Laminate worktop on Island/peninsula

[Littlepicklehead]

I've been lusting after pure white silestone worktops for our kitchen.

However our build cost estimates are creeping up and I'm looking for ways to save money.

I'm wondering about laminate worktops. I hadn't even considered then before as I thought they would look cheap, but now I'm wondering if it will make that much difference if they are pure white.

My main concern is using it on a island with a sink it it. I want an under mount sink but I assume this wouldn't work with laminate? Also is the end piece really obvious? My only experience with laminate so far has been super cheap with end pieces that snap off.

Can anyone recommend or any other alternatives that are not a £££ as quartz?

No to an undermount sink with laminate. Personally I would not skimp on a worktop. White laminate would not be so durable. I always say "Don't spoil the ship for a hap'eth of tar". I know laminate will save money, but you may well regret it later. Where else could you save money? There must be some other way?

Yes I think you are right. Now looking at ikea cabinets and appliances.

We have £10k currently in budget for kitchen, I'd like to knock a few grand off that at least. That's for cabinets, appliances, worktop and splashback but not fitting/electrics/plumbing which is part of the build cost.

I think the worktop will be c. £2.5-£3k so need to get the cabinets and appliances for around £4k ideally. Am I dreaming?

How many new appliances do you need? We're getting an Ikea kitchen of approximately 13 cabinets for around £2k. However we need all new appliances bar washing machine / tumble dryer so that's going to cost us loads.

I had to rule out Silestone based on cost. I still really, really want it but we just don't have the funds.

We need everything except washing machine. I've just added all the bits on ikea and it comes to about £1.8k
I need to spend a bit of time adding the cabinets to see how much they will be. I'm stumbling at the first hurdle though as they don't have the cabinet widths I was after (I wanted two 1m double cupboards either side of the hob). Maybe I am missing something but they all seem to be either 600 or 800 wide?

I meant £1.8k is just the appliances. I went for the expensive fridge freezer though. I need to do a bit of research, no idea if it's any good...

I think there's also 200 and 400 cabinets as well.

Have you seen Jetstone as an alternative to Silestone? Our local kitchen place recommended it as a cheaper alternative.

Have you looked at ex display? It is always worth contacting local kitchen shops asking them if they're about to renew their displays.

I think Silestone gets great reviews but I went to a number of different suppliers and was told (to differing degrees) that there were other brands of stone / quartz that weren't too far from Silestone for a more competitive price. We have gone with Compac quartz for the island unit and have laminate on the L shape. I was a bit wary of "mix n match" but have gone for completely different colours and it looks lovely (if I do say so myself). Is your island unit quite large? Ours is relatively small so I gave my dimensions to a few suppliers and they watched out for "off cuts" or left overs. I think I got a 25% discount for my piece because its probably not big enough for most people (mine is 90cm x 130cm). It is worth ringing round a few places.

We are going to have Duropal laminate (recommended a lot across the internet as a higher quality laminate) on one run of cabinets where the sink will be, and oak on the island, where the hob will be.

Also decide to save on the worktop, and spend on the floor.

Not yet fitted but I'll keep you posted.

You could try Benchmarx for a quote. Your builder would have to order it though as they are trade. They price matched any quote for appliances from AEG, Neff and Zanussi.

We got:

2 x 900 drawer units
4 x 400 cupboards
Above are back to back to make a 1700 island

2 x pull out 300 cupboards
1 x 600 pan drawer under the hob
1 x 900 ) shaped corner unit
1 x 400 cupboard with pull out bin
1 x sink cupboard
1 x AEG built in super quiet dishwasher (has a light in it to shine on floor when it's on as it is so quiet)
1 x zanussi grill and microwave
1 x zanussi pyrolytic cleaning oven
1 tower to house the above
1 zanussi fridge freezer built in
1 x 600 wall cupboard
2 x 300 wall units
1 x 600 corner wall unit
Side panels, plinths etc

1 x utensil rack

Lights under the wall units
Plinth lights but not on island

Deep stainless steel undermounted sink plus tap

AEG fan extractor

Couple of cutlery drawer inserts

Apollo black and mirror chip quartz worktop throughout with up stands
Stainless steel splashback

Bosch hob through AO.com

Including the ao.com hob purchase it came to £11,250 ish inc vat

Another vote for Duropal. As I said upthread, I have quartz for the island unit but the wall worktops are Duropal and I've been really impressed.

Ugh...I have to start thinking about this sort of stuff.just about to start a big two storey extension which will eventually house the kitchen...already scared about the cost