The Cheltenham house is being treated to a new kitchen. We had very fixed ideas on the style of kitchen we wanted and have chosen white high gloss units to maximise light with a handleless design for a clutter free profile. The plan is to maximise the sense of space in our tiny victorian galley kitchen. When it came to choosing worktops the decision was far more difficult… In fact the kitchen is due to be installed in just a few weeks and as yet we have still not decided upon a material for the worktops.
The Cheltenham house restoration has been a labour of love and it has been a slow process. Originally the intention was to leave the kitchen alone but as other rooms reached completion the kitchen started to look like the poor relation. Queue a bank holiday mooch around Magnet that rapidly got out of hand – our new kitchen arrives before the end of the month. We got a good deal on the units but my first tip would be to shop around for your worktops. There is a huge choice of materials and costs range from a few hundred pounds to quite a few thousand pounds depending on whether you are going for laminate, solid wood, composite, concrete or solid stone surfaces. No matter which material you go for you’ll save a lot of money by looking online. I found a good selection at solidsurfacekitchens.co.uk and they were able to undercut the Magnet special deal prices by over 25% in most cases.
A Quick Guide To Worktops
I’m no expert but having been in the market for kitchen work surfaces for a few weeks now I’ve been cramming like I’ve got an exam tomorrow. I’ve got a good idea on the price and benefits of the most common (and some not so common) kitchen counter products on the market. All of my costings are based on 8 meters of work surface.
< £500 Laminate
The budget option, laminate worktops have certainly become better looking in recent years and there are premium laminates on the market that certainly deserve a look in. The flat edge profile you can get on some current laminates feels more modern than the older round edged finish, it just depends on whether you mind the visible seams you get along the corners and of course laminate tops will not last as long as more premium materials. They are so much cheaper though that you could afford to replace them every few years and you’d still be saving.
£1k+ Solid Wood
If treated correctly solid wood tops will last for years, you just need to look after them – especially around sink units. I think solid wood can work well in a country or farm style kitchen and can also be used to soften and add warmth to a stark modern city kitchen. Available in many styles from light oak to an almost black wenge there is a solid wood that will work with most kitchen colours and styles. www.worktop-express.co.uk stock over 15 different finishes at rock bottom prices.
£1.5k+ Composite
It seems that the composite market has seen the most growth in the last few years – Corian was one of the first solid stone replica’s to hit the market years ago but now there are many companies out there and the prices have dropped considerably. Composite work tops all follow the same basic design principle – the appearance is that of solid stone, however, the tops are constructed from a lightweight core structure that is then coated with a stone like man made resin. The result is a very hard surface that feels like stone but without the associated high cost and weight issues. With some composite surfaces you can even add accents like drainage grooves around the sink, just as you can with solid stone. I found a good selection at very good prices at solidsurfacekitchens.co.uk.
£2k+ Concrete / Béton Ciré
For an industrial super contemporary feel you might want to consider polished concrete or Béton Ciré, in both cases the surfaces are usually created on site so there is additional cost involved for time, design and installation services. The natural finish of concrete is not to everyones taste so Béton Ciré might be the best option for you. This ultra fine grained close relative of concrete can be dyed any colour you like. Why not colour match your work top to your kettle! You can get more information and see some beautiful Béton Ciré examples at http://www.modernhomesolutions.co.uk/
£4k+ Solid Stone
Although solid granite or marble worktops can look fantastic and are incredibly hard wearing, for this project they were cost prohibitive. The Cheltenham house is not our forever home and I feel that stone worktops are an investment purchase that we are unlikely to get the value from… Especially as solid stone work tops would approach or potentially exceed the cost of the entire kitchen with fitting too!
Help
Has anyone recently gone through this process? I certainly found choosing a worktop to be the hardest element of the kitchen design to get right. I really wanted to do something a bit different or daring, along the lines of Concrete or Béton Ciré but I think from a budget point of view it is likely to be solid wood or composite that offers the best compromise of aesthetics and affordability.
Has anyone got any other solutions for worktops that I should investigate before committing, I am aware that I haven’t touched on glass worktops but I was put off them having heard reports that they can scratch easily. I’ve also been looking more closely at premium laminates, does anyone have experience with these?
Adam.
Having had wood work tops I would NEVER have them again. They’re such a hassle. And they say oh if they’re treated they’re fine – they lie. I would 100% have polished concrete in my next kitchen of budget allowed. Or failing that a composite copy. Marble would be amazing but stains and bad idea for worktops.
Hi Victoria, I really like the finish and look of polished concrete or the béton ciré and I can’t help thinking (or perhaps hoping) that prices for this finish are due to come down as it becomes more popular.
