What worktop - someone decide for me before I go mad

[MsSampson]

So, I'm currently undergoing death by a thousand decisions. Having virtually the entire house re-done (to the point we've had to move out). So, I'm deciding on kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, and so forth. It's very exciting, and enormously stressful, but I guess a nice problem to have, really. Anyway, it's been going on so long I have overthought some aspects to the point I can no longer make a decision.

We are having an IKEA kitchen fitted in an open plan living/dining/kitchen space. It's the Marsta (matt white with cut out handles), with the higher up cupboards and end panels in Hyttan, which is the kind of rough wood look. We're having Quickstep Oak laminate floors. Our original plan was quartz surfaces, in a kind of greige, but given overspend for really boring structural work I'm not sure we can afford them, and I'm also not sure it would look right.

I started to think about white laminate, but I've been reading about staining and every mark showing up, and we aren't super clean tidy people, so that worries me. Ditto for wood - my sister has wood and it's been a bit of a nightmare, and also with the wooden cupboards/end panels, and floor I'm worried it will be too many different kinds of wood in the room.

I've spent the day down some kind of internet rabbit hole looking at solid laminate surfaces that they use in laboratories, and kind of quartz stuck to particleboard things, and anyway, I just want someone to decide for me before I go mad. Maybe there's a magical, cheap, durable worksurface I just haven't heard of yet?

Oh, and also, we're having a sink on the island, which I really wanted to be undermounted, which was one of the reasons for the quartz.

Any bright ideas?

[Believeitornot]

Quartz.

Or corian with an integrated sink.

[Meandyouandyouandme]

We've just had white Formica and plywood work tops fitted. We've got white matt cupboards and Blankett handles from IKEA, it looks great. We've got oak floorboards, the kitchen is supposed to look like its from the 50s with modern materials I suppose.

[MsSampson]

Thanks both. Corian too £££, and i'm worried about the marking. I do love the integrated sinks though, and the way it feels...
Meandyou - can I ask where you got your formica from? Do you have any idea of the rough cost per £m? I love the idea. I originally wanted a custom made plywood kitchen in fact, but cost and time made me give up on that idea (and many of my other more fanciful ideas too)

[Meandyouandyouandme]

I also wanted corian but decided it was too expensive. Worktops were from a company called Birkwood, Google Birkwood Scotland and they'll come up. Sorry not sure on price as my DH did it all. I can find out though, I will post a photo.

[Meandyouandyouandme]

We wanted a plywood kitchen as well but was too expensive! We've just done a whole house as well.

[Meandyouandyouandme]

Excuse the mess as it isn't quite finished, our stuff is still in boxes.

[MsSampson]

Ooh, lovely kitchen! It must be so exciting to see it come together at the end of the build. We're still at the building site phase. And I love that your hob is by the window - nice to cook with a view! Is your sink undermounted?
I will have a look and see if I can see a similar cabinet makers a bit more locally - I'm about as far from Pitlochry as it's possible to be unfortunately.

[Meandyouandyouandme]

Thanks, we are getting there. Lived in a rental for a year while we had the work done. Sink is over mounted. We are in the northwest, and they did deliver. We nearly used someone in Bristol I think, which is maybe nearer you.

[user1471426401]

We have Minerva fitted as our kitchen worktop which is a kind of a man-made granite. It looks great and easy to care for. It's cheaper than granite but more expensive than laminate

[Thesunrising]

We've got the earlier version of your white IKEA kitchen - cut out handles are silver rather than white. We got a wraparound surface called Maia - a cheaper version of Corian. Is wearing really well, but can't remember the colour name - it is speckly gray/Matt and goes nicely with the white units.

[MsSampson]

Thanks meandyou - sink looks good. Can I ask what you are doing about a draining board? This was one of my problems with laminate or similar - I didn't want half my island to be taken up by a big stainless steel draining board, so it's interesting to see you don't have one.
And I've just looked at minerva and maia, and sent off for some Maia samples, so thanks for those too.
I sometimes think if I put as much effort into running my business as I do into finding the right worktop/tiles/radiators etc, then I would be a lot more succesful

[Meandyouandyouandme]

We don't intend to do any washing up in the sink really, just odd bits, and food prep. We also have a utility room with sink and drainer so if I need to wash up lots of stuff then I can do it in there. DH didn't want the mess of a drainer. The kitchen is in a large open plan living area, do he wanted the kitchen to look as unkitchenlike as possible

[SignedUpAgain]

Meandyou - can i ask you about the blankett handles?

we are in middle of a new kitchen, but the supplier has been messing us about with delays on the handles. They are similar to the IKEA blanketts ones and it would solve a very long delay if i could just use them instead.

1/ do they stick out under your worktop? we want them to sit flush so you don't see them
2/ do you have any wall cupboard, or integrated stuff like a tall fridge- what way do the handles work with those?

thank you

[MsSampson]

Meandyou - I'm the same as your DH, don't want the mess of a drainer, but I have no utility. Our island is also in our living space. This is basically the crux of my problem, but it's very interesting to know others are just doing without a draining board. I reckon I could just do some kind of mat and fold up draining rack for the few times I wash bigger stuff up, which would totally make decent laminate a possibility. Interesting! Thanks again for answering my very mundane questions.

[Meandyouandyouandme]

Hi Signed, yes the handles are flush with the front of the worktop. I do have a wall of tall cupboards that are behind me on the above photo, I will post another photo when I get home from work so you can see.

[Meandyouandyouandme]

The handles are very cheap as well

[Meandyouandyouandme]

See our row of four full height cupboards with Blankett handles. The cupboard that isn't in line is the fridge freezer.

[SignedUpAgain]

Thanks for the extra picture and information - its been hard to visualise what they would look like.