Kitchen tops: here is the complete guide to the main materials available in 2020.

Kitchen tops: here is the complete guide to the main materials available in 2020. In this guide you will find valuable advice and suggestions that will help you choose the kitchen top that best suits your needs and requirements.

Choosing the kitchen top can sometimes be a difficult choice: do you prefer functionality or aesthetics? When choosing the perfect kitchen top it is important to carefully consider your habits in using the kitchen and your taste in style and design. In this way you can choose the best product for you.

Here are the main trends for kitchen tops 2020.

Kitchen tops: the right compromise between aesthetics and functionality

The kitchen top represents an element of fundamental importance for this space in the house. We deal with the kitchen top every single day, since we use it during the preparation of a breakfast or a simple snack, as well as for more complex lunches and dinners.

The kitchen top is more commonly referred to as the kitchen top: the term top is of more recent use and represents a slang expression used by kitchen manufacturers and furnishing professionals.

The kitchen top or kitchen top is the highest part of a kitchen, used as a worktop. The choice of the kitchen top that best suits one's technical and aesthetic needs is almost always a compromise between the stylistic element and the aspect linked to functionality.

When choosing the kitchen top, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, it is in fact very important to consider your habits and your daily approach to the kitchen.

On the market it is possible to find kitchen tops made with the help of particularly valuable and refined materials: these products inevitably require careful and meticulous maintenance. The alternative is the purchase of a kitchen top made with cheaper and easier to clean and treat.

Kitchen top: which material to choose?

Which material should you choose for your kitchen top? As stated in the previous paragraphs, the kitchen top represents a component of fundamental importance for your kitchen and probably the part most subject to wear and tear and deterioration. For this reason, when choosing and purchasing your kitchen top, always remember that it will be constantly subjected to wear and tear and stress.

A kitchen top often comes into contact with a wide variety of corrosive agents: in everyday life sometimes a little salt or vinegar may be enough to attack the surface of your kitchen top. And even knife blades or high temperatures can damage or affect the surface of your kitchen top in some way.

In choosing the most suitable material for your needs, the most modern technologies come to our rescue and help, playing a leading role in the natural evolution of these components. Below is our selection of the main materials with which the kitchen tops are made, with reference to what emerges from a classic kitchen catalogue 2020.

Laminate kitchen top

Great reference trend for the kitchen 2020 and absolute reference point for the kitchens of Italians is the kitchen top in laminate. The reason for the success of these elements is to be found in the great quality of the laminate and its economic competitiveness.

The laminate kitchen top represents an extremely interesting and versatile proposal, able to adapt to different styles and practically every type of kitchen: for this reason a kitchen top made with this material is probably the best compromise between functionality and aesthetics.

Laminate is a material capable of resisting frontal impacts in an optimal way: this material also offers great space for customisation and is available in a wide range of colours and heights, to respond concretely to every single need and requirement.

In addition to the different finishes available, the height of the laminate kitchen top of 2 cm represents a very special solution, extremely functional if combined with the practical opening with grooved doors. The alternative height is represented by 4 or 6 cm.

The edge of this kitchen top is perfectly squared: this characteristic and peculiarity contributes to the great charm of these elements and to its commercial success in our country.

Kitchen top in hpl (stratified laminate)

The technological evolution of post-formed laminate has given birth to hpl laminate: it is a material consisting of several layers made of thermosetting resin.

In general terms we can say that hpl layered laminate has all the technical characteristics of quality typical of post-formed laminate. The value of the laminate is further maximised, thanks to the introduction of new and interesting properties and characteristics. The latter contribute to make the hpl kitchen top a highly appreciated product.

The most important feature and peculiarity of hpl laminate is its total waterproofness: the latter represents the main advantage of this innovative material. Thanks to the total impermeability of the material, it is possible to create tanks (sink) integrated with the kitchen top, produced with the help of the same finish.

Another important property of hpl laminate is its ability to resist the action of oils and temperatures up to 180°. Thanks to all its important properties, this material is one of the most functional materials available on the market for the creation of a kitchen top. We could define hpl stratified laminate as a composition of great aesthetic impact, able to give considerable continuity and guarantee a linear effect.

Quartz kitchen top

The quartz kitchen top is a valid alternative to the above mentioned materials: to be precise, the quartz kitchen tops are made with the help of an agglomerate of quartz: it is a material composed of quartz for about 95%, while the remaining 5% is composed of special resins able to guarantee the impermeability of this compound.

The quartz kitchen tops are totally smooth and non-porous: the quartz compound with which the kitchen tops are made is non-absorbent and therefore particularly healthy and hygienic. Characteristic and peculiarity of a quartz kitchen top is its great resistance and compactness, as well as its ability to resist abrasions in an optimal way.

The only disadvantage of this material is its limited resistance to heat sources: these can in fact give rise to stains caused by overheating of the material. A quartz kitchen top can also always crack due to overheating and the associated temperature change.

