Designer Kitchen Worktops are becoming very popular

The kitchen is one of the most actively used rooms in the house and as such, it probably gets much more wear and tear than the sitting room, bathroom or the bedroom. As food is stored and prepared on a daily basis in the kitchen, it's essential that the worktops remain clean and hygienic. Most kitchens still have the old 'solid surface' kitchen worktops which were popular in the 1970's and 1980's. These are relatively cheap, easy to clean and come in a multitude of finishes. The downside is this type of kitchen worktop is they are easily scratched and the scars from a family member failing to use a chopping board will remain on the worktop for life. Not only are these knife scratches unsightly, they're also unhygienic.

If all this sounds familiar, you probably have a 'solid surface' kitchen worktop and are possibly considering replacing it with a new one. However if you swap like for like, you're going to have the same problem again and possibly sooner rather than later. Why not spend that little bit extra and invest in a better quality kitchen worktop?  Granite and quartz worktops are incredibly hard wearing and durable and will probably outlast not only your kitchen, but your house! Both quartz and granite worktops are cut from natural stone and therefore are already millions of years old.

Both granite and quartz worktops are fully scratch resistant, however the use of a chopping board is still advisable as such a hard wearing worktop will make your knives blunt through frequent use. Quartz worktops are available in a wide variety of colours from white to black, including reds, blues, greens and browns. Similarly, granite worktops are also available in a variety of colours such as 'star galaxy' and the popular 'absolute black', meaning there's a kitchen worktop available to match almost any kitchen.

Being ground and polished to a perfectly flat surface means these worktops are ideal for food preparation such as rolling out pastry. Being totally scratch resistant means the surface is easy to keep hygienically clean so a good dusting of flour and you're away, without the need of a large rolling board. Being made from natural stone also means these quartz and granite worktops are totally heat proof, meaning they won't blister or bubble as some synthetic kitchen worktops can when a hot pan is placed on them directly from the hob. Bring your kitchen to life with natural stone worktops and you won't be disappointed.