My kitchen worktops with technistone

My kitchen makeover

Last year we undertook a long waited for kitchen revamp, not a full renovation but there were certain parts of my kitchen that were tired and desperately needed replacing. Number one on my list to replace were my old wooden worktops.

At over 10 years old they were rotten around the sink from water damage, stained and covered in burn marks. I think in a kitchen, along with the flooring your worktops are probably one of the things you notice most as being a horizontal surface your eyes naturally focus on them, so it’s essential to get them right.

When choosing kitchen worktops there are a number of considerations, obviously how they look and function but also price and practicality.

Your most commonly used options are laminate, wood, engineered stone, natural stone or concrete and metal.

After considering all the options, I settled on an engineered stone worktop from Technistone. I wanted a natural looking stone worktop but also something that would withstand the wear and tear of busy family life and the amount of cooking we do, a lot! We only have two relatively small work surfaces in our narrow galley kitchen so they have to be practical and work hard.

The old wooden worktops installation of the new worktops. Yes look at the state of the old worktops, embarrassing! So you can see why we desperately needed to replace them with something harder wearing (and beautiful of course!)

I’ve always loved the look of concrete worktops and wanted something simple and classic that would look good for years. I didn’t want a heavily veined or patterned marble look as I wanted my worktops to appear understated as I have a lot of ‘stuff’ in my maximalist kitchen. I didn’t want my cupboards or worktops have to compete with that but just look good as a simple, beautiful backdrop.

I ordered a number of samples and chose the Noble concrete grey in a matt finish. Technistone worktops come in a selection of polished or matt finishes but I decided the more natural, rustic finish of a matt effect stone suited my style more.

Why Technistone and what is engineered stone?

Engineered stone consists of a selected mix of natural materials (quartz and granite) which are mixed with various pigments and crushed mirrors to create a vast array of different worktops (Technistone have 50 different worktop options to choose from) These are then bound with a high performance polyester resin and processed into perfectly straight, flat and resistant slabs with different thicknesses and surface finishing. The possibilities are endless for the look of your worktop and Technistone have over 50 different worktop options to choose from.

The benefits of choosing an engineered stone over a natural stone is that although they don’t withstand heat as well (be sure to put your hot pan on a pan stand to avoid marking the stone) they do withstand chipping and staining far better. Super easy to clean too, they’re a completely non porous material, so a quick wipe down with a soapy cloth or my eco natural cleaner gets them spotless. I’ve heard horror stories about even white wine staining marble or granite worktops, as because they are a completely natural material and so are porous, they will stain.

The Process and fitting

The measurement and fitting of my worktops couldn’t have been an easier process. A qualified fitter came to my house and with his fancy infra red measuring tools and computer got the exact measurements of my worktops in half an hour. It then took just a week for my worktops to be cut and delivered!

I chose a 25mm thickness with a simple bevelled edge with a 100mm upstand. Before embarking on this process I’d never had worktops installed other than off the shelf wooden ones in a very simple ikea kitchen at my old flat. So I’m hoping that my naivety in this process can help those of you that are as clueless as me! I’d had no idea about the different materials or how they were fitted or even what an upstand is. FYI it’s the piece of matching worktop that goes up the wall behind the worktop. The standard size is 100 mm but an increasingly popular trend is to extend them all the way up the wall right up to the wall unit or shelving.

We kept the upstand small and extended our splash backs with simple painted tongue and groove panelling.

Fitting the worktops was a breeze, Technistone specialist fitters installed my worktops in just a morning including attaching the new under counter sink and sealing all the upstands. And they fitted perfectly! Amazing and so pleased with the result.

The worktops have completely transformed my kitchen, not only are they beautiful to look at but they are also so practical. The old wooden ones stained easily and had to be re sanded and re sealed every 6 months.

If you have any questions about using engineered stone worktops or my experience with using Technistone, add your question in the comments!