Form over function
Form over function is an eternal struggle. It’s very rarely you find a beautiful item that is equally practical, so, you have to decide which you want to live with. This can be a beautiful silk tablecloth that would stain before you can say red wine, or an offcut of garish PVC that will wipe clean in two seconds and a million other choices.
Our more recent big decision is kitchen worktop. We’re opting for a traditional looking ivory kitchen, complete with range cooker and plate racks, but can’t decide on the material for the worktop. Granite is pricy, glossy and too modern, but laminate looks dull and could potentially ruin the hard work we’ve put in to get the look we want.
Our hearts want to go for the surprisingly costly solid wood option but are so worried it will mark easily (especially when a certain husband seems to love nothing more than splashing mugs of tea and dropping slices of beetroot all over the place and not cleaning them up). So, I turn to you…. Do any of you have solid wood worktops? How easy are they to maintain? Do they mark easily? Do you regret the expense? Tell all…
Hardwoods are fine to use for most areas of the kitchen (I would recommend oak or beech but make sure you check where it is coming from and whether it is sustainable)but I would avoid using wood around the sink. It is water that will cause most problems with the wooden worktops, otherwise it is very durable. You can keep it well protected by oiling regularly and if you do get any stains you can just lightly sand the area and re-oil, and anyway, the beauty of wood is the patina. As far as granite is concerned there is a very wide selection of prices and some are far more reasonable than others. I would recommend Bon Accord as a very economical granite and you can also get this type ‘honed’ which gives it more of a matt, slaty look rather than the glossy polished, but it still has all the same waterproof and hardwearing properties. The honed finish can only be done on the ‘close together’ patterned granite. I would always recommend granite around a sink area. Find a local supplier in the yellow pages (they will often be under fireplaces) and go and check out their variety and prices. It is the workign of thgranite (polished edges, drainign grooves, sink cut-outs) that make it costly so keep that plain and to the minimum. If you definately want wood around the sink area, go for an ‘inset’ sink rather than a Belfast or undermount and just keep the worktops as free of water as possible, never let water ’sit’ on it and oil regularly. Hope this helps!