Expert Advice from Artedomus on Kitchen Materials and Design

Artedomus is an expert in kitchen surfaces, with a striking and comprehensive collection of high-performance natural stone, porcelain panels and ceramic tiles that are ideal for modern kitchens. Artedomus experts share practical advice for choosing the right kitchen surface and reveal how Artedomus materials are uniquely designed to meet the demands of today’s hardworking cooking space.

GALLERY  

Benchtops, splashbacks and islands are standout features within a kitchen – not only do they set the tone of a cooking space, but they can help unify any open-plan areas. While looks certainly matter, you’ll also want the material you choose to be durable, long lasting and easy to care for, so it looks great and performs brilliantly for years. There’s a vast array of beautiful materials to choose from on the market.

Benchtops

The benchtop material you choose is the most important decision you’ll make for your kitchen. It not only affects the aesthetic of the space, but how well it performs, how easy it is to maintain, and how long it lasts. To help you narrow the options, ask yourself:

• Function and performance
  How do you use your benchtop? Do you like to place hot dishes, slice vegetables or roll dough straight on the benchtop? Do you host gatherings with potential for spills?
• Cleaning, maintenance and durability
  Is your benchtop exposed to UV light? Are you a fastidious cleaner? Will you have it rehoned as needed?
• Aesthetics
  Will your benchtop stand out or blend in? Do you want a large-format benchtop and/or thin profile? Which colour and finish are you seeking? What other materials will you team it with?

Artedomus’ natural stone slabs and porcelain panels provide good looks, superior performance and durability, making them a smart choice for kitchen benchtops. Natural stone is much-loved for its timeless elegance, and it pairs beautifully with all cabinetry styles and materials. Natural stone adds luxury and a sense of authenticity to a kitchen, with each slab having its own unique beauty, colour and veining.

Artedomus goes to great lengths to identify, discover and introduce the most beautiful stones to the design market. The hero of the natural stone range amd coveted for its cool grey tones with soft brown markings, Elba is a beautiful, hardwearing stone that continues to prove its versatility and longevity. Teragio is another stone that has been carefully selected for its visually distinctive veining and impressive strength and durability.

Artedomus’ porcelain panels, such as MAXIMUM and Artetech, offer the same striking looks as natural stone, but with enhanced performance and less upkeep. Porcelain panels are practically impervious to damage; they don’t stain or etch and are completely UV stable. A safe and all-natural surface made the same way that nature makes stone, clay, sand, quartz and feldspar are crushed into a fine powder that is mixed and pressed together and heated at 1,250 degrees Celsius to consolidate it into one mass. This superior strength means porcelain is available in large-format slabs and in slender profiles ranging from 6 to 12 millimetres.

Kitchen Islands 

A kitchen island is typically the main event in a kitchen – chances are it’s where you prepare, serve and eat meals, gather with friends and family, oversee the kids doing their homework and catch up on work. When it comes to the design of your island, the benchtop material is the main decision you’ll make. Depending on the look you’re after, you may want to clad the sides of the island with the same material as the benchtop or create a layered effect by combining it with timber or another material.

Artedomus’ natural stone and porcelain panels can be used to clad the front and sides of your kitchen island. This can anchor the island in the kitchen and create a more solid volume. The large-format slabs and panels create a seamless surface, free of joins, and the option of thicker or thinner profiles can offer different visual effects.

Porcelain panels are strong enough to withstand any accidental knocks. And as they’re lightweight, they can also be used to clad kitchen doors, allowing you to create a cohesive look throughout your kitchen. Natural stone, meanwhile, will elevate your kitchen with an unparalleled sense of luxury, and can be rehoned, if needed, so it looks beautiful for decades.

Splashbacks

Whether you choose one that blends into the background or creates an eye-catching feature, a splashback can make a real impact in a kitchen. From a practical perspective, it protects the wall behind your sink, cooktop or benchtop from splatters, and for this reason the material you choose needs to be easy to wipe clean. Natural stone and porcelain panels both make great options. Carrying your benchtop material through to your splashback, be it natural stone or porcelain, creates a seamless aesthetic that ties your island, benchtop and splashback together. Use the same material to clad the sides of the splashback, joinery or rangehood, and you will enhance this cohesive look further.

Alternatively, a tiled splashback can be a design feature all its own, bringing colour, texture and dimension into your kitchen. INAX offers a broad range of handmade mosaics and tiles to suit any interior style. The collection is sculptural, textural and colourful – perfect for creating geometric pattern, subtle dimension and soft colour variation. The unique quality of the glaze and colour sets the tiles apart from other products on the market, and they undergo a long, slow baking process to make them exceptionally hardwearing. They can even be used on the kickstrip or benchtop to create an additional design feature.

Making your Selection

Your kitchen is an investment, and it should deliver many years of performance and enjoyment. Talk to an expert for advice on choosing kitchen surfaces and take samples away with you to look at in situ or alongside other elements from your material palette. This way, you can see how they will look under different light conditions and paired with other materials, while at the same time assessing their performance and durability.

Artedomus representatives work with leading designers across Australia, and have knowledge of not just the product, but how it will suit and perform within your interior. With no lead times, design professionals and homeowners can keep their projects on track and on budget, with no need to compromise on their desired selections. In addition, Artedomus’ extremely knowledgeable staff are always on hand to assist clients choose the perfect colour and material to suit end use.

For more information, visit Artedomus

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