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+64 (06) 326 8849

 

135 Mulgrave Street, Ashhurst, 4810, New Zealand

Surfaces &

Materials

Elevate Your Kitchen with Premium Surfaces & Materials

When it comes to designing your dream kitchen, the surfaces and materials you choose play a crucial role. At Villa Kitchens, we offer an unparalleled selection - from budget-friendly laminates to luxurious natural stone countertops - to suit every style and budget.

Whether you're searching for cost-effective, practical solutions or seeking to create an extravagant, custