This Blanco Paloma quartz worktop installation in Lingfield, Surrey, was part of a large scale renovation and extension to the back of the home. Barbara Davidson runs a business from home: Second Helpings, offering a personalised fine dining experience. As part of the Davidson’s investment in the business, the extension houses a stunning purpose-built dining area and a completely new kitchen.

Any kitchen for that kind of purpose is going to be a bit special, and certainly not just for show. It needs to be utterly functional and practical, and, as the kitchen and dining area are adjoining, a very good-looking and attractive space.

The dining area with its large skylight and patio doors opening onto the garden is a beautifully lit, airy space at any time of day or evening. Some rooms generate an atmosphere of peace and tranquility: that is what I felt here.

The extension and kitchen work was done by our friend Dean Shaw of TD Shaw Ltd. A good local building company with a solid reputation stretching back to the 80s, we have done a number of quartz and granite worktop installations for Dean.

At the heart of the kitchen the truly massive Smeg gas range is the powerhouse for big dinners. At 1400mm length, it would dominate a smaller kitchen, but in this big space it looks entirely in proportion.

The units are of the contemporary high-gloss, handleless (J-handle) type. This gives the whole space a very clean and business-like look. This kitchen is first and foremost practical – a place to cook. Traditional designs (Shaker etc.) can create a homely space; I think that the sleek look means business.

The light grey gloss is light and pleasing, works well with the steel of the range and its splashback, and still gives some contrast with the white worktops.

The clean, bright and yet practical look is maintained through brilliant white walls and the greige tiled floor.

Lighting in the kitchen is from standard LED downlighters and more characterful incandescent pendants over the breakfast bar.

As you might expect in a home where dining is so central, there is excellent provision for wine storage and cooling.

Quarella Blanco Paloma Quartz has been a mainstay of our stock quartz range for a good few years. We buy the Italian stone through Granite Granite of Basildon, who also supply us with all our Cambria quartz worktop material and some natural stone too.

Blanco Paloma is a very standard, granular white quartz. While other options are available on the market, we have found the Quarella product to be very consistent and of totally dependable quality, whether in appearance, ease and predictability in machining or in its long-term performance in our customers’ homes. Mr and Mrs D were looking for something that was practical and liveable with, but very clean and bright. A non-granular white (like our Affordable White) was attractive but not as good in terms of liveableness; pure whites (and blacks) are very unforgiving.

We recommended the Paloma as a really great value-for-money quartz worktop stone, and so practical. Feedback from the Davidsons over the first months of use was that the worktops were everything they had hoped for, and more.

The kitchen layout is a simple U-shape, but open on two sides with extra deep worktop forming a massive L-shaped peninsula. The range sits on the other, standard-depth, worktop. The sink run (first section of the peninsula) has a double row of 600mm units back to back, while the L-shaped section has a deep breakfast bar along its length.

The worktops are installed at 20mm thickness. This suits modern units in terms of looks, and also makes the entire installation significantly (perhaps 10%) more economical. Check out our FAQ article on the pros and cons of 20mm quartz worktops.

The Franke one-and-a-half bowl undermount sink is roomy, practical and contemporary in style. The tap with detachable spray offers practicality without the kind of overpowering hi-tec look which makes some modern taps so dominant.

The clean, simple lines of parallel drainer grooves complement the sink and demarcate the drainage area.

Joins in Quarella Blanco Paloma quartz worktops are normally a subtle resin-filled line, coloured evenly to match the background granulation of the stone.

The pair of shelves in the corner of the kitchen seem to have been a particularly appreciated aspect of the installation. Made up in 20mm thick quartz they offer practical storage for things that need to be grabbed quickly while prepping and match the worktops perfectly.

Not every customer whose kitchen we photograph wants to be named or pictured on our website. It is different when you are running a business from home, though. Here is happy Affordable Granite customer Barbara Davidson of Second Helpings. If you live in East Surrey and would like a unique dining experience, contact her via her website. And if you would like worktops with the practicality and long-lasting good-looks and hygiene of her Quarella Blanco Paloma kitchen, talk to us, here at Affordable Granite.