There are many reasons why your kitchen counter doesn’t look the way it used to.
A combination of factors like the use of hot pans, a spill or two of red wine, and the fact that there are many family dinners you prepare every day are the usual suspects when any surface in the kitchen gets worn out. But here’s the good news: giving your cooking space a complete makeover doesn’t mean you have to tear down walls or drain your savings account. A straightforward kitchen benchtop replacement can instantly breathe new life into the heart of your home overnight.
Still, picking the right material isn’t as simple as scrolling Pinterest and picking whatever looks pretty. With Australia’s recent safety regulations phasing out traditional high-silica engineered stone, the choices landing on your table today look quite different from what they did even a couple of years ago.
Getting Real About How You Actually Use Your Space
Before falling head over heels for a fancy slab at a local showroom, take a step back. Look at how your household actually operates on a chaotic Tuesday evening.
Are you constantly cooking up a storm with turmeric, citrus, and hot oil? Or is your kitchen mostly a pit stop for takeaway coffee and quick weekend breakfasts?
Beware of what you desire in your surface choice, the right one depends mainly on your family structure. If you have young children, trying to go for an extremely high-maintenance and detail-oriented surface that frets over each individual lemon drop will only annoy you. You really need a durable one that smiles at daily messes, wipes off easily and is a breeze without any fuss.
Budget matters just as much, of course. If you’re sprucing up an investment property or an entry-level pad, splashing out on ultra-premium porcelain might be over-capitalising. A sleek, modern laminate will do the job beautifully. On the flip side, if this is your forever family home, paying a bit extra upfront for durable stone is a dead cert to pay off in both daily comfort and long-term resale value.
The Lowdown on Popular Benchtop Materials
Let’s look at how the main contenders stack up when life actually happens on them:
- Low-Silica Mineral & Quartz: Since Australia pulled the pin on high-silica engineered stone, manufacturers have stepped up with clever low-silica and zero-silica mineral alternatives. These stones are resistant to stains, not very porous and have a pattern that looks pretty much the same across the whole stone surface. It’s a good choice for a family house where children and the house are often on a war footing; just remember that you need a trivet to protect the worktop from hot plates.
- Porcelain & Sintered Stone: These surfaces are made in conditions of incredible temperature and pressure and hence become almost indestructible. They do not scratch easily. In addition, heat does not affect them as you can place a steaming pot on them without fear. However, there is a downside – they are very costly to produce.
- Laminate: Today’s products from the likes of Laminex are a world away from the cheap laminate of the ’90s, which peeled off everywhere. The way they emulate wood grain and even stones is quite convincing considering how much cheaper they are. Cleaning is a breeze for them, although they hate the heat.
- Natural Stone: Nothing quite rivals the raw, organic character of real rock. However, when considering pros and cons of marble benchtops, it is important to be aware that there are some downsides as well. Marble is a material featuring amazing veins and staying cool enough to roll out pastry on; however, it is a porous material based on calcium and is highly vulnerable to acidic liquids such as red wine or vinegar, unless you seal it properly.
Nailing the Installation Process
Once you’ve settled on a material, getting the ball rolling comes down to straightforward logistics.
First things first – getting a rough idea of the cost. Armed with a tape measure, you can sketch an overview of your kitchen (kind of like a map that you get from birds flying very high above the house) from top down. You need to break up the countertops into rectangles. Find the area by first multiplying length by depth and then adding the different sections together.
When you’re ready to hire trades to fit your new kitchen benchtop in Melbourne, professional installers will drop by with digital laser equipment to template your space. Walls have rarely been completely straight so laser scanning is an excellent way to guarantee that the finished slab will be an exact fit. When it comes to fitment, electricians and plumbers will shut off your stoves and sinks while, to your surprise, the disused countertop is carefully removed and replaced by a brand new one, which settles in almost instantly.
Final Thoughts:
Basically, the “perfect” benchtop is the one that suits your lifestyle, budget, and kitchen habits best rather than the one that looks fancy or is the most expensive one on the market. Take some physical samples, look at them in your home lighting environment, and then, when you are done with the research and analysis, just make the right choice and make your dream kitchen a reality.
