SB Towers is getting a kitchen overhaul in the next 6 weeks.
In addition to an extra run of units all the granite worktops are being renewed. The big decision is whether to go light or dark? Very light/white tops looks great in the pictures but are you taking on a new hobby keeping them clean in real life - can they show stains?
We have friends with black granite and they say it shows every smear, crumb, etc.
Confused!
I have black granite.
I clean up the smears and the crumbs and it looks fine.
We have white sparkly quartz. It cleans up with a wipe, and all the little mirror and silver bits in it mean crumbs are not noticeable.
We've black granite, a quick wipe and it's fine. Of course it's going to show up every crumb until you wipe them off! Supposedly if you leave stuff like beetroot on the surface it will stain it but we've not found that so maybe it has to be left for some time, certainly more than a few minutes anyway.
Ours is at least ten years old and you'd be hard pushed to tell it from new.
We have a very light coloured Corian worktop and it has been fine in the last three years (apart from when I ^&*$ed up and left somethign very hot on it right on a join which cracked the join open - 100% my fault). It has had curry stains, red wine stains (many times lol), Sharpie marks on it and everything (and I mean everything) comes off with a light rub with a bit of Cif.
IMO lighter is better, black shows the smears and residue from wiping clean.
I couldn't afford granite, so I got wood.
We have a white polished composite stone one (Samsung from memory).
tea bag drips will stain but lift off over a few days or with some concentrated scrubbing (which I'm a bit reluctant to do too much, not sure why) nothing much else seems to bother it. Other than that and a bit of limescale forming around the sink back where water stands it's been fine for 8 years bar a couple of small chips on the edge where a cast iron pan caught it at an angle - we'll get that fixed when we sell.
Black sparkly mottled granite here. Hides all sorts of dirt (which is fine in my book)
BUT do not have black floor tiles which look fantastic for 1 minute and then rubbish until you next can be bothered to clean them.
Dark black, looks great when it's just been cleaned wish I'd gone for a colour that hides the crumbs
Black granite at home and it’s a ****ing PITA to keep clean. It looks nice, but hides a million sins on the surface that you never spot. Horrible. Been down for 7yrs and I’m considering changing it and a couple of other matching items to a more neutral stone based palette.. (no not a pallet)
Dont like wood either, don’t live in a rural farm house where I think they look ace.
Worst look for a house IMO is to go too ultra modern in a house that just can’t carry that look off.
Shitty 70’s clapboard houses should have Peach worktops and matching loos 😜🤷♂️🤣💰💰💰💰
Likewise modern appts shouldn’t have Mock Tudor black and white wood (ferchristsake)
My Mrs is in the renovation business, she’s done some absolute crackers of jobs, and you know what? Black worktops do not feature in anything she’s done in the last 10yrs..
Some wildly differing opinions here!
When we had ours fitted the fitters recommended drawing a sharp blade over the surface on a regular basis, say once a week, to pull up any recalcitrant residues. An old style razor blade was what they suggested but a straight edged kitchen knife is just as good.
Residue from wiping clean? Don't get that so it might be a soft/hard water thing.
Out White quartz, that have been down for nearly a year, have not stains. Red wine, tea, beetroot, blackcurrant etc. just wipe off even if left for a while.
The fitters did say that curry stains left overnight might stain it though.
Seems like a suitable thread to hijack since we seem to have diverted onto what colour combinations work. What colour worktops for plain cream doors (completely flat with large long stainless handles) would you go for. Currently has wood but they are ruined (from before we bought the house) and I don't have the time to look after wood properly. Edwardian house with medium dark wooden floor. Almost black large range cooker.
We have acres of black granite on our worktops in our new to us kitchen.
It does hide the filth but not the crumbs. Not noticed it being streaky when i clean it with kitchen cleaner.
Really not the best picture (I never got around to just taking a picture of the finished kitchen properly) but this was ours just about the time we finished it.
We had black granite and you do get pretty anal with it as it shows everything up. It's so glossy and shiny that every smear and crumb stands out. It was a bit of a PITA. Also granite is porous so you have to be careful with spillages of anything bright, like bright curry sauces or bright red tomato sauces and things like that and clean them up ASAP after spilling. If you leave it a few minutes enough for it to dry then you might get staining. So we became quite paranoid. So better off with something brighter and matt in texture.
Johndoh is that a giant chorizo?
We've got Granite in white with bits, (Bianco Norte). Not sparkly and a finer grain than Bianco Stella, which is very popular. Love it.
It hides crumbs like nothing else. Some rough aluminium things leave marks (like the bottom edge of a bread maker) but they came off.
the Silestone website is great for showing the textures but even more helpful was going to DIY kitchens and laying our their range of sample tiles together (well, the ones we were interested in) and taking a photo. We went back to that photo so many times to consult it - I'll share it here if you want.
plain white or white with a speckle?
It's actually an off white (creamy/beige) but a solid colour.
The image seems to have disappeared so I will try again....
Johndoh is that a giant chorizo?