My last two kitchens have had solid wood work tops and I have found them to be ok – although I think keeping them in pristine condition is a tall order! There are extra precautions you can take with them, for example when they are fitted you should also fit a moisture membrane beneath them – particularly if you have a dishwasher as steam can easily start attacking from the underside. I’m not sure that all fitters do this as standard.
Interesting point on Marble, I had heard that staining can be an issue which seems like such a burden with a product that is so expensive!
Thank you for your thoughts!
Adam.
Marble looks great but stains, we have it in our rental flat and there is a tea stain because the tea pot dribbles.
It is on the walls in the kitchen and bathroom (both 2x1m) and looks great, I think it would be too much for a larger room.
I have just finished doing our white kitchen. We chose white Quartz for two of the work surfaces and stainless steel for the third which is also the breakfast bar area. It works really well. We paid £2k in total for these. The Quartz looks stunning but there is an element of upkeep. You have to get to tea/wine stains quickly with Cif. But other than that it’s been brilliant and really works with the white industrial look we were going for.
Hi Claire,
Your kitchen sounds amazing – We are considering low profile white tops. With our handless kitchen there is a gutter that runs around the top of the units and thin solid white work tops look very cool.
I have got black granite in our new house and I hate it! It is impossible to keep clean as shows every mark and needs to be polished to look good. I much preferred the wood in our old house, it had a worn look to it which I liked. Yearly treatment with Danish oil kept the surface waterproof.
If we get a new kitchen I would definitely look at composite surfaces but sadly is low down on the list of stuff to do!
Very interesting Kat – I think I prefer the worn look of wood as it ages. I think wood gives a much more homely feel than granite. Also I’m not a massive fan of getting the Mr Sheen out so I’m happy not to be considering granite tops 😉
We currently have both composite on our main working side and black granite on the island bench. I’m with Kat & can never seem to keep the granite sparkling. But I love the composite. It’s easy to clean, smooth and I can set hot pots down on it. However it is white, which, just like marble, doesn’t like it when you leave curry splashes lying for long.
We’ve got a beautiful big wooden chopping board on top of the composite which breaks up the white and helps prevent stains as there’s always somewhere to pop that tomato sauce covered ladle 🙂
Hi Naomi – you seem to have a bit of everything! A big wooden chopping board is deffo a good idea for introducing that natural material element to your kitchen.
I don’t think I can be trusted with anything that stains so i’ll either have to avoid white composite or avoid curry… The Biriynai wins.
Very helpful as I’m getting a composite worktop.
Ooh I feel your pain with this dilemma! I found choosing the worktop so tricky – that and choosing handles! I went for solid wood in the end (as you’ll know from your visit!) I was worried about them being difficult to look after but I’ve found them ok.
I think marble or concrete are worth the investment in your forever home, but like you I don’t think this house will be ours so I decided to go for a cheaper option!
Hi Kate – the wooden work tops certainly do look great in your kitchen! And although more modern finishes like concrete are in vogue I think the classic finish of solid wood will work in your favour when you decide on your forever home and sell up.
We had black worktops made of Maia (a solid worktop made from acrylic resin, two thirds aluminium hydroxide and colour pigments) – basically a rip-off of corian. Never again! Although the worktop withstood most of our daily activities it did scratch despite its claims that it was super tough. The thing that drove me round the blinking bend was – as Kat and Naomi have both mentioned – trying to keep it clean. Every teeny tiny water mark would show up so I’m determined to go pale next time! My mum has polished limestone in her kitchen and that’s a nightmare too!
My mother in law has these worktops too Lolly and complains of exactly thr same things. I’m pretty positive for the price she paid for hers she could have had some lovely granite worktops too xx
The more I hear about issues with these expensive worktops the more I am becoming convinced that a laminate is the way forward! They don’t stain, they don’t show water marks, you don’t need to polish them or oil them. They might scratch after a while but at that cost you can simply replace them.
I might have to investigate interesting ways to incorporate laminate work tops in your kitchen… I can feel a pinterest coming on 😉
I actually met Mr H when we both worked for B&Q as studens and I actually worked on Kitchens and Bathrooms. My advice would be to pay you local stone mason a visit. As somber as it sounds a lot of companys that specialise in gravestones have honed their craft over decades and thanks to emerging trends for marble worktops they have diversified in to this area too. I had countless customers tell me the best deal they could get on granite and marble worktops were with these local stone masons xx
Thats a really good point thanks Helen. It’s reminded me that Last time I fitted a kitchen I bought wooden work tops from Wickes. Because the kitchen walls ran out of alignment one of the worktops needed an extra piece splicing into the back. I found a local carpenter who sourced an identical piece of wood to the worktops and casually mentioned whilst fitting them that he could have provided all of the wooden worktops at a fraction of the price I had paid.
