Depending on functionality, how your island is used, it can be somewhere to showcase a different material, as in a traditional kitchen with a substantial timber top, or if it's a practical prep area, the durability and maintenance is of utmost importance. If it is a highly utilized work area the surface would be best suited to reconstituted stones, which are man made such as Caesarstone, essastone, quarel la etc, as natural stones such as granites and marbles are more porous and require some maintenance and care. Depending on form and style, your options are almost endless. Cntemporary spaces can indulge in stainless steel tops, acrylic solid surface tops that can be any thickness, profile and can actually be repaired without joints. Glass or concrete are more options. So you ask for help on choosing your island bench top, That is dependent on a great many things. Factor in how you would use is surface, and what you can afford, then think about the overall impact these options can provide on the entire space. Eliminate. And collect samples to make your decision. It will probably become the single most used space in the house.

We are planning a new house, and have chosen a soft grey melamine kitchen with perfectly plain cupboards, and darkish handles with coppery hightlights. The bench-top is a new ceramic tile type of material in a slightly darker grey/concrete color, with coppery highlights through it - very nice. We have discussed having the center island a darker color as this is very visible from the dining room, and thought it would be a nice feature. There will be a copper colored Formica under the servery for a highlight, and the cupboards facing the dining room on each end of the unit will be the darker wood or melamine. The only thing we have been offered to use for the cupboards and each end on the unit is charcoal wood grain finish melamine, but now we are getting cold feet. Has anyone seen this used, and would it look a bit cheap...? Would it cost much more to use a proper wood...? raewyng

Hi Lucy, So worth doing this research at the planning stage, well done. Check out our Ideas for practical kitchens including the 5 task zones here : https://www.blum.com/nz/en/ideas/overview/ If you would like a free copy of our Kitchen Inspirations Magazine please private message your address/phone to Blum New Zealand. All the best for your project, Blum NZ Team

Before jumping into the design of your new kitchen, there are a few important points that you should carefully consider and get expert advice on. Viran has compiled a list of 5 things to avoid when designing your new kitchen and has lots of ideas to help you out of any tricky design situations. 1. FOCUSING ON THE LOOK OF YOUR NEW KITCHEN BEFORE YOU CONSIDER ITS FUNCTION We see a lot of people focus on having the right style of bench top, thinking about what splash back to have or even having their minds fixed on a handle-less look without first getting the functional design and layout of their kitchen confirmed. I understand why people do this as this is the most exciting part of the kitchen renovation process and it's what can set your kitchen apart from others. But this can ultimately cost you more in the long term if energy and thought isn't put towards a good functional design for the way you and your family use the kitchen. You can't change the design of the kitchen once it's installed, but you can change the bench top, splash back or even handles in the future at a fraction of the cost of redoing a whole new kitchen. This is where your design consultant is invaluable as they work with you to gain an understanding of your current pain points and then they work to achieve the best possible design within your allocated budget. 2. INCORPORATING A LARGER PANTRY AT THE EXPENSE OF THE OVERALL KITCHEN DESIGN Just because you may have a large corner pantry or built in internal pantry currently doesn't mean you need to, or should incorporate another one in your new kitchen. There are now smarter storage solutions on the market such as the Blum Space Tower or base drawer units which allows you to maximise storage but achieve more benchtop space or incorporate larger appliances into your new design. 3. PURCHASING YOUR APPLIANCES BEFORE YOU HAVE MET WITH YOUR DESIGN CONSULTANT By doing this, you could be limiting the design possibilities of getting a much more functional kitchen based on your current pain points and how you and your family like to use the kitchen. It is always best to have an idea of what size appliances you would like to incorporate and discuss this with your designer but I suggest you wait to buy any appliances until you have seen and discussed a potential design concept. Kitchen Mania works closely with Harvey Norman Commercial division for appliances and in many cases can achieve a great result for their clients when it comes to cost savings on appliances. 4. NOT ALLOWING ENOUGH WALK-ABLE/WORKABLE SPACE By not allowing enough circulation space, you can make your kitchen feel cramped and not workable. You need to allow enough space for 2 people to work comfortably in the kitchen and for appliances such as the fridge and dishwasher to open without any obstruction. To allow enough circulation space it is recommended that you have between 1200-1300mm minimum of space between benchtops, in smaller kitchens I wouldn't go less than 1000mm of space between benchtops. 5. HAVING A KITCHEN ISLAND WHEN THERE JUST ISN'T ROOM A kitchen island is a great feature and very functional, but if your space is too small it is best to forget about this option rather than try and squeeze an island in and realise that it affects the flow of your kitchen and its functionality. In most cases it is best to incorporate a kitchen island when your room allows for at least 1000mm of space on either side of your island for traffic flow.