requires minimal maintenance to keep it looking as good as new and won’t need to be resealed. In fact, the hard, non-penetrable sur- face is simple to clean with just soap and water or a mild detergent. Materials such as granite, stone and wood,
while all popular options for kitchen surfaces, can be difficult and costly to repair should they get chipped or scratched. Again, quartz is a hard-wearing alternative, offering up to four times the strength of other options, while being highly resistant to stains, scratches and cracks. Quartz worktops also shrug off most household chemicals so they won't be dam- aged by an accidental spill and can even han- dle direct heat up to 150°.
Trend setters
Practicalities to one side, selecting kitchen work surfaces is as much about creating the right statement in terms of style, depending on the overall design of the space. Rather than simply looking like a cheaper alternative to the real
thing, a high quality quartz surface emulates the look and feel of materials such as granite and marble, offering the best of both worlds. A quartz work surface enables the latest
trends in kitchen design to be introduced, with dozens of colours available, as well as a wide choice of styles and various thicknesses and edging profiles. In the contemporary setting, simple minimalist
surfaces work well, with solid colours offering contrast to cabinetry and sleek edge profiles adding to the modern appearance of furniture
and appliances. There is a trend too towards combining com- plementary or contrasting colours and worktop thicknesses, particularly in larger, open-plan spaces, in order to define zones for cooking, eating and socialising. Being available in a wide range of colour choices and various thick- nesses, quartz worktops lend themselves to this look. For added practicality they enable clever design features such as soft ridge edging to pre- vent water spillages, or the combination of a thin surface on a bank of cabinets with a chunky worktop on an island unit to add definition. Where thick work surfaces were once the norm, super-slim worktops are now the hottest look in kitchen design, with profiles as slim as 15mm helping to achieve a simple, minimalist finish. The trend for uninterrupted flows of surfacing
from the horizontal to the vertical also continues apace, with the seamless, ‘one-piece’ look working well from work surface to sinks and splash backs and similarly to cabinet ends and island unit sides. With achieving such a look though, consistency in the detail of the surface is key, something that is virtually impossible to achieve with materials such as marble, making quartz surfaces which emulate the look of mar- ble once again being a suitable alternative. With worktops making such a big impact
visually on a kitchen design, choosing a surface that successfully combines form with function while tapping into current trends will deliver long-lasting results.
Enq. 140 selfbuilder & homemaker
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