We have been arguing about a new kitchen worktop for 16 years...

[StillMedusa]

Well not arguing, neither of us are the type BUT we bought our house (built early 80s) in 2005 and while we have changed the cupboards we still have the now quite chipped worktop (laminate I think) because we couldn't find anything we both liked!

Now looking to redecorate and update the kitchen a bit. It's a long oblong room, currently shortened with a stud partition wall (cos we needed an extra bedroom for a few years) but that is coming down and it will be bright and sunny again.
I don't think we can afford to change the units at the mo..so the boring white gloss remain, but we would like to rip up the lino (it's 'grained' and never looks clean) and get a new work top.
Floor.. either tiles or karndean (that's what is down elsewhere) ..but what worktop? I like wood.. dh says no, we'll ruin it .He might be right. He likes dark marble. I don't. I want a light colour if it isn't solid wood... I did find a granite overlay in a sparkly pale blue that I love..but is it too 'out there'?!

Any suggestions welcomed! This is the front of the kitchen...

Wood is lovely but if you vanish is goes yellow and if you wax it requires sanding and kept very dry.
I have silestone and its beautiful and easy to keep. Wood or Laminate is 10% the cost of stone. lvl over tile, tiles break easy. Lvl can be recoated.

I had a solid oak worktop. It was a nightmare. Had to keep it dry. Couldn't put anything hot on it. If we didn't have kids it may have been easier. We got a more expensive fake wood laminate. It does look like wood but it as tough as any laminate. Many light stone worktops stain easily.

We had solid wood once, not chosen by us. Was an utter nightmare, discoloured very quickly around the sink, discoloured under appliances, had to be kept dry and away from heat, had to be oiled, went weird and sticky and had to be sanded down.... never ever again. We now have a good quality laminate in a mid grey. Looks nice, easy to clean, doesn’t get damaged by the odd splash of water and was relatively inexpensive.

My dd has recently used a polished concrete on her worktop. It looks amazing.

I like the combo of colours you have now. What about getting the best look alike faux wood available ?

FlibbertyGiblets I love it too... for the last few years I've had 7 living in a 3 and a half bedroom house (three of my 4 kids plus two partners..finally moved out last week) so the cooker was a must. However one of the knobs has melted ..not long after we got it, the makers rang to check we were happy and I literally said 'I love it but my husband is disappointed that he was cooking and his knob melted' ..then realised what I'd said when the bloke chocked laughing!!!!

Looks like real wood is a bad idea then..ds2 is autistic and spills everything... I'll look up the polished concrete!!!

We're also looking into a new kitchen worktop. What type of water do you have? We have very hard water so I need to be able to use anti-calc products on it. But we don't have a draining board like you do.
How heat or scratch resistant do you want it to be?

If I had the money I’d buy recycled glass worktops. I recently got some samples and they’re really beautiful (so much so I put them up on the wall!). I’ve had bamboo in a previous house and it was a lot better than wood.

We have hard water also.. lime scale is an ongoing battle..so that's a good point! Oh and I hate the sink too, but have no idea what I want to replace that! I like the idea of a Belfast sink but I know it won't be as practical!

User1471462428 I haven't heard of those... off to google!

Sparkly pale blue sounds kinda nice. A white kitchen needs some colour, IMO.

I have brown granite with a bit of blue/sparkle and I love it. It is very forgiving of my slovenly, careless ways. Nearly 10 years old and looks the same as it did the day it was installed. Googled "brown granite kitchen countertops" and got a lot of pictures of it paired with white gloss cabinets.

Also, I have a white porcelain sink which I hate and always looks dirty. Stainless steel is far better imo.

We put solid wood in a house we renovated. Looked nice but I'm not sure it's practical for family life, we'd never put it in our house now.

I like the sound of a pale blue worktop with your current units.

I’m glad I read this thread. We are looking replace our kitchen and I loved the idea of a solid wood worktop but having read this I have been put off the idea!

Laminate. I don't want hard surfaces like granite or floor tiles to smash everything on. My kitchen is designed for maximum bounce

Reading with interest too, we are replacing our kitchen with white units but are undecided on countertop. We currently have wood and it's beautiful where it is barely touched (eg under the microwave) but completely trashed round the sink and in the main food prep area.

Quartz. Ours is white with a few grey sparkly bits. Really good.

Can you imagine how much better cold winter mornings would be with a bit of sparkly blue, go for it!

Don't go for a belfast sink though, horrible slimy mould under the work top where it joins the sink, and back breaking unless you're all pretty short!

I like black worktops with white cupboards, think it looks effective. But I like the idea of a pale sparkly blue as well.

Like this.

My parents have a dark green sparkly worktop with their white gloss units, it looks nice to have a bit of colour.

@Changeismyname

I’m glad I read this thread. We are looking replace our kitchen and I loved the idea of a solid wood worktop but having read this I have been put off the idea!

Same! I think I'll look at wood patterned laminate instead.

We have a quartz worktop that looks like marble. Light, bright, REALLY easy to keep clean. Still looks brand new.

A friend of mine installed a wooden worktop on the island of their new kitchen. A few days in, they put a hot pan on it and left a black ring. Oops.

We have solid oak and I love it, we’ve had it 5 years now and haven’t had to sand and redo the oil yet. You just have to be careful with it (don’t put hot things on it, mop up spills) and then it’s fine!