LOL no - it's a set of three dark wood pan stands as we have wenge wood elsewhere in the kitchen
Get a granite with distinctive two tones in a darker overall colour, my parents have had this for more than 20years, its great and easy to clean, stains don't show as much as they would in a pure black granite.
We have got a dark gray granite with a range of lighter crystals/flecks bits in it. 17 years looks like new - we are real scuffers too - curry beetroot tea red wine etc can be on it for hours - probably days and everything just wipes off.
Doesn't show the dirt - but then again I'm probably not the best judge
Pure white quartz. No sparkles. Looks niiiiice.
Tea stains it, red stuff stains, metal stuff falling on it marks it but they easily scrub off, especially with some Bar Keepers Friend for the bad ones. Hard water leaves a residue round the tap but that comes off with a small amount of limescale remover (probably not advisable). There are no permanent stains on it. Interestingly it stains less over time - had it 2 years now.
Other problem is plastic packaging where the print can stick to the surface if left to sit - but I don't think that's just a quartz issue.
Arguably, having a top that doesn't hide the dirt makes you a cleaner person. My kitchen worktop is the cleanest place in the house!
We have a white Quartz top. It stains, friends have more pricey bonded tops and they have less problems with staining.
Worst so far was an old baking sheet which had rusted on the underside, was left on the counter and got wet, the rust has stained, won't rub out.
I have some sealer to put on at the weekend, a couple of coats should improve things..
Go neutral if yo can would be my advise...
Supposed to say branded (Silestone)
Yep.... Just like brakes.... White quartz plus some Bar Keepers Friend. We got a great big sample before we bought it and overnight left some curry, red wine and God knows what else on it. Just wiped off the next morning. I think it looks a lot more modern than the dark stuff but that's just my pov.
Granite you have to be careful with lemon juice/acids whereas the Silestone style Quartz are supposedly easier to live with, very difficult to stain.
Our Silestone is “Cemento” I think. Looks a lot like concrete with a very fine aggregate (close up there are brown and grey speckles) which works with the polished concrete floors and Matt charcoal cupboard doors. YMMV
3+ years and we’ve not managed to stain or chip it. The gloss finish will show watermarks if the light catches it but so will anything.
Anything completely plain coloured and high gloss is going to need more cleaning.
I’ve got bright white silestone work tops, they’ve been in for 2 years. They look like new, despite being used as a ‘runway’ for my lads metal planes and all the red wine, tea, good knows what stains on them, all which have come out with a dab of bleach and some rubbing with a dish cloth. They are no bother to keep clean and look nice.
Oh, and it was about the only thing I could get a 3.5m by 1.5m for the island in a single piece
We have some form of white composite which is about 4-5 years old, it does stain with some veg / curry / wine / tea, but generally comes out pretty easy (leave a little kitchen cleaner with bleech on it over night)
However we have an integrated sink in the same material and it is trashed - looks awful. Bar keepers friend can clean it up slightly but still is most browny colour.
I'm told you can get this repaired / resurfaced? Anyone know? Is it likely to be just the same mess again in a few years?
I would advise against an integrated sink in a worktop if you are thinking about it - probably going to have to replace the whole island top, wife hates it and I'm sure is now deliberately makeing it worse till I cave in and stump up for a replacement
^^^^ Agrees with DT78 - when I got my first house many years ago I really *REALLY* wanted a shite sink because I thought they were cool. Within months I hated it with a passion. Since then I have moved house twice and installed kitchens each time - and they have both been stainless steel.
we're about to get stainless worktop fitted. hopefully they'll be highly practical (no stains/chips) and look good too. will let you know how we get on!
We had a black worktop fitted. Have a white kitchen. Changed the rooms and the kitchen was reinstalled with a white (with flecks) worktop with the white kitchen. Love the way it looks now, room is really light
recently fitted a wooden worktop here. nice light 40mm thick oak. it does pick up the odd stain but 10 mins with some fine grade wet/dry and a bit of danish oil and its back to looking like new.
we’re about to get stainless worktop fitted. hopefully they’ll be highly practical (no stains/chips)
Don't let anyone near it with scouring pads - our cleaner ruined my stainless-topped gas range cooker trying to rub off dried-on food 🙁
@ DT78 - assuming your sink is Corian or equivalent, with it beng non-porous it should clean up pretty easily.
The pdf linked to below should give you an idea how to keep on top of it.
we’re about to get stainless worktop fitted. hopefully they’ll be highly practical (no stains/chips) and look good too. will let you know how we get on!
Our old Kitchen was mostly s/s with a section of black (slightly speckly) Granite....
S/S is pretty indestructible but it does scratch very easily - it gets a patina. The main issue is actually the bits that are covered up (eg by a chopping board) as they don't wear the same as the rest and are very noticeable if you move things around.
We had one made for the utility room in this house - one piece, welded in sink, drip edge all round (so the whole thing is a "draining board") though it doesn't have a fall so need to wipe it down into the sink).