Choosing a kitchen worktop

A kitchen worktop was never really something I ever paid that much attention to. I’d walk into someone’s kitchen and think it was a beautiful space, nice lights, attractive tiles but never really noticed the worktop…until now!

Whilst going through the process of renovating and extending our kitchen we have had to look at each area of the kitchen and chose the style that gives us a cohesive look.

Presently our worktops are beech. Look attractive but actually not really that practical and they require a lot of maintenance.

They fade in the sunny areas of the kitchen and turn black in the areas that are frequently damp. We knew that when the time came to change them, we would want to go for quartz but we had no idea just what choice there was out there.

For our kitchen worktops we are collaborating with Cullifords and their own Quartz collection. Cullifords are experts in natural and man made surfaces. Last year they introduced a selection of their own branded quartz surfaces to their product catalogue.

The range is suitable for the kitchen or bathroom and has ten different material choices. The great thing about selecting quartz for your home is that it’s super hardwearing and easy to maintain. The colour tone and shapes of the marbling are also constantly evolving so your worktop will always be unique to your home.

We were invited over to the Cullifords stone yard on the outskirts of London to not only view the quartz we would be selecting from, but also to take a look at all the beautiful stone they have to offer.

At the stone yard all of their materials are presented as huge slabs that are lined up throughout the yard for you to browse through.

The large scale of the slabs makes it much easier to view how the pattern and colours would look as a worktop rather than only viewing them as a small hand-sized sample.

Of course, Cullifords don’t just deal with quartz. They also stock Marble, Granite, Ceramic and Limestone. There is also a huge array of colours available, each more unique than the next and in a variety of finishes including matte or satin.

The team at Cullifords are always seeing trends in how people are using their materials. Using huge pieces of pink quartz as headboards or vibrantly coloured marble as a waterfall island.

After perusing their selection we decided to go for the Michelangelo quartz in a satin finish.

It’s white quartz but has a gentle grey marbling running through it. We liked that the pattern was soft so that it would blend well with any décor choice and it also breaks up the white a little. The satin finish ensures the light bounces off of the surface and we also figured it would be less absorbent and easier to keep clean.

The measuring process

On the day of fitting, 2 gentlemen came out to do what’s called templating. We spoke about the requirements and that we also wanted an up stand to run around the edge. We also discussed that we wanted a tiny quartz ledge to sit under our sink so that any drips from the sink would be caught before they ran onto the wood.

 We discussed the tap style we would be going for so that they could cut the quartz appropriately and also where we wanted our drainage grooves. I also specified I wanted a rounded edge so that it may be a softer blow to any children tearing past the breakfast bar!

The guys laid out large laminate sheets and literally cut them to size (it’s very important that all the cabinetry below is finished so that the worktop will fit!)

We then looked over the template they had created, agreed it was what we needed and off they went. This process only took a couple of hours.

The fitting process

2 weeks later the same guys came back and set to work fitting the worktop. The entire cutting had been done back at the Cullifords stone yard so there was minimal mess our end. The only cutting required was for the up stand.

 The worktop came in huge pieces so there would be no visible joins and they even cut the up stands from the same piece that would sit below it so that the same marbling ran up from the worktop. It’s a work of art!

Once fitted, the edges against the wall were sealed and we were given guidance on the best way to care for our worktop.

The finished look is wonderful. It’s brightened our kitchen, it looks sophisticated, modern but still in keeping with our period home, is so easy to care for and super easy to keep clean. We think it’s actually the favourite part of our new kitchen.

If you’re thinking of looking for a new worktop then I highly recommend heading to Cullifords to view their collection and get great advice on what could work for you. You may even be tempted to go for an alternative material of different colour choice, it’s such an education to go there and view all of the stone.

Head over to their site here to see what they can offer you.