S7654R

I used it for more than 6 years since 2001 and was very happy with it. It looks nice but needs plenty of care. You need to lacquer it every year ( although the broucher says 6 months, but I find that > 1 year is OK) and this require skills as well. Do not lacquer it too thick, a very thin layer each time will be enough. It is also durable with the proper care. It can also get stains relatively easily. For example hot oil splashes from the frying pan will leave 'spots'. So if you are a heavy cooker, do not use this material near the stove. If the solid wood is for a non-cooking area, then it is OK. It is also OK for areas near the sink, the lacquer will waterproof it. It is also inexpensive and because of this, you can use this material first and replace it if you get bored with it after a few years down the road. Overall, I liked the material as it looked very good and unconventional as most kitchen uses solid top. Visitors to my kitchen love the look as well. Another downside is that because it is wood surface and not entirely smooth, cleaning it is not a breeze. For exmaple, take a cloth and wipe a window vs wiping your door. The smooth surface will be easier and faster to clean. The rougher wood surface may need multiple wipes to clean it. Solid wood is very popular in US/Europe as their kitchens are big and have dry/preperation area. Most of our kitchens in Singapore are small and everyone uses a homogenious solid top irregardless of cooking area or sink area. I recently replace the solid oak top to Silestone. I started to cook alot and a soild oak top is not the best material to clean and maintain. Silestone on the other hand is the perfect kitchen top material but cost alot. Do consider Silestone.

I am a huge Ikea fan and I swear by Ikea kitchen. Why do people think they are suppose to be cheap? I think they are affordable and you pay for what you get. Local contractors quote you by the price/ft but what you are getting are mostly just simple 2 shelves cabinet. It is a very competitive market for them and some of the workmanship (mostly depending on price) are inferior to Ikea. Most people do not realize that they are getting the bare minimum accessories until after the renovation. I have my Ikea kitchen for about 7 years and do not have any problems at all. They are still hardy and I have no regrets. Their cheap board wood are more than adequate enough and I do not have any problems. Anyway I converted most of my shelves to drawers. (See below). Why I like Ikea kitchen: i) You can 'upgrade' your kitchen when you have more funds/budget later. Recently I did a kitchen makeover and I converted my fix shelves (bottom cabinet) to all drawers. The drawers are wonderful to have in term of storage and organization. Before that I always had to bent down and search for stuff (back ache). My upper cabinets used to have wooden shelves, recently I upgraded them to all glass shelves. Good thing to have, you can see what is in the upper shelves as the view is not obstructed. ii) Despite what many think. Installing the Ikea kitchen is cheap. They do not charge you by per hole drilled, etc. The install cost is only about 5% (I think I recall from many years ago) of your entire kitchen purchase. If your kitchen purchase is $3000, the install cost is only $150. Additional cost may apply if you need to cut holes in your counter top or any major works. You can also buy only the cabinets from Ikea and get your favorite kitchen counter top from other contractors. You do not have to purchase kitchen top from Ikea. iii) You can also upgrade your kitchen when Ikea has new technology/stuff. For example, 7 years ago, their drawers closing limits were only the normal 'thump' type. Now they have this damper attachment (only $5) that I can attach to my existing drawers ends that will cause my drawers to damp and slow down at the last few cm. New designs and stuff also come into the market every year for your Ikea kitchen. i.e. New doors, wire baskets, etc. iv) Fuss free replacement:- If you damaged any part. Go to Ikea to get a replacement. I had one of my cabinet doors dented few months ago. For $30, I walked into Ikea and replaced it myself without having to look for contractors who are not interested to replace just one damaged door. Even if he is, he may tell you that your door laminate design is obsolete. Or what you get is a of a different tone. v) All kitchen accessories you buy from Ikea, ie. drawers cutlery tray, tupperware, etc. fits into an Ikea kitchen. vi) I am presently planning to change all my bottom cabinet doors as some of them has stains (white colour) and I am also bored with the look. Am looking at the new design Nexus yellow-brown series. For only about $300 plus (cheap I think), I am able to get all new doors (not new laminate only) for a 18 ft length kitchen. Best of all, I just 'click' them on myself instantly, no contractors needed. vii) There return policy is also the best in Singapore. If you bought the wrong part or do not like what you have bought. Return it. viii) Having an Ikea kitchen is like playing with TOYS and I love it. You can get creative, mix and match stuff and think of what you can get later. Every visit to Ikea kitchen department is fun for me and I end up buying some little things every trip. ix) The Ikea kitchen planning department are much better now. When I purchase the kitchen 7 years ago, they did not have good planners, designers, consultants and kitchen softwares. Now I feel that they are serious in getting Ikea kitchens into peoples homes and they have more products now, i.e. sink and taps, etc. So, for a long term investment. Can consider an Ikea kitchen. Do your kitchen in steps. If you have limited funds, get the basics. ie. Fixed wooden shelves, if you have more budget later, upgrade to wire basket or drawers. Hope this helps. By the way, I am not related to Ikea.

It is $190/ft run. NOT square ft. Therefore if your kitchen is 10ft run, it cost $1900. This includes install cost and backsplash. It is also 20mm solid thick (I am not sure if they have other underlying material like in Corian) . There is an additional charge of $100 for every cutout. No other hidden cost. Most of their designs are $190, therefore you do not have to fork out more for the more prettier or 'galaxy' designs. There will be seamline but very fine. I am not bothered by it as my present wood has them as well. They explain to me that the raw material is 3.1m x about 1.5m. Therefore the number of seamline depends on your kitchen length.... and also your lift.

Hi, I am presently doing a makeover for my kitchen and just want to change the counter top. I presently have a solid wood surface but it is difficult to maintain. i.e. Apply oil regularly. I initially decided on Corian and almost made the purchase. Corian cost $135/ft to $150 for good looking designs. I was passing through Amoy street last Sunday and saw the Caesarstone showroom and it looks brilliant. I instantly liked it. However i was quoted about $250ft and was put off by the price. I did a research on Quartz material and found Silestone, thanks to the helpful info. in this forum. So I went to their Showroom in Changi this afternoon, choose the material and made a purchase. I picked 'Blanco Stella', a white tone with stones and sparkling designs. It is absolutely beautiful. It cost $190/ft run with addition $100 per sink and hob cutout. The plain ones cost about $150 to 170/ft. The sales person advise me against using Corian and showed me a Corian sample with plenty of scratch marks on it. Corian also stains easily. With Quartz, it does not stain, scratch, get marred by heat and best of all it is anti-bacteria. The perfect material. I figure that since I am paying so much for Corian, just pay slightly more for a better long term investment and for something I really liked. In addition, although I had decided on Corian initially, somehow deep in my mind I was not too happy about it as I have read it had so much disadvantages and the choice somehow kept bothering me.... if you know what I mean. I am eager to see them install the kitchen. Will keep you all posted.