Kitchen worktop : Choose a unique kitchen worktop for your home

The kitchen worktop is one of the most important parts of your kitchen. You expect your kitchen worktop to be resistant and make your kitchen look beautiful. What options do you have for your kitchen worktop?

In my opinion your best option for a kitchen worktop is a stone based worktop, you have several other materials from which you can choose from, however in my honest opinion if you want a durable and unique kitchen worktop your best choice will be stone.

A unique kitchen worktop is somehow related to its colour, although marble has a vast option in colours I do not advise you to use marble or agglomerate marble in kitchen worktops. I have mentioned this in other hubs and also my blog includes some technical information regarding this matter.

So I basically recommend two types of materials for your kitchen worktops which I think will give you the possibility to design a beautiful and unique kitchen : granite and agglomerate stones (quartz based).

Granite is a very durable material, probably the best for kitchen use, although you will find some limitations when you try to design a kitchen. The black colour is very stable, you can actually find on the market perfect black colours. Regarding other colours, well, it's very difficult and expensive to find mono colours in granite, you will always have a grayish with white and black dots, or pinkish with the same effect. Unfortunately, granite is a natural stone, so me have to work with what mother nature gives us.

The most common range of granite is cheaper than quartz based agglomerate stone, but you will find yourself dealing with a small selection of colours.

In granite quality is very important, make sure you are getting what you paid for:

• a granite worktop should have the same shade, although it is a natural material, your whole countertops should be made from the same slab or block, so shade differences should not appear;
• a granite slab is something that is dimensionally big, at least 3 m x 1,4 m, make sure your kitchen worktop is not a bunch of scrap pieces, it should be made up with the least joints possible. Sometimes manufacturers will divide it to optimize their slabs, which may not look well in your kitchen
• granite sometimes has an uneven texture, well it doesn't look good on your worktop that's for sure. And that slab should be classified as a second choice slab, and not a premium one, so make sure the texture is even, don't accept the natural stone bit, it's really to convice you to keep a second choice material
  

Quartz worktops are made from agglomerate stone, which is an engineered stone, so basically colouring is made to fit. In theory you may have all the colours possible as long as their exists pigments to colour it (in the manufacturing process). In the market you will find several brands and each one will have a colour chart, some have close to a hundred, other smaller companies will have a more limited selection. The smaller companies will tend to settle with best selling colours, the bigger companies will add distinctive colours which they use fiercely in marketing to differentiate themselves from the competition.

Quartz worktops have some disadvantages, like price and some special care features, but it has a wide range of colours to choose from. You can even get special texture features like mirror chips or mother of pearl, which enhances the counter when in direct contact with light.

Regarding quality issues, these are some things you should take into account:

• the shade should be the same, manufacturers usually guarantee the same shade, but consider that shade can be an issue in your kitchen, so don't accept shade differences.
• the slab dimensions are 3m x 1,4 m so as I explained for the granite, make sure you don't get a mosaic kitchen
• dark smudges are production defects, the surface should be with a clean even texture, no pours and well polished
  

My blog worktops and more has uch more detailed information regarding engineered stone, granite, marble and other stones, if you need and futher information pls feel invited to visit my blog at: www.worktops.co.cc