The choice of a kitchen countertop is one of the most difficult to accomplish, since there are two main factors to consider: the aesthetics and functionality. In fact, we need to look for a design that matches the style of the entire environment, without neglecting the practical aspect, because a good countertop for the kitchen must be resistant and suitable for the type of use we will make of it: those who work directly on the top will have different requests from those who use a cutting board, and so on. In fact, different materials respond more or less effectively to the requirements of resistance and robustness, so it is good to evaluate the technical specificities of each before making a choice.
Given that the perfect countertop for the kitchen , therefore fulfilling all the user’s requests, does not exist, the first step to take is then to examine your way of using the kitchen and consequently highlight your habits, and then choose the material that best suits your needs. Below we list the three main materials to use for a countertop.
Kitchen Top In Laminate
The laminate kitchen top is the most used and known: it is a thin sheet of melamine and phenolic resin applied to a chipboard or plywood support. Thanks to the wide choice of finishes and the wide range of colors in which it can be made, it is extremely multifaceted. The main qualities of the laminate kitchen top are the low cost (being a poor material), the resistance to stains from sauce, coffee, lemon or wine always present on the countertops of our kitchens, but also the great ease of sanitizing and cleaning surfaces even from particularly resistant grease stains. As for the disadvantages, the main one for the laminate kitchen worktop is its poor resistance to heat: consequently, hot pots cannot be placed directly on the top, but a trivet will be needed; moreover it is not very resistant to bruises, scratches and knife chips. If you opt for this top, but fear these last problems, it is always better to request a laminate with an embossed and non-smooth finish that gives a greater guarantee of resistance.
Kitchen Top In Granite
One of the noblest materials to make the worktop is certainly granite, a generic term that includes all the stones of magmatic origin, which differ in colors, veins and insertions with other minerals, and which have unique characteristics. In fact, the great added value of choosing a Granite Countertops is that each slab is different from the other and this will make your kitchen special and unique. Choosing a stone top will also allow you to manipulate, cut, knead or place pots directly on the top, thanks to their high resistance to heat and scratches. Furthermore, these stones have excellent resistance to acids, such as lemon and vinegar, but do not tolerate stains from coffee, sauce, or oil well if left for a long time, as they have a natural porosity that allows their absorption. Usually Granite Countertops are treated with impregnating agents (traditional or nano-technological) which decrease its absorbency but do not completely occlude the pores. Our advice is to repeat the treatment once a year, this will ensure a long life for your natural plans.
Kitchen Top In Marble
Speaking of natural materials, one of the most used for kitchen countertops has always been marble, which unlike granite, has limestone origins which make it relatively soft and easy to work with. Also in this case the many shades of color and the presence or absence of veins make the marble kitchen top unique. Why choose this material? If we ask our grandmothers which surface they used to knead the answer is: on marble, thanks to an intrinsic characteristic, is cold to the touch and does not allow the dough to stick. So if you love making homemade pasta or tortellini, the marble kitchen top is the one for you, and you will have to turn a blind eye to small defects such as poor resistance to stains, to lemon, tomato or coffee acids and you will have to love it for the lived-in feeling given by the small imperfections that only this material can give.
In summary
The choice of the best kitchen worktop depends above all on your needs. Start your research by making an assessment of the environment in its entirety, choosing those materials that are well suited to the rest of the furniture and evaluating if they match your habits and your economic budget.
