How to Choose the Best Worktop for your Home

A worktop truly defines a kitchen, but it can seem as if there as endless different types of surfaces to choose from. Each different surface has unique benefits, so it can be tricky to know which is the best worktop for your home. Should you choose our solid wood, laminate or Earthstone products? This guide looks at the questions you need to ask yourself before making a decision, to help you select the best option for your home.

Appearance

It is important that your worktop fits in with your kitchen scheme – it is important, therefore, that you love the look of it. Our solid wood worktops are often the premier choice for traditional and farmhouse kitchens. We offer a number of styles, from light-coloured maple, dark and rich wenge and exotic iroko surfaces. We also sell over 35 different laminate worktops, which include wood, granite, marble and stone-effect designs, and a number of Earthstone surfaces which offer the appearance and feel of real stone. Ultimately the look you want for your worktops is down to personal preference, but you may want to take current trends into consideration when planning your new look.

Functionality

Your worktop will need to be sturdy enough to stand up to sustained use on a daily basis. All of our surfaces are made of high-quality materials and receive vigorous testing to ensure they are suitable for life in a busy kitchen. Whichever worktop you choose will be incredibly durable and wear-resistant, but you should protect the work surface to ensure it retains its strength, hygiene and great appearance. It is good practice to always use a chopping board when preparing food, and use a trivet or one of our hot rod sets for hot pans. Typically, solid wood or Earthstone worktop options will last longer than laminate surfaces.

Maintenance and Care

Our laminate and Earthstone worktops are very low maintenance and require little more than a wipe with a soft cloth and warm soapy water to keep looking their best. Solid top layers means that, provided they are installed properly, water and grime should not get to the wooden particleboard core. We recommend employing a professional kitchen fitter to ensure that the worktops are water-tight and correctly positioned. Whilst they require a little more attention, our solid wood worktops are also easy to keep in excellent condition. Before fitting, you will need to apply a coat of Danish oil – this will need repeating on a fairly regular basis not long after installation too. Follow these small and easy aftercare steps and your worktops will look great for years to come.

With different levels of maintenance and care required, it is essential that this is acknowledged when making a decision on which worktops will be best for your home.

Price

Offering the best worktop for an affordable price is a cornerstone of our values, and our laminate surfaces start from just £60! A new worktop can transform your kitchen, and your new counters may be far less expensive than you may have realised. If you would adore a solid oak worktop, you will be delighted to know that our range starts at just £95. Earthstone surfaces are available from £260 – a small price to pay for such a realistic representation of real stone. Even our opulent wenge and our exotic zebrano worktops are far less costly than high-street suppliers. Taking your budget into consideration is an important part of the selection process for your new worktops.

Hygiene

A major selling point of any kitchen worktop is how hygienic it is, especially if you have young children. Earthstone and laminate countertops are incredibly sanitary thanks to their impermeable top layers, and most spills will only need to be cleaned with a cloth and warm soapy water. Wood has naturally antibacterial properties – studies have shown that timber will halt and eventually kill any bacteria on it. Maintenance is an important part of caring for a solid wood worktop, and building up several coats of oil will make it easier to keep clean.

The best worktop for you will take in all of the above criteria, so it is difficult to definitively recommend one surface over another. For more information on each of our worktop types, please read our nutshell guides below.

5 Reasons to Choose Wooden Worktops: A Nutshell Guide

A Nutshell Guide to Laminate Worktops

Earthstone Worktops: A Nutshell Guide