lover of clean lines.
They’re easy to clean.
They protect the kitchen cabinets (ours will be able to withstand more wear and tear than a painted laminate end-panel which was the alternative).
They are great for creating a design statement.
No sharp chunky corners that little ones can bash their heads on.
The Cons of a Waterfall Worktop
They can be more expensive (although not much more expensive if you were going for a purse-friendly option for your worktops such as concrete or wood).
Are they too trendy? I’m not sure they will stand the test of time. But hey ho, they look nice for now.
In case you hadn’t gathered from this post, I am the most indecisive person in THE WORLD, and since the worktops have been installed I have obviously changed my mind re paint colour for the kitchen cabinets from off-white to dark. Whereas Rich previously wanted dark and now wants white. Oh, the joys of renovating a kitchen with someone as stubborn as myself.
Stay tuned for more kitchen updates and to find out whether Rich gets his way with the paint (although don’t hold your breath. At this rate the kitchen won’t be complete until 2020).
Have you gone for waterfall worktops in your home?
I really like this waterfall look, and I don’t think it will really date as it’s not particularly different, is it? All the dark units and herringbone tiles, on the other hand, are more recent kitchen trends which I do like but think will look so dated in 5 years. Just dreaming about my future kitchen in the next house – I love the one I’ve chosen for my new build but long for a big entertaining kitchen!
Yes in our house it’s kind of a statement feature without being TOO in-your-face – if that’s possible?! (I have however got my heart set on herringbone tiles 🙊)
Also dreaming of a big entertaining kitchen here x
I LOVE that waterfall worktop! It looks so sleek and much prettier than an end panel would have looked. A lovely statement piece without being “too much” (if that’s a thing). Personally I love dak base units in kitchens and after going for a light kitchen myself as I chickened out at the last minute and went with the “safe” option I can 100% say that I would go dark if I were to do a kitchen again (as there’s mutterings on potentially moving in the next couple of years in my camp here I may just get my chance). If you’re worried it would be too much for the space you could keep the wall paint colour light and even do light upper cabinets if you have any to keep the space open but have a bold splash too.
Soooo much better than an end panel Hayley!
I LOVE kitchens with two different paint colours on the upper and lower cabinets however I’m not sure it would work in our kitchen… problem being there is a tall cupboard panel in front of the fridge which conjoins both the lower and upper cabinets. There may be a post in this… x
I don’t think waterfall worktops are a trend! I would definitely go dark against the white worktops – that would look lovely. We’ve got shaker end panels on ours which are lovely so no waterfall for us but I’m happy with ours too (and we have a few end panels so couldn’t waterfall them all! Looking forward to seeing the finished result.
Phew 🙂 You RMS readers are a such a lovely bunch. Shaker end panels…the dream! x
We didn’t go for waterfall mainly because of the cost, but my parents are getting one in their holiday house and it looks amazing on the design! They are installing it in a couple of weeks and then we are all off to see it in early Feb. The original design was for a midnight black quartz worktop with a waterfall and I advised my parents against it mainly because I was worried it might date or be a risk (it looked like SUCH a statement piece from the designs that they really would have been screwed if they didn’t like it! It was the architects “vision” but my parents have to live with it everyday…) but they’ve gone for a light coloured worktop now and I think it’ll be fab.
Yours looks gorgeous Lisa although omg that must have been a shock if you thought you weren’t getting it!!
It WAS a shock, however as it’s light it’s not too prominent and seems to blends in nicely. You will have to let me know what your parents’ turns out like!
I really like the look of this. We didn’t have anywhere we could do a waterfall as the only end piece is also a peninsula which has a dining bench and table against it. I imagine it would have made the bench very cold and generally be a waste of money as it can’t be seen. I’m not sure it is that much of a trend. I think if you are using a material like stone then it is a way to show more of it and bring a bit of organic pattern to the room. I love the veining on our worktops for that reason. Not sure I’d like a waterfall so much if it was entirely plain. I don’t know how I’d justify the cost but our end panels seemed ridiculously expensive for what they are anyway!
Sounds like it made sense not to do it. And yes I think waterfall worktops tend to work best when there’s a bit of texture or interest to the material.
Waterfall worktops are stunning. You definitely have more pros than cons but budget it definitely the main consideration for something like this. The marble effect waterfall worktops are particularly striking.
The worktops are beautiful and it emits elegance. Overall its a beautifully looking setup.