Ah, worktops! We’ve had our new kitchen in for 2 months and still have mdf whilst we continue to decide on what to buy. I’ve found it really difficult. We too have white handleless and a very minimalist look and I want marble or the look of marble but more hardwearing stainwise and have gone around the houses and back again. Has anyone actually had marble and it been ok?
We’ve also looked at white quartz (may not add enough interest to a completely white kitchen/room) porcelain (could potentially crack) and Neolith (coming up more expensive than actual marble and the colour isn’t exactly what I want). ARGH!
Lauren it sounds like you are enduring the same predicament as we are. How is the MDF working? out… Maybe we’ll do that as well – cheapest option so far! 😉
We have a mixture of granite and then Oak on our island. I have to say that the Oak already (even though has danish oil) seems to scratch and mark easily. However I don’t mind too much as I like the fact it looks aged. The granite I agree doesn’t always looks sparkling however my cleaner manages to make them look amazing. I asked her what she does and basically she doesn’t use products. Just hot water with a wet cloth in circular motion and then go over with a dry cloth and they literally shine ! Apparently using sprays etc..dull the granite !
I have to say, I don’t think the perfect solution is out there stain/mark/strength/looks wise – there will have to be a compromise somewhere! My OH is far too comfortable with the stained beige mdf look, almost wish the builders had left the cabinets completely topless to force us to act quickly 🙂
We went for solid oak and I have to say after 6 months of heavy use I really don’t know what people moan about with it! Ours is still pristine and we plonk everything straight onto it, wet, food covered, greasy, no problems at all. We do use a heat mat for pans but I’d do that on any worktop. We haven’t had to sand or oil it yet and it cost us £200 for 4m so we really can’t complain. If it looks worn in a few years it’s cheap enough to replace.
We have friends that made their own concrete worktops and they look amazing! I believe they just made a frame and poured the concrete while it was in place. We’re in the process of renovating our utility room and we’re going to give it a go!
Casey where did you get your oak worktops from? £200 for 4m seems like a ridiculously good price! I am keen to change our worktops to oak (we don’t neeeeed oak worktops but we currently have laminate and although they are super practical the colour is a bit bleurgh) x
They were from DIY-kitchens.com our whole kitchen is from there and is amazing quality!
Ooh thank you, will check it out!
We have a laminate that looks like glass and no one believes is laminate. Also hubby did amazing work with the carpentry and the joints are invisible. 8 years ago it was a temp measure til we could afford Eco resin tops but we like it so much it’s stayed
Rachel we need to know your worktop supplier, these sound too good to be true. Also I might need to hire your hubby to fit them for me 🙂
Oh wow I never realised how much thought needed to go into work tops!! Really interesting post Adam, thank you.
Well Adam, and of course Lizzy, my vote goes to Lake District slate.
A volcanic material laid down millions of years ago, each piece is unique. Your worktop will also therefore be unique too. And quite beautiful. Gaze upon this wonderfully subtly patterned surface and be seduced.
Hi Tony, I’ve checked out the Lake District slate http://lakestone-uk.com/ and it is indeed beautiful… One to keep in the back pocket for when we buy our Forever home 😉
Hey Adam. We had around 6m of Indian granite supplied and fitted for <£2k by finding a small, local specialist. They were way cheaper than big stores and it felt good to give the business to a small company. Shout up if you want their number.
Thanks Marco, that’s a great price for fitted granite… I might have to investigate this one further.
We did something similar – I paid around £1k for supply and fit of around 3m of black granite. I sourced it separately from the rest of the kitchen, and it was much more cost effective. They came down from Yorkshire to fit it (we’re in Surrey!).
I did a lot of research two and half years ago and went for a product called Compac, I think it was made by Silestone, it still looks immaculate as the day it was fitted, also had the slash back behind the cooker. It is as heavy as granite and polished but the colour is uniform, as I wanted a modern look, in a neutral colour. It is quite a big kitchen and cost 2k including splash back, they also do one called Unistone which was even cheaper but didn’t have the colour I wanted. Supplied by Granite Planet in Evesham, very helpful and the cheapest quote around.
Obviously meant splash back, the joys of typing without glasses on!
Very interesting Eileen, Evesham isn’t too far away from me so I might have to pop along to Granite Planet.
Just another idea to throw in to the ring…. Have you thought about stainless steel work tops? I have no personal experience of them, but am considering them for our kitchen refurb next year. I imagine they scratch, but could develop a lovely patina with use.
Hi Rebecca, I did consider stainless steel briefly but didn’t have much luck searching for suppliers – Have you found any that look good? I’d certainly be interested in investigating this one further.
Copper work tops… Now there’s a thing 😉
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