For this reason it is best not to place on a quartz kitchen top, hot pots and pans, freshly removed from the gas. If you intend to buy and prepare a quartz kitchen top in your space, our advice is to combine it with a sink under the top, so as to obtain a pleasant aesthetic result: this solution will also ensure you benefit from a more competitive price, compared to the solution of the sink integrated in the top.

Also in this case, thanks to technological evolution and research, a large number of variants and finishes are now available on the market: very interesting are the processes that faithfully reproduce the visual effect of natural stones.

Porcelain stoneware kitchen top

The porcelain stoneware kitchen top represents the latest innovation of the moment, concerning the innovative materials with which the kitchen tops are made. It is a decidedly innovative material, which arouses great curiosity, but also some doubts.

We could define porcelain stoneware as a particularly resistant ceramic material, mainly used for the production of floors. A recent innovation in the furnishing sector is the use of this material for the production of kitchen tops.

The most modern technologies now offer us the possibility of making porcelain stoneware kitchen tops that are probably the most resistant furnishing solutions available on the market. For this reason the porcelain stoneware top is an element that is gradually winning the interest of consumers and its commercial success is undisputed today. The porcelain stoneware kitchen top represents one of the most significant kitchen trends for the year 2020.

Ceramic kitchen top

By ceramic kitchen top we mean the above described porcelain stoneware top. We take advantage of this to mention another advantage of this extremely appreciated and innovative product: a stoneware ceramic top has the great advantage of being a piece of furniture made with the help of a natural 100 per 100 material, which therefore does not release any substances into the environment.

Finally, few people know that porcelain stoneware is a totally antibacterial material.

Kitchen top in okite

What is okite and why is this material used for the production of kitchen tops? For kitchen tops made of okite, we commonly mean the top made of quartz. Okite is in fact the above mentioned compound consisting of 95% natural quartz and the remaining 5% epoxy resins.

Okite is an eco-sustainable material and its important qualities are now certified. If you intend to buy a hob made of okite, our advice is to make sure you choose a quality model, which can be prepared in the most delicate space of your home.

Corian kitchen top

The kitchen tops in Corian are made with the help of a synthetic material whose main property and characteristic is the possibility of being worked to give life to the most varied shapes. A Corian kitchen top can also be welded by eliminating joints.

Corian is an antibacterial synthetic material that is extremely easy to clean. Other interesting properties of this material are its resistance to scratches and the action of direct sunlight. Finally, Corian is non-absorbent and has no joints, guaranteeing the total absence of mould and infiltration.

Kitchen top in phenix

Fenix is a type of material that originates from post-formed laminate and from it acquires all its typical properties and characteristics. To these characteristics are added the properties deriving from the latest research in the field of nanotechnology.

The peculiarity of fenix is its great capacity of resistance to wear: this material is also endowed with a natural self-healing capacity from small scratches, thanks to its exposure to heat. In this regard, it will be enough to pass an iron on the surface, after having placed a cloth, to repair small scratches that in time will affect the kitchen top made with this material.

The tops in fenix represent a good compromise between functionality and design: from an aesthetic point of view a kitchen top in fenix, thanks to the resins that compose it, is of great visual impact and pleasant to the touch (the surface is in fact soft and no prints are formed on it).

The new fenix products offer an extremely wide and renewed range of colours and represent the ideal solution to enhance the style and aesthetics of a modern kitchen with great personality.

Krion kitchen top

Krion is a material that is used today for the production of kitchen tops. This material is also suitable for the production of bathroom tops. Krion is able to boast considerable advantages due to its characteristics: an important advantage of this material is its ability to resist the action of chemical substances in an optimal way.

Krion is also extremely resistant to the action of sunlight and, last but not least, it is fire-resistant and 100 per 100 recyclable.

Kitchen top in kerlite

Kerlite is a laminated stoneware that is obtained with the help of a particular innovative production system: it is a cutting-edge technology. This revolutionary porcelain stoneware is produced in whole slabs able to reach dimensions up to 300 cm by 100.

Dekton kitchen top

Dekton is a material that is produced with the help of a particular and sophisticated mixture of the best raw materials that are used in the glass production process. It is basically a combination of ceramic materials and quartz of the highest quality.

We can say with full knowledge of the facts that dekton represents today the best in terms of technology.

Precisely because of the high technology of this material, a kitchen top in dekton is extremely resistant to UV rays, not altering its natural colour and shine over time. Another characteristic and advantage of this material is its high resistance to scratches and stains.

Soapstone kitchen top

Soapstone is a natural material characterised by a dark grey colour. The special feature and characteristic of this material is its special smooth and silky feel.

Soapstone is used both for the production of kitchen tops and for the production of sinks. The style of this material is usually combined with a sense of classicism; nevertheless soapstone hobs are also used in modern kitchens.