The laminate industry has responded to the popularity of stone with an amazing range of photographically reproduced stone, woodgrains and designer laminates for the budget conscious client who wants the look of stone or timber, but whose budget only allows laminate.

There are many very good brands available, such as Laminex, Egger, Formica, Polytec and Wilsonart to name some of the better known.

Most of the best quality laminates are around 1mm thick, and have the capability of being “postformed” or rolled on the edge with a very tight radius which gives the benchtop a more modern square edge which is quite different from the rounded bull nose edge most associate with laminated benchtops. There are some limitations. Not all laminates can be rolled so square and this profile only works with benchtops with straight lines.

Another option to get a square profile is with use of ABS edging. The edging hides the dark line that typifies laminate benchtops and allows a benchtop to incorporate any shape. The range of edging colors has not yet really caught up with the range of laminates, but there are more than enough to satisfy most people.

Pros:

• Economical
• Hardwearing
• Huge range of colours, textures, woodgrains and styles
• Is installed with the cabinet – no waiting as with stone
• Kitchen is operational at least 2 weeks faster

Cons:

• Can’t be so easily shaped
• No fancy edge profiling
• At risk of water damage
• Can be scratched, stained marked more easily than stone.
• Very difficult to remove scratches & stains.
• Doesn’t help resale in the same way stone does.

Overall, when the budget is tight it’s a great choice and can give a good WOW factor without the WOW cost.

The post Selecting the right benchtop – Laminate appeared first on Allstar Kitchen and Bathroom Design Sunshine Coast.

There are 4 beautiful new colours available from the Caesarstone R Classico TM Collection.

They are
• Ocean FoamTM 6141 and Creme Brule TM.4255 . Available from the Standard Range.
• Shitake TM 4230 and Wild Rice TM 4360. Available from the Deluxe Range.

These new colours and the full Caesarstone R Classico TM Collection are available now to view at our showroom at 93 Aerodrome Road Maroochydore.

Come and see for yourself just how beautiful these new colours are!
They could be a part of your new dream kitchen.

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