How to Choose a Kitchen Worktop

Choosing a worktop comes down to five decisions: brand, edge profile, style, size, and the matching accessories that finish the run. This guide takes them in the order most people find easiest.

1. Kronodesign or Duropal?

Brooklands stocks two laminate worktop brands. Both are European-manufactured laminate surfaces on a chipboard core, and both are supplied in the same lengths and depths.

• Kronodesign — the larger range, with 61 decors spanning woodgrains, marbles, stone effects, concrete and plain colours.
• Duropal — 33 decors, weighted towards realistic oak and mineral finishes.

If a particular look is the deciding factor, browse by style rather than brand — see step 3.

2. Postformed or square edge?

The edge profile is the most visible difference between two otherwise similar worktops, and it is fixed per decor — it is not an option you choose at checkout.

• Postformed — the laminate is rolled over the front edge to form a soft, rounded profile. It is the traditional British kitchen worktop edge, it hides minor scribing imperfections well, and it is the more forgiving option for a first-time fit. 70 of our decors are postformed.
• Square edge — a crisp, straight front edge for a sharper, more contemporary line. It suits handleless and slab-door kitchens and reads as a more expensive surface. 24 of our decors are square edged.

Both brands include postformed decors. Square edge is currently a Kronodesign option only, so if you have set your heart on a square edge, start from the square edge collection rather than from a decor.

3. Choose your style

Once you know the edge you want, narrow by look. Every decor in the range falls into one of these:

• Wood effect — oak, walnut, beech and pine grains. The most popular choice for shaker kitchens and rental properties.
• Marble effect — Calacatta, Carrara, Venato and Emperador looks, with veining that reads as natural stone.
• Stone effect — granite, limestone, quartz and textured mineral finishes. The broadest group in the range.
• Concrete effect — flat, urban tones for industrial and contemporary schemes.
• Solid colour — plain, unpatterned surfaces where the cabinetry or splashback is doing the work.

4. Work out your sizes

Every decor in the range is supplied in the same set of sizes, so your choice of look never limits your choice of size.

• Worktops: 3050mm and 4100mm lengths, 600mm deep, 38mm thick.
• Breakfast bars: 4100mm long, 38mm thick, in 670mm and 900mm widths for islands, peninsulas and seating overhangs.

Measure each run of your kitchen wall to wall and add an allowance for scribing at each end. Where a run is longer than a single length, plan the joint position before you order — over a cabinet gable rather than over a void, and away from the sink and hob cut-outs.

5. Add the matching accessories

Cut edges and wall junctions are what separate a tidy kitchen from an unfinished one. Each of these is available in the same decor as the worktop, ordered from the same product page:

• Upstands — 4100mm long, 19mm thick, 100mm high on Kronodesign decors and 120mm high on Duropal. Finishes the worktop-to-wall junction without tiling.
• Splashbacks — 4100mm x 640mm, for a continuous groutless surface behind the hob and sink.
• Edging — 1.3mm ABS strip that seals and colour-matches any cut end. Order this whenever a worktop is cut to length, which is nearly always.

Common questions

How thick are the worktops?

All standard worktops and breakfast bars in the range are 38mm thick. Upstands are 19mm and splashbacks are supplied as a thinner faced panel.

Can I mix decors in one kitchen?

Yes. A common approach is a wood effect on the main run with a contrasting stone or marble effect on the island breakfast bar.

Do worktops come cut to size?

Worktops are supplied in the full lengths listed above and cut on site to suit your kitchen. Order matching edging so every cut end can be finished properly.

How do I look after a laminate worktop?

See our worktop care and maintenance guide.

Still deciding?

Send us your kitchen plan and we will quote the worktops, accessories and any units you need. Send us your plan, or browse all worktops.