Hi I just thought I would leave a comment about the visibility of joins in reconstituted stone such as Caesarstone tops on islands longer than 3 metres. From a patern point of view; by selecting a style that has a fine grain certainly helps with reducing the visibility of a join. As for the join itself, the technology and tooling used to make such joints has come a long way in the last 10 years; therefore if you use a Kitchen Manufacturer who uses up-to-date stone fabrication methods, then such joins can be next to near invisible. Below is a kitchen we made with an Island that is over 4.3 metres long and has a join through the centre; where the join actually has to be pointed out to be seen. We have seen Kitchen Manufactures use the two height method but you really don't have to do this to achieve a long island. If you would like a long island, then you should not be put off by having to have a join; careful selection of your material, manufacturer and planning can achieve great results. Hope this helps anyone reading this article and the comments above.

True, after 13 years our timber floor has collected its share of stilleto-heel dints, dropped-items dents, dragged furniture grooves and lots more (despite really trying hard with pads under all chairs and tables). One day we will simply have it sanded back and re-laquered. I would never change for tiles or any other flooring, though. You can't beat timber for comfort, temperature, appearance and above all; not showing every speck of dust. We did the same with timber benchtops in our previous house.

Hi iggs85. I see your point re cost and how you think it may look. I'll attach a photo of one of my semi-recessed basins in stone. We had to use semi-recessed due to space restrictions as well. The benches are 440. Are yours narrower? I did Google stone benchtop offcuts. eBay has some in marble and granite. There appear to be businesses that do sell offcuts. Anyway, I think you would certainly be able to find a beautiful laminate you like. There is such a wide range. There are also some that look so much like stone. Will you have vanity cabinets/drawers under the benchtop? If so, what are your thoughts there? Same laminate or different? Have you visited any shops yet to look at samples?

Hi all our terrazzo bench has been installed and in use for over 12 months. This bench was poured in Italy and then finished by a stonemason off-site type. When 1st installed I spilt some lemon juice which created a mark so we are careful not to use acidic items on the bench. I am not sure if this happened before or after we sealed it but I think it’s important to seal any natural stone product and we used the sellers recommended product called “slow drying sure seal” but I won’t vouch for its effectiveness as I can’t compare it to anything. Over all we love the look but I think you need to be a little more careful around natural products than engineered ones so it may depend on your lifestyle