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Gidday gidday or as they say in Thailand, Tuk Tuk.
Back from my holidays in Thailand. Interesting place. Interesting design style. Anyone want a kitchen designed with a Thai influence. Heavy on the carving and Teakwood. What I would have given for a decent coffee. We went to two places Bangkok and Phuket. As it turns out we liked Bangkok the best. The weekend markets were the best. No hassles no tourists and the best prices. For me they have Starbucks as good a coffee as you will get outside the USA.
As far as Phuket goes, if you have been to the tourist spots in Mexico, Bali, Turkey, Greece or Spain you will know what the place is like. Nothing what the country is really like at all. Just a very bad tourist trap.
Like with all these countries if you get away from the tourist traps the people are great, so is the food. Anyway enough of that, lets talk kitchens.
Bench tops
Like doors there is a lot of variety, which vary greatly in price. The properties of the tops vary greatly, and also how to care for them. Let's go from cheapest to dearest.
Laminate
Commonly known by their brand names like Formica or Wilsonart etc. Laminate tops are in my mind real good value for money. They are very durable and look good.
In the early days they had a bad rap as the glues used to fix them was prone to separate the laminate from the substrate. Hands up everyone who has an old laminate top in their house with under mounted bowls that have come away.
Not so today the glues they use today. Also most of the forming is done on a machine.
Generally they have vast color ranges which seem to be up dated every few months. Compared to other bench top materials they are fairly heat and scratch resistant. This is within reason of course, I wouldn’t recommend placing a hot pot straight on the top or would I recommend cutting straight on any bench top surface.
Laminate tops are a little limited when it comes to a corner where a radius end, or bullnose joins another radius. Or when the client wants a curved radius end. The technology is coming where this can be done, but for the minute most manufactures can't do it. A way of getting around this is to put a timber edging around the curves. This can look real smart. It adds a bit to the cost but compared to the alternatives it is still a cheaper option.
Tile
Real common in some countries like the USA. Tiles make a real hardwearing top. Real nice features can be made out of tiles.
I'm not a big fan of tiles as they can be very unhygienic in the grout if they are not looked after. There are a number of sealers for the grout. This should be applied at least once a year. The other thing I find with tiles is if the house moves, which all timber houses do, the tile can crack on the joins.
Don’t get me wrong I'm not saying I wouldn’t do a kitchen in tile I just feel they are high maintenance, and in this day and age who really has the time.
Tiles can look good if you are trying to achieve a certain look, say a country feel.
The last tile kitchen I designed we used sand stone tile. They looked real good.
Timber
I have a bit of a soft spot for timber in the right application. Why do I say that?
Clear coated, washed or whatever finish you want looks the bomb. There is some amazing looking timbers available from light timbers like beech to dark timbers like teak to red timbers like Australian Jarrah and so it goes. Just about every country has a native timber. Timber can be used to create age by maybe using demolition timber or by the finish say an antique wash or a cracked paint effect. It can be made to look bold with a high gloss or it can be toned down with a satin finish. Here comes the but. Timber is not durable, no matter weather it is a hardwood or softwood. Some are harder than others that is true but they will all dent and scratch. If you don’t believe me lean against a timber top with a belt buckle and see if it doesn’t scratch or dent. I would never recommend putting timber around the main work centers i.e. the sink and hob areas. It will just get hammered. The way around that is to introduce another bench material for these areas.
Stainless Steel
Real popular these days in Hi-Tech ultra modern houses. I guess the idea is to duplicate a commercial kitchen with uncluttered clean lines. Stainless is a hygienic surface that’s why it is used in commercial applications. It is also a hardwearing surface, which should last the life of the kitchen. These days they have some real smart looking textured patterns that will make any kitchen look good. Stainless has some disadvantages. Popular finishes like satin will scratch when you look at it. The other thing is if you don’t have the right cleaners it is a nightmare to get rid of the streaks.
Synthetic surfaces
Probably the best known is Corian. Not a bad product. Essentially made of resin.
They are fairly durable although I wouldn’t recommend putting a hot pot on it. The beauty with this product is if it gets scratched or damaged it can be repaired unlike most other products with the exception of wood. I personally think the color range is limited and I think it is majorly over priced for what is
Granite
Now your are talking. Granite just amazes me that it is a natural product that comes out of the ground. Granite looks awesome. I like doing fun things with granite getting away from the traditional look of white or black. An ultra modern kitchen with funky looking granite looks good. Or instead of a high gloss what about a honed finish. I am starting to feel inspired to design a kitchen; quick who wants granite toped kitchen.
You can pretty much do whatever you want with shapes and profiles. Granite is probably the hardest wearing top, great for baking straight on etc. Very unforgiving. Try dropping a plate or glass from a short distance on to a granite top, it won't be the granite that comes off second best.
The only disadvantage is the price. I generally say to clients if it is what you want go for it as it will make your kitchen look a million bucks and will last a life time.
The rest
How about marble, slate, or sand stone. They all have their good and bad points. Marble looks good as a bench top I have just used Calacatta on a bench in arts and craft bungalow. Man it looks good. Great care has to be taken with marble, as it is soft. But the way I see it a few scratches and red wine stains (heaven forbid you spill a good red) with age gives the top a bit of character and hay millions of Italians cant be wrong.
What about cement based tops like polished concrete or Terrazzo. Now that’s something I get excited about the possibilities are endless in what's available in color. How about putting some crushed shells in a bathroom counter top or what about colored crushed glass in a kitchen top to give it a bit of character. It's all good. The other month we did a polished concrete top in a high Tec kitchen to break up the stainless steel, now that looked good.
Conclusion
That’s just a brief over view of whats available. There are a lot of options to suit every budget. Whatever option you take get good advise from your kitchen design professional as the counter tops are after all the main surfaces so they have to be practical as well as look good for the way you use your kitchen.
Well that’s about it for now. Time for some Turkish take out, a nice glass of red and an open fire.
Catch Ya next time
Al
