The kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where people gather together to talk, cook, eat, or just have a cuppa. That’s why so many people are happy to invest more in their kitchen worktops than they would in many other parts of their home.

This leaves people with a conundrum: if you’re spending a sizeable amount of money on your kitchen worktops, which material do you choose?

The options are numerous, and all offer their own benefits and drawbacks. In fact, we’ve written about the differences before in this very blog page. We’ve covered stone vs wood, we’ve touched on granite vs corian and we’ve delved into quartz vs granite.

What we haven’t done is to look at all the various materials in one place, so that’s what we’re going to do here. And we want to go even further than we have before and look at materials we’ve never discussed in this blog – outlining the pros and cons for each in a clear and succinct fashion.

The aim is to make it as easy as possible for you to choose the right material for you. So, without further ado, let’s get stuck in…

 

GRANITE

Pros

  • Easy to maintain
  • Durable
  • Heat resistant
  • Variety of colours and textures

Cons

  • Heavy
  • Porous
  • Not the cheapest
  • Can be cracked

 

MARBLE

Pros

  • Beautiful
  • Heat resistant
  • Easy To Maintain

Cons

  • Porous
  • Softer than other stone
  • Requires regular maintenance

 

LAMINATE

Pros

  • Cost-effective
  • Can imitate more expensive materials
  • Easy to install
  • Easy to clean

Cons

  • Requires a lot of care to maintain looks
  • Shorter life-span
  • Susceptible to water damage
  • Prone to peeling
  • Burns easily and can even melt
  • Easy to scratch

 

CORIAN

Pros

  • Easy to maintain
  • Stain-resistant
  • Easy to cut, shape and install

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Doesn’t age well
  • Not very heat resistant

 

WOOD

Pros

  • Cost-effective
  • Huge variety
  • Antibacterial if maintained
  • Looks great with age

Cons

  • Requires bi-annual maintenance (at least)
  • Easy to stain
  • Easy to scratch
  • Easy to burn

 

CERAMIC

Pros

  • Durable
  • Heat and moisture resistant

Cons

  • Prone to scratches
  • Can be cracked
  • If damaged, needs to be replaced rather than repaired

 

PORCELAIN

Pros

  • Versatile
  • UV resistant, so no colour fade

Cons

  • Can be chipped and cracked
  • Expensive

 

QUARTZ

Pros

  • Durable
  • Minimal maintenance
  • Non-porous
  • Antibacterial

Cons

  • Very heavy
  • Not as heat resistant as some natural stone
  • Colour can fade if exposed to too much natural light

SUMMARY

As you can tell, there’s a lot to think about! Hopefully, this information can help you make a decision though. As experts in stone worktops, we’re well-positioned to give you more advice regarding these materials. We’re a bit biased, obviously, but we truly believe that stone worktops offer the best value over a lifetime — and nothing looks quite as breathtaking as a beautiful, natural, unique stone worktop.

 

GET IN TOUCH

To find out more about what stone offers as a material for your kitchen — and to get a glimpse of some of our stunning stock of stone worktops —  come down and see us at our Bristol showroom. Call today to organise a meeting, or just pop in for a chat.