KITCHEN WORKTOPS – WHICH MATERIAL IS BEST?

An 1810 company ceramic undermount sink set under a Dekton Fjord worktop

Part of the problem is that every material out there claims to solve all the problems. Companies that sell only one of the eight types of materials for kitchen worktops will tell you all the good news about their product – but not look you in the eye and fess up to its weak points. The result of that is effectively a lot of misinformation. Many people call us or visit our showroom with the “You don’t want granite – it stains!” line ringing in their ears from a quartz enthusiast, and it takes a while to get a more balanced view across.

Of course, anyone in sales is going to be tempted to sing the praises of their particular product, only mention its good points, and put down all the others. But that approach tends to bite back in the long-haul. Disappointing your customers by not telling them the full story is not the way to generate ongoing recommendations. And word of mouth is the life blood of a business like ours.

Silestone Quartz worktop – Blanco Stellar

We are very much aware that customers are all different – and that means that the challenges to the worktops we install are going to vary from home to home.

• Some people love cleaning shiny black granite and actually want a surface that shows every speck so that they can know the kitchen worktops are REALLY clean!
• Some people relish the thought of regularly resealing a light-coloured stone worktop or reoiling a wooden worktop. Others would rather not.
• Some people are more likely to drop heavy and hard objects than others – you know what you’re like!
• Some families have small children (or grandchildren) marauding around the house creating happy chaos. Others have a quieter, less hectic and risky existence.
• Some people would never dream of leaving a red wine or tea-ring on a surface for five minutes anyway – other people might wipe the surfaces once a week.
• Some people hardly cook at all, or never eat curry, drink red wine or do anything that might stain their worktops. Others use gallons of food colouring in garish cupcakes.
• Some people love to put hot pans straight onto the worktop. Others like using a trivet.

And so the list goes on. Most of all, people vary in the look they want. A wild Brazilian granite that is the dream surface for some people just gives others a migraine. The pristinely smooth quartz or Dekton that will crown the sleek modern kitchen in one home would bore another family silly – and drive them up the wall as it shows off every speck of dust!

We see part of our job as helping people not only to understand kitchen worktops, but to understand their own needs. That’s the way to avoid disappointments and leave our customers satisfied.

A home with little ones has special challenges

Some people just love cleaning and resealing…

Concrete – great at looking like concrete, great for a brutalist style kitchen. Seamless. Possible stain issues. Making and sealing has to be done WELL to last. There are no cheap shortcuts with concrete.

A concrete worktop

Corian and similar – mineral particles held together by a large proportion (c35%) of plastic resin. Can be made seamless, which is great for anti-bacterial purposes, especially with pressure hose wash-downs etc. It scratches fairly easily. Corian is ideal for spray-cleaned environments where hygiene is critical but abrasion/scratch risk is low. The motorway service station washroom rather than the kitchen is the classic use.

Corian in a large washroom

Sintered particles/ceramic – man-made materials where the particles are “glued” together not with plastic resin but with heat band pressure.  Awesome against scratching and staining, moderate tensile strength, brittle under impact. Available in great colours, though the marble-look is generally printed on the surface and not genuinely full-body. Just make sure you don’t hit it hard with anything heavy – chipping and serious fractures are a risk. If Dekton is a ‘must have’ for cleaning and hardness, we advise checking that your home insurance covers worktop replacement.

Dekton Trilium in a Horsham kitchen

Glass – wonderfully stain resistant and superb against chemical damage. Like stone, can be made in any shape, and looks very sleek and modern. Very hard to keep looking perfectly smear free, and tends to dull over time – it just isn’t as hard as granite.

Glass worktops

Granite – hard against scratching, strong in overhangs. The high polish on granite means that surface staining can be particularly easy to treat. Granite can chip, and light-coloured stones can stain below the surface and may require regular resealing, perhaps every 9 months to a year. However, there are no stain issues with black and other dark colours, where granite really scores, and is probably still the best all-rounder. And look at Sensa for the solution to the staining issues in light stones. More heatproof than quartz, but we still wouldn’t recommend putting blazing hot pans straight on it as rapid thermal expansion can occasionally cause crystals to “lift”, leaving a whiter patch.

Classic Blue Pearl Granite

Laminate – very economical, can look great and easy to clean. Not very tough, prone to water and heat attack. See our article on laminate v granite here.

Wood-effect laminate worktop

Quartz is mineral material held together with a small proportion (7/8%) of plastic resin. Quartz worktops are hard against scratching, and have exceptional strength – really great in overhangs. Quartz can chip if hit hard enough, though the resulting damage is generally nowhere near as bad as with Ceramics. There can be no water damage or sub-surface staining due to the resin content. Surface staining is possible; the slightly less polished finish than natural stone/granite can make some common kitchen stains harder to treat. Not good for the outdoors – Ultra-Violet light attacks the resin content. Heat can also cause discolouration, whether through rapid exposure to high temperatures (burning from a pan bottom) or longer-term, regular exposure to temperatures in the 100-180°C range. Vast choice of colours and price bands. Amazing emulation of marble and some other natural stones. Can look plasticky and hard to clean in black. Our favourite all-rounder for indoor kitchens with light-coloured surfaces. Check out our article What is the Difference Between Granite and Quartz?

Calacatta marble-style quartz in a Surrey kitchen

Stainless steel – practically indestructible, great to clean, fairly scratchable (though once scratched enough that becomes part of its ‘look’ or patina). A very industrial or educational look – your kitchen can look like a canteen, school kitchen or a morgue, all contexts where steel is standard. Using it in a small area as a feature can be great, though.

Stainless steel worktops in a training kitchen

Wood – stunning and warm look. Really homely. Very hard to maintain free of staining or water damage over the long haul, with fairly intensive regular oiling requirements. Can be great as a feature island / warm breakfast bar with no sink and hob, leaving granite, quartz or steel to look after the wet and oily areas.

Woodblock kitchen worktops

The point is, every material for kitchen worktops has its pros and cons. There is no one magic bullet. We are happy to sell granite, quartz and Dekton, but we don’t want to put other products down. Choice can be confusing – but it is also wonderful! We have a wealth of great-looking and great-performing materials to choose from – to suit every budget. Call us on 01293 863992 for straightforward info and help to achieve the kitchen look and functionality that you really want. We are at your service!

Blanco Massa Quartz in a Guildford kitchen. See case study here.