A light-coloured caesarstone bench would be fine I believe, and it looks like you would be able to make it wide enough to have a bench with stools on the dining room side.

Thanks Janet. I am elderly and my daughter tells me that caesarstone should only be in 'modern' kitchens and I certainly can't afford a whole kitchen renovation (and my husband likes the wooden cupboards) so I was just putting it out there to see what people thought. Thanks for your comment.

Caesarstone would be wonderful, and as previously said, you can extend the bench to make an overhang for seating.
Even a brand new laminate top, look at Laminex and Polytec brands, they have come a long way, and in some instances you have to look carefully to see what type of bench top product has been installed.

All kitchens can have caesarstone, or quartz/reconstituted stone. Yours would look wonderful.

A new stone benchtop will " lift " the kitchen, however, check out all stone manufacturers. and their prices, a 15 mm thick ( not doubled on edges ) is a lower-cost alternative and is as serviceable as the thicker stone.

Examples

Why do you need to replace the sink? Everything you have seems to be in good condition. I wouldn’t be looking for an expensive stone replacement, made more expensive because you need the brekkie bar width. Of course if you really love it and want one, then get it. It won’t add value to your house as the next person will be looking to redo the entire kitchen. I’d get a quote for square edge laminate. Looks great and would do the job you’re after at a much lesser price. Don’t forget to allow for the tiles splashback to be rectified after the bench is removed.

please tell your daughter that we oldies can have whatever we like but the challenge with Ceasarstone is that it usually doesn't come in such long lengths and is more expensive than laminates ... a new lighter coloured bench would be excellent but why not compare colours and prices for stone and laminate.. there are numerous laminates with textures and colours that also look like the various stones ...check websites for supplier as they usually offer small samples so you can see some in the flesh if you're restricted from visiting local suppliers

Hi bigreader - I know that I want to replace the tap and that will be to a single hole and I know that yes I can get the caps to cover the existing tap holes. What the picture doesn't show is that there are a couple of burn blisters on the existing laminate. Although I liked the idea of Janet regarding the breakfast bar, I am not convinced that I would go for that. I see that you have made a significant number of posts on this site, therefore I am wondering would you have any websites you would recommend to look at square edge laminate?

Thanks oklouise, tes, I am in lockdown and can't go and visit anywhere. I have tried to google unsuccessfully to find laminates....do you know any websites that you could suggest for me? And, just as a PS, I have just returned from a walk with my daughter and shared the various comments with her - she was suitably amused :)

Theresa - Bunnings have laminate benchtops. Laminex and Formica both have laminate. All have websites. As do Kaboodle Kitchens that sell through Bunnings. Even Ikea has laminate benchtops but they are more a DIY option. They should give you an idea of prices. But your best bet may be to call a local Cabinet maker - if you tell them your measurements over the phone they should be able to give you a price indication.

PS the suppliers will often send samples. I know Laminex do.

As I have said in my earlier post.
Look at POLYTEC and LAMINEX websites.

I’d also look at porcelain. Can’t get the work done in lockdown anyway.

You could hire a footballer to do it.

You could always get your original bench top resurfaced , look at granite transformations, they resurface your bench top and that saves removing and replacing it, United stone is another company, a stone overlay usually in one day, you choose whatever colour you wish, you could still retain your sink, replace tap with a pull out or a more modern version of what you have … beautiful

congratulations, that looks excellent

That looks great Gill

Thanks ninetyfive - that looks lovely and yes, I think I will also need to retile the splashbacks. Would it be rude of me to ask what approximate cost was involved? And if you were willing to share that information would you rather email me - and to be perfectly honest I don't know how you are able to do that in this platform.

Would it be rude of me to ask Gill and Ninetyfive what approximate cost was involved? And if you were willing to share that information would you rather email me - and to be perfectly honest I don't know how you are able to do that in this platform.

My previous was exactly the same, beautiful Tassie Oak cupboards, I had Granite Transformation re do the Kitchen. I extended the from 3 metres with an addition 9 metres with bottom and top cupboards. It cost $45,000. There was a lot of work. I selected a Stone colour with interesting pebbles and shell pieces. The combination worked as well. It was fantastic and never showed a mark or crumb.

Thanks Hu. I reckon that I am looking at the same lengths as your original kitchen without the extra base and wall cupboards

Is the $45,000 a typo???

I had granite transformations, transform my 4 metre laminate peninsula and 2 metre of bench top where cooktop was. This was in 2008 and cost $4500. The change was sooo good. Everyone thought it was real quartz until I told them.

There are some cheap caesarstone options on ebay, we got ours cheap and got it fitted cheap as well and it looks great.

I rummaged and found photos of before and after. My Granite transformation. And a real estate photo before we rented property in 2016.

I ha white laminate (Matt) in my previous kitchen (which I could always bleach clean). In my new kitchen I put in Caesarstone, it has chipped and stained. It looks good, but some of the new laminates look amazing. Good luck

I'm glad you asked that question big reader because that is way our of my price range

Hi .dreamer, how well did the granite transformation benchtop wear?

Hi Kate, no problems at all. I installed the bench top in 2008, we left the property in 2016 and rented in out. Which is always the test to any product. We sold the property in 2019. The granite transformation bench top was still the same as the day installed. The same as any bench top, no cutting directly on bench, anything spilt got cleaned up immediately. I was very impressed with the looks and the product.

absolutely