Worktops - please help!

[Teacherteachernotapreacher]

I’ve been internet browsing forever and looked in many shops and feel maybe I’m missing something
we need a kitchen worktop for our new kitchen. Ideally either white or wood. we’re on a limited budget so high end not an option. I’ve looked at so many laminates and all the edges just look bloody awful. Even in the showrooms they’re already peeling off and looking crap. We’re having a breakfast bar as part of it and I think it’ll look really bad quite quickly. (3 small kids bashing around too)
is there a middle ground between laminate and quartz?! Would real wood be horrific?

Real wood worktop would be fantastic! Easy to maintain and no peeling etc. If stone is out of budget I would definitely prefer wood over plastic.

Real wood looks great but it can be quite high maintenance - needs oiling and can end up looking less than great round sinks. Those who have it may be able to reassure you more than me…

Have you heard of either dekton or Minerva? The latter was mentioned to us as a possible lookalike for quartz but less robust.

I have had solid wood and now have quartz.

I would never have solid wood again, it was a complete pain in the arse to maintain, never felt properly clean, and just wasn’t durable at all.

When replacing our kitchen, having quartz was my #1 priority.

I would probably go for a decent laminate over wood, such is my hate for the latter OP!

I would never have wood again.

I went for the Quartsize type of arrangement- basically a veneer that fits over existing worktops. I'm really pleased with how it looks.

Laminate has so many advantages that high end surfaces don’t - it’s an absolute workhorse.

You could just budget to replace the edging in 3 years or so, by which time the dc will be that bit older and not as hard on your surfaces.

We've gone for wood for our new kitchen. Everyone advised against it, but there's really else nothing in the same price bracket. Compact laminate is more expensive - it looks ok, but has mixed reviews depending on the brand. The various composites/acrylics are totally out of budget; we didn't even consider quartz.

Wood looks good and can always be sanded down and refinished. I am prepared for the regular oiling.

Forgot to say - depending on budget, you could mix and match? Wood for the majority, stone for around the sink and food prep areas?

We had wood here and I hated it. Replaced it with quartz and I love it.

Last house we had solid laminate - no problems then with edges. Have a look and see what you think - it's pretty cost effective.

I have laminate and its fine. The edges arent damaged at all through wear and tear and its 8 years old now. The only damage we have is where my son decided to test whether his whittling knife could whittle the worktop whilst is grand parent was looking after him.

look at duropal square edge laminate this is what i have in my kitchen and the covering is wrapped over the edges and goes a few mms underneath so it dosent peel and isnt flimsy its really thick covering mine is over a year old now and looks exactly like it did brand new and cost from DIY kitchens last year was £142 per 3 metre lengths

Have a look at Coriander worktops

You can have metal strip edging put on laminate for durability. Done well it looks fine.

We've got oak. Treated it with 2 polyx products recommended on MN and haven't had to touch it since (4 years). It still looks immaculate. I wouldn't use wood if I was going to have a Belfast sink though.

Thanks everyone for the replies. Husband is dead set against wood but I think it could be a good option. I’ve never heard of solid laminate, I’ll have a look. I wonder if some companies have awful edges and others don’t and how you know?!
id love quartz but it’s so over what we can afford sadly

Do you mean corian? It doesn’t look much cheaper than using quartz or granite when I look or am I missing something?

We have wood on our breakfast bar, 3 young kids and its proving durable so far and hasn't stained. It was about £600 for over 3m. Having said that I wouldn't have it around a sink, so maybe mix and match?

I love wood, we had in last house, re oiled yearly. When we moved and re did current kitchen went for wood again, it's been 18 and needs a re oil now. But it's only a couple hours job.
Granite can be tricky to keep clean in personal experience

I wouldn’t touch wood tbh, I’ve got enough going on without having to clear the decks, sand and re-oil my worktops every year, nevermind running after the kids moping up spills before they stain the wood.

I’ve always thought it’s a pity laminate gets such a bad rap, as a PP said it’s a proper workhorse of a product given how low maintenance and cheap it is. We’ve had laminate in two houses (both new builds and we weren’t prepared to pay the builders’ markup for quartz) and had zero problems with the edging on either, despite being busy family homes with lots of hosting. There’s no doubt that quartz or granite looks higher end, but if you can’t afford or justify it that’s that.

Even if an edge does get dinged, there are companies who do surface repair (there’s a franchise called Plastic Surgeons or something, various ones out there) who will do patch repairs of damage such as that. Personally I’d get the laminate and keep saving for the worktop you really want, and if by the time you’ve gathered up 4k or whatever, replace the laminate at that stage if you still care. That’s what we did in our first house and ending up just not bothering!

Real life laminates by worktop express - love ours & great service

Solid laminate: www.worktop-express.co.uk/solid-laminate-worktops/white-marble-solid-laminate-worktop-3000-645-12mm?gclid=CjwKCAiA0cyfBhBREiwAAtStHCaCMx5jiooByusx4gpOhjMv2CQMI_9Y9M4eXS4TpTkzFBslvnDWkRoCTIIQAvD_BwE

I’ve had it in two houses and it’s bombproof

We had laminate in our last house and wood in the new; hate the wood and can’t wait to go back to laminate when we redo kitchen. Wood is so high maintenance and looks crap around the sink. Never had any issues with laminate.

Ours is beech wood, installed 22 years ago, and still looks new when re-oiled.

I love my oak worktops. They're sealed with several coats of quick drying Osmo TopOil and it's great stuff.

Just remember to always use a chopping board and to wipe up any wetness, not leave it sitting there. Properly sealed, stains don't deep in. I don't find the maintenance too onerous.

@Teacherteachernotapreacher

what did you end up doing & how happy are you with it?

Is it shiny like quartz?