Original table top on the kitchen table

If the kitchen is the most important room in the house (according to the mistress of this house), then the table is an object around which everything that goes on in the kitchen revolves. It turns out that the kitchen table is the most important furniture (again according to the mistress). Of course, a man may disagree with his half, but on what will he make himself sandwiches? His main subject - the TV - can for a while give way to the palm tree.

What distinguishes the kitchen table from all other types of tables? That's right, it prepares food. The process, which is not very hygienic (if viewed from the side), should be safe for our health (that is, guarantee a minimal possibility of contamination of products, from which in the future will turn out goodness). Therefore, the table should be made of a material that, for many years, will be so thoroughly cleaned from all kinds of contamination that it can be confidently said about it "sterile clean".

The material from which the table top for the kitchen table is made must be non-toxic, hypoallergenic, durable and, of course, beautiful. These conditions are not met by many natural and artificial materials, so it is worth to get acquainted with each one in more detail.

Table top made of laminate

Polymer laminate

Budget material for the production of kitchen furniture - laminate - is made of pressed wood chipboards, coated with sheet or film polymer. A thin film, imitating the textural pattern of natural wood, is made of safe, non-toxic plastics. 3D photo printing and a textured surface create the effect of touching a natural tree or stone. A variety of designs for all existing materials in nature allows any buyer to find material for kitchen furniture and countertops.

Natural enemies of the laminated surface are sharp objects and hot dishes. To avoid contact with heat or solid steel table knives, it is enough to use cutting boards and coasters. In case of damage to the surface, the integrity of the cover will be broken, water and bacteria will penetrate into the pressed massif. If you do not take measures to repair and disinfect, bacteria will destroy the material under the film. Manufacturers of laminated worktops guarantee that the table will last at least 5 years from the beginning of operation with good care. For maintenance of cleanliness a surface can be wiped a soft sponge or a napkin moistened in a soap solution.

The cost of the countertop from the laminate depends on the thickness of the particle board and the quality of the coating and ranges from 600 to 2500 rubles per 1 sq. M. The surface of the standard sheet.

Laminate made of natural wood

A more expensive kind of laminate consists of a wood-shaving base covered with natural wood veneer. The use of natural veneer from a valuable tree species creates the effect of a natural massif. The surface "under the nut", "ebony" or "stained oak" can be covered with wood veneer of these species. But no less effective looks dyed veneer. The thicker the veneer layer, the more natural the surface looks.

Veneer for laminate is manufactured in two ways. The first, less expensive method is peeling. From the logs, an endless spiral of a thin layer of wood is removed, which is processed: straightened, processed with chemical compounds for disinfection, cut into sheets and dried. A very sharp cutter removes the layer, without damaging a millimeter of the surface. The textural pattern of the laminate is not exactly similar to the natural one, but it is very beautiful if there were twists in the trunk's wood.

Sliced veneer, in fact, - a thin board of wood. Its production is quite expensive, but the table tops look like they are assembled from a solid array. Particularly original looks the surface, decorated with inlay from veneer of different colors and wood species.

Adhesives used for gluing veneer and the main material of the countertop are made from non-toxic polymers or, in special cases, from natural components (bone joiner glue, fish glue). Polished surface is covered with clear varnishes or natural polishes. Such a surface is more difficult to damage than a polymer film, but it will also require more effort to repair it. Still, beauty requires ...

The prices for laminate with natural veneer coating depend on many factors (thickness and type of veneer, wood, type of polishing, type of glue) and can range from 2,500 to 10,000 rubles per 1 sq. M. Surface.

"Butcher block"

A natural tree comes first to mind when you ask yourself (or someone) "What is furniture made of?" The answer is natural, but with a dirty trick. To the kitchen table the standard of conventional furniture is not applicable. Conditions "beautiful", "hypoallergenic", "non-toxic" are observed, but about "lasting" you need to think twice. "The tree is a tree of strife," says the competent carpenter and will be right, as with him do not argue.

Butcher block countertops are made from dense and beautiful wood. Cross-cutting spikes of bars, glued under pressure and carefully ground, constitute a single monolith - a block resembling a chessboard. The thicker the block, the more effective the table top looks. The name of the table top was in honor of the huge decks on which the butchers cut the meat with the help of axes with wide blades. The viscous tree did not damage the steel blade, but it was impossible to cut the deck. It is said that the butcher used the deck all his life and passed it to the heir along with the ax.

Of course, on the countertop, you should not cut the meat with an ax (this can damage the smooth surface), but this operation it would withstand and did not crumble.

The worktop, assembled from cross-cuts, costs two to three times more expensive than the less sturdy, but equally spectacular assembly of long horizontal bars. The originality can be added by processing the edge of the countertop with a cut edge or metal edging with a bronze or brass corner. A table stylized by the Middle Ages or "as in a fairy tale" can turn a kitchen into the most unusual place in the house.

