5 Questions to Ask Yourself to Choose the Right Kitchen Work Plan

Choosing the right kitchen work plan means making a trade-off between the decorative aspect, practicality, and budget. Stone, wood, stainless steel, melamine, and laminate, there is no right or wrong choice. There is the one that will best suit your expectations, your lifestyle, your tastes, and your bank account. Here are the questions to ask yourself to make up your mind.

Do I want a very resistant worktop?

If you are more of a home delivery enthusiast than a cordon bleu, you can afford to go for decorative but fragile choices such as glass, tiles, or waxed concrete. Very elegant, marble and slate are also damaged relatively easily. Marble fears heat, shocks, and stains. Slate, on the other hand, cannot withstand acids (beware of vinegar and lemon!) Inexpensive, melamine and laminate are quite resistant. However, be careful with the connection at the sink. If it is not precise enough, water could seep in and cause it to swell. Wood is a safe bet. Very solid, ceramic just fears major shocks which can cause splinters. If you want a professional Kitchen worktop, bet on stainless steel, easy to maintain, hygienic, and insensitive to thermal shock. Other beefy (but expensive) options: quartz, granite and resin which resist scratches, shock, and heat. Even if in general, to preserve the work surface, avoid placing the hot pan directly on it (except for stainless steel) and cutting without using it aboard.

What is my budget?

The three cheapest options are wood, at least at the entry-level because in oak the bill climbs quickly, laminate and melamine.

What deco style do I want?

Laminate and melamine have the advantage of imitating, sometimes bluffing, many materials ranging from marble, wood, through waxed concrete. They are also available in a wide range of colors. However, unlike all other materials, they do not allow the sink to be placed under the counter. A technique that makes it almost invisible. Ceramics and resins are also available in many colors. On the other hand, the resin, , offers more architectural possibilities than ceramics, especially at the level of the rounded edges and they imitate very well other materials such as marble, terrazzo, or granite. But above all, they offer real freedom of form. You can even create the sink in the same material for a very elegant continuous effect.

Do I want to spend time maintaining it?

Beyond resistance, the issue of choosing a work plan is maintenance. Whether you are a fine chef or an amateur, it is a surface that you spend your time dirtying and cleaning. If you are obsessed with the smallest task, avoid stainless steel on which the slightest drop of water or fingerprints mark. Laminates, melamines, resins, glass, quartz and ceramics, on the other hand, are very easy to maintain with soap and water. Granite can even be cleaned with a detergent. On the other hand, other materials, such as wood, require regular attention. Not only should a varnish be applied regularly, but bacteria can lodge in its cracks. Marble and burgundy stone must receive a water-repellent treatment and are not always easy to clean.

Should I keep it to myself?

Lightweight, laminate, and melamine are easy to cut and install, even when you’re a beginner. You just have to be careful that the cut of the sink is precise to avoid infiltration and splinters on the edges. Waxed concrete, apparently easy to install, requires more technique. Metal, too, requires special experience. Finally, due to their weight and the difficulty of cutting, quartz, resin, granite countertops, and natural stones must be installed by professionals.