Kitchen Worktops.

[SnickersWasAHorse]

I'm really stuck about kitchen work tops.
I don't really want to say what I do or don't like as I would like some honest opinions.

What do you have? Would you recommend it?

[SweepTheHalls]

Silestone, it's amazing

[Moanyoldcow]

Maia - absolutely love it.

[Hairyhat]

I am the same. There is so much choice. I also need to choose kitchen cupboard doors to go with a worktop and I'm overwhelmed by the array of different kinds!

[FrogFairy]

I currently have laminate and will also have it when I have a new kitchen hopefully sometime on in the next year.

For me it does the job, easy to clean and while the more expensive choices are lovely I cannot justify spending the equivalent if a year's salary on countertops. I also live in a shite area so granite or quartz would not add to the value of my house.

[SnickersWasAHorse]

I'm not worried about adding value as I have no plan to move if it can be avoided.

Wood seems an almighty ball ache to me although it does look pretty.

My worry about laminate is pattern repeat. Seems fatuous I know but my ideal would be wood effect laminate without any pattern repeat.

[Bombaybunty]

2nd vote for silestone. Looks great and is brilliant for pastry!

[jigster01]

Will be getting Unistone quartz ..can't wait !!

[perhapsiwill]

We have slab tech. It is a solid surface. It costs in between the stone and the laminate. Any scratches or anything can be buffed out easily. Looks fabulous if you are okay with a matt look.

[perhapsiwill]

It is also non porous. So no stains .

[cupcake007]

Mine are oak. I'm paranoid about spills. It looks great though.

[Bluntness100]

Black granite, I love them, they have a lustre that is really deep and they are really easy to clean and take care of.

[Etymology23]

Beech: couldn't afford expensive and looks better than the chipboard stuff to me. Was only £80 for a 3m length.

Downsides: spills can stain, need trivets for pots and you have to treat it yearly.

TBH though, I clean it regularly and have flat glass pieces for eg kettle, toaster etc so risk of spillage is pretty low. For the price range I was working to it was the best option.

[5OBalesofHay]

Have had oak worktops nearly 10 years. They still look great. I am vigilant but not obsessively so.

[MiladyThesaurus]

We had oak in our old house and they were lovely and easy to look after. We couldn't afford grantite or stone at the time, but the oak was lovely.

The kitchen we got when we bought this house has laminate and I hate it. It's much harder to look after than the oak was (bubbling at the worktop joins, almost impossible to get properly clean - requires scrubbing and then polishing to avoid filthy streaks everywhere) and looks shit.

We're getting a new kitchen this summer and we're going to get quartz I think.

[lolalotta]

I'm going round in circles on this... following!

[n0ne]

We have composite which I think is also called quartz? I love it - looks like granite with none of the staining/acid erosion issues. Super-easy to keep clean.

[user1492287253]

depends on your lifestyle. we had laminate as we are a household of 5 with 2 young adults. it is cheap and bombproof and imho looks better than a more expensive damaged surface!

[MumOfTwoMasterOfNone]

We have laminate but it isn't a forever home. We wanted to make it look presentable to sell and do the kitchen so it was better for us in the meantime.
We nearly ordered wood but I realised we're just not careful enough and it would stress me out. I would never get round to the maintenance it requires either.
When it's a 'forever' house, I would have something more expensive as long as it wasn't porous or required maintenance.

[SpeckledyHen]

Oak - love them . Look beautiful , easy to maintain and repair by a quick rub down and re-oil if they get marked .

Saw them in JL and picked up the blurb . Bought direct from the manufacturer at half the price :)

[Vicina]

Good quality laminate. I don't have any of the problems mentioned. It's easy to clean and looks pristine after ten years.
My next kitchen will have laminate as well.

[minnymoobear]

Just gone for quartz aftee much pondering!
I was happy with laminate but DH wouldn't hear of it as spent so much on the extension and kitchen and said worktop had to be decent to finish it all off properly. It's coming next week!

[bellamcpoopants]

I want soapstone, dh wants oak. Totally not decided! Really helpful I know

[SnickersWasAHorse]

I quite fancy quartz but I don't think DH would go for it.

[QuitMoaning]

I like the look of oak but OH doesn't want it and worried about all the care so have ruled it out. Settling on quartz but still prevaricating on the colour.

[Blowninonabreeze]

Have just replaced oak with silestone.

The oak looked lovely but the maintenance was a pain, and we didn't keep on top of it so by the end (12 year old kitchen) they looked awful.

Love the silestone so far