Caring for a wooden countertop will require some effort. The tree can become a fruitful environment for bacteria, if it is not treated with bactericidal compounds. Therefore, regular treatment with detergents is recommended, on which there is a mark "from all bacteria". If the surface is not simply polished, but covered with polishes, they must necessarily consist of natural ingredients (beeswax, for example).

Prices for tabletops from natural wood can start from $ 250 and reach up to $ 700-800 for exclusive and vintage copies (for 1 square meter of surface).

Countertops made of artificial stone

Building technologies presented designers with materials of inestimable beauty - artificial concrete and stones from a mixture of heavy-duty polymer resins and natural crystalline rocks (quartz, granite, marble).

Artificial granite

A natural stone can hardly be processed. To make a full plate of granite, you need to find a block - a monolith without a single crack. Then cut this block into slabs to the size on machines with diamond saws of large diameter. The process is not only laborious, but also extremely expensive. A natural slab of granite will cost an astronomical amount, even in euros. The production of artificial stone, in particular porcelain stoneware, costs five to ten times cheaper, and the material obtained is almost as good as natural granite, either in strength or in beauty. In the second it even surpasses, because to the services of designers there are various synthetic paints. Mixed with granite chips and quartz sand, the dyes create not only a uniformly colored "stone", but also, if desired, intricate abstract patterns, similar to the marble moiré. In the created monolith, there are no cracks or stresses, and the plasticity of the polyester bonds allows one to effectively resist hard shocks (although it is not recommended to beat the countertop).

The technology for the production of "granite" involves mixing components, fast pouring into molds, vibrating in vacuum (where the air is completely removed from the mixture) and heat treatment - hardening at a temperature of 1200-1300 and rapid cooling.

Artificial granite is cut and polished on machines with diamond cutting saws and heavy-duty abrasive. The surface can be made polished to a mirror finish or matte. If necessary, you can save the "wild" rough roughness, over which nothing slips a millimeter. Solid crystals of natural granite will blunt the steel of the knife, so the recommendation to purchase quality cutting boards is present directly in the instruction manual.

Care of the surface is the simplest: you can wash it with a coarse napkin and clean the surface of the tabletop with a wire brush (if required by the situation). Household chemicals can not damage the artificial granite.

Prices for countertops made of artificial granite start from $ 30 - 40 per 1 sq. M. Foot surface and will depend on the complexity of the installation work in place.

Artificial quartz

A mixture of quartz and polyester resin, combined under high pressure and temperature, is not inferior in strength to natural material. Actually, an artificial quartz of 93-96% consists of natural quartz, and the binding component occupies the remaining volume. Artificial quartz is prepared from small crystals of natural quartz and pure washed quartz sand.

For a change, depending on the artistic intention, in the base mixture, a part of the quartz is replaced by crushed granite and marble. Especially exotic look on the surface of the quartz counter glass impregnated glass, like a drop of water, drowning in the surface of the stone. Metal shavings, when polished into golden sparks, create a somewhat glamorous effect.

The mixture obtained as a result of a rather complex process is dispensed into shapes, vibrated in a vacuum to remove air from the space between the crystals and is subjected to heat treatment. Rapid heating up to + 1100-1300 with instantaneous cooling quenches the material. After the heat treatment, the resulting "stone" sheet - slab ("slab") comes for processing: sawing and polishing. For the treatment of artificial quartz, a tool with diamond dusting on circular saws and polishing discs is used. The result is a plate with the specified dimensions and surface, the smoothness of which depends on the designer's ideas.

The table top made of "quartz" is cut from a standard plate for each table individually. At the same time, a portable tool is used, the cutting parts of which have diamond spraying of the same class as the tool of the slab producers. Edge processing, grinding and gluing of surfaces with polyester adhesives should be carried out at the highest quality level. Bonded surfaces of bends, corners and edges should not yield to the strength of the monolith itself. As a result of laborious operations, the kitchen will be decorated with a table whose surface can be damaged only by a very strong hammer blow. Cutting the table with a knife is useless - quartz is harder than hardened steel. A look at the surface of the stone will never get bored.

The cost of making artificial stone is quite high, and fitting the countertop in place will require additional financing. As a result, the starting price of $ 50-60 per square meter. Foot surface will grow by a half to two times.

In the world there are not so many manufacturers of artificial quartz, which can boast of universal recognition in the world of furniture design. For example, Silestone from Spain, whose countertops are recognized as a model of quality.

The brief review does not show a hundredth part of the options for the design of countertops for kitchen tables, bar counters and other surfaces that require protection. But I hope that the article will help to form a certain idea of this diversity.