DIAMOND INTERIORS

Welcome to Myth-Busting Mondays where we DEBUNK the myths surrounding popular products used around the home!

For our third post, we’ll be discussing just how accurate sample ships really are, to be followed next week by staining concerns in Engineered Stone products.

Myth #3 – Your new benchtop will look just like the sample you picked it out from

Selecting your new kitchen benchtop can often be a daunting task: will it match the cabinetry, will I get sick of it, will the colour be what I expect it to be?

As a kitchen designer, I ALWAYS recommend clients visit their nearest stone showroom in order to view the full slab prior to making a final decision, especially when it comes to stones with varying colours and patterns featured in the slab.

Of course, every new kitchen journey starts with selecting your favourite sample chips and looking at images however, these samples are only a very small representation of the actual product. Viewing the entire slab will ensure you are aware of any colour and pattern variations in the final product, helping you make a much more informed decision and avoiding any disappointment when your new kitchen is complete.

Solid colours such as Caesarstone’s Pure White or Essastone’s Caolino can be easily selected from sample chips: the colour is uniform without any patterning meaning that the sample chip will be a great indication of the final product. However, when it comes to selecting benchtop products with more patterning, do invest the time to visit your local showroom to view the whole slab. This not only helps you get a better understanding of the colour and pattern variations in the slab but may also encourage you to visit different options: brochures and computer images don’t always offer a fair representation of the stone’s qualities, even if you are viewing an image of the entire slab.

For example, Caesarstone’s Statuario Maximus looked a little bland to me on screen when I first viewed the online brochure. After having seen the full slab and having specified it for a recent bathroom renovation, I must say it is now one of my favourite marble-look engineered stones! The depth and variation of colour is exquisite while the bold veins look luxurious and rich atop an elegant white backdrop – Definitely worth seeing in the flesh before making a final decision!

The same goes for Essastone’s Concrete Pezzato; this piece offers a textured ‘Weathered’ finish, mimicking that of a real concrete benchtop. Once again, the small sample swatch wasn’t the most appealing to me, whereas the full slab is amazing: once again, being able to see the slight variations in pattern, texture and colour make all the difference.

So, just how accurate are your benchtop sample swatches? Well, some are great, some not so much! As discussed, solid colours are often much easier to select based on sample swatches however, if you are considering a stone benchtop with varying colours or patterns, make the time to visit your local showroom to view the whole slab: you’ll be glad you did!