Having your kitchen professionally remodelled doesn't just make your kitchen nicer to look at; with a little forethought and planning, you can also create a kitchen that is much easier to live with every day. Choosing durable, easy-to-clean materials for your new kitchen will ensure that is is very easy to keep clean and safe, giving you more time to do the things you love.

If you are having your kitchen remodelled and want the finished kitchen to be as low-maintenance as possible, choosing the right benchtop materials is particularly important. Here are three tough, user-friendly benchtop materials that are an ideal addition to any low-maintenance kitchen:

Engineered stone

Benchtops made from natural stones, such as granite or marble, are hugely desirable. Unfortunately, they can also be cripplingly expensive and require significant amounts of maintenance to stay looking their best.

Engineered stone is an excellent low-maintenance alternative to natural stone. Sold under a wide variety of brand names and sometimes referred to simply as 'quartz', engineered stone benchtops are made from powdered stone suspended in a tough, durable polymer resin.

Unlike most stone benchtops, engineered stone benchtops are waterproof and non-porous, so their surfaces are very easy to keep clean and sterile. Engineered stone is also incredibly durable, and unlike many natural stones, it will not crack or dent under heavy impacts (such as dropped pots and pans). Engineered stone benchtops also never need to be resurfaced.

Stainless steel

Stainless steel benchtops are another option that never have to be resurfaced or resealed, making them an excellent choice for any low-maintenance kitchen remodelling. These stylish benchtops are also as durable as you would expect from steel and are impossible to scorch or stain with hot or highly pigmented substances. Their non-porous surfaces are also very easy to clean.

If you do opt for stainless steel benchtops, bear in mind that they can be expensive, especially if you want a custom-designed benchtop in an unusual shape or design. Stainless steel also scratches fairly easily, so you should not do any chopping or meat preparation directly on a stainless steel benchtop.

Laminate

If you want benchtops are are easy to maintain and easy on your bank account, it's difficult to do better than laminate benchtops. These benchtops have a core of engineered wood surrounded by multiple layers of tough, heat-bonded plastic and are very affordable.

Crucially, laminate benchtops are far more durable and low-maintenance than you would expect from such an inexpensive product. They are non-porous, making them very stain-resistant and easy to clean, and can also take a significant amount of physical punishment. They never need to be resealed or resurfaced and can be replaced relatively cheaply if you suffer a kitchen catastrophe such as a cooking oil fire.

Contact a kitchen remodelling service for more information.

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