Turning the pages of a glossy interiors magazine inspires fantasies of immaculate Carrara marble or beautifully formed concrete benchtops, but the reality of natural stone surfaces looks a little different. Wear and tear is common across the kitchen, bathroom and laundry include stains, scratches, scuffs, cracking, warping, fading and, that daily gripe for young families, grubby fingerprints. The inevitability of such damage for most households means options are limited when it comes to choosing surfaces.
A glass of red can leave a ring-shaped reminder for life, citrus or splashes of spaghetti sauce quickly put paid to that first ideal of a perfect designer kitchen. But there is an option for design-savvy homeowners that offers the best of both worlds, says Valente.
“Essastone takes inspiration from the world of natural materials to create a range of beautiful hard wearing engineered stone decors that will proudly sit in a designer-look space,” she explains.
The luxe look is now more accessible to more people thanks to essastone. Made with up to 95 per cent natural quartz and backed by a 15-year warranty, essastone is engineered to guard against staining, scratching and citrus acid marks.
Steve Cordony believes in the beauty of faux surfaces.
Essastone finishes include weathered, contemporary matte, glamorous gloss and granite-like igneous. “We developed our range to capture different textures and finishes, rather than just the standard polished finish,” says Valente.
Those who like the look of natural stone but not the price tag that comes with it can also get this high end look by using high pressure laminates. These are not only long lasting, adds Valente, they come at a lower price point than the natural versions, which leaves more of the renovation budget for complementary details that can make a kitchen, bathroom or laundry look architecturally designed.
Most renovators would agree that deciding on those finishing touches, whether a vase of orchids or a colourful wall hanging, marks the moment they can look back and feel a sense of accomplishment, but it would be all the better if they’d had a little help along the way.
Laminex’s Design Hub can assist the process, check out the Laminex ‘Find your style’ quiz and the available design possibilities at www.laminexdesignhub.com.au/find-your-style/.
Island and rear benchtops feature essastone in Carrara Matt finish with island cabinetry, front panels and kicker in Laminex Innovations Mirrored Smoke. Rear base cabinetry, overhead cabinetry and kicker in Laminex Impressions textured surfaces Burnished Wood Nuance finish with splashback in Metaline Splashback and Panels Silver Stream Perle.