Choosing a kitchen worktop is an exciting process - who doesn’t want a shiny new kitchen? But sometimes this process can be difficult, confusing, and even make you question your decision to make a change.
We’ve created this easy guide to help you decide which kitchen worktop is best for you.
How big is your kitchen?
If your kitchen is relatively small, any stone worktop would work well, you may want to consider which pattern would look good in the space available. If you have a slightly larger kitchen, you might need more than one stone slab to cover the surface area of your kitchen. With uniformly coloured stones it’s easy to hide a joint, but with intricate marble veins, you’ll want to make sure to get two book-matched slabs, so the pattern can continue seamlessly. ‘Book-matched’ means two (or more) slabs are cut from the same stone and the pattern will therefore mirror itself at the seam.
What stone type is most suitable for your kitchen?
As the kitchen is the heart of the home, considering what type of stone will best suit your needs is so important. Quartz and granite are the most durable, so if you’re concerned about spillages, scratches, and stains we’d recommend you stick with these two options. While marble is still very durable, it does scratch and stain easier, and it depends on how much effort you want to put into cleaning spills straight away. If you were hoping for marble, there are more durable quartz alternatives that have that mimic the veined look of marble.
What look do you want for your kitchen?
Choosing the colour and pattern of your kitchen worktop is the most fun choice but it can still be challenging. Think about the style you are going for and what fits with the rest of you home. Would a more organic looking stone like an intricately veined marble fit your aesthetic or would a sleek black granite look better? What style do you want for your kitchen and what colours will look good together? Our advice is to create a mood board of colours and patterns that you like before visiting a showroom. Even better, if you’ve got colour samples, bring them along!
Do you want a honed or polished finish?
This decision will massively depend on what style you are going for. A polished finish often has a slightly darker hue and reflects more light. Honed kitchen worktops on the other hand can give the room a softer matte look which is very much on trend right now. Both options have their own pros and cons, for example, polished marble is better when it comes to stain resistance. But if you’re concerned about scratches, honed marble will hide these better, as it doesn’t reflect light as much and therefore doesn’t draw attention to irregularities.
What’s your budget?
Saving the all-important question until last: What’s your budget? Once you’ve created your mood board and know what look you want, you’ll need to think about what you are willing to spend on your kitchen worktops. Natural stone worktops are a great investment, as they will last you a lifetime, but this durability comes at a certain price point.
That being said, some options are more affordable than others. Marble tends to be at the higher end of the price scale, but there are also more affordable marble-look quartz options that might work better with your budget. Having a look around your stone provider’s showroom and talking to experts will help you figure out what is possible within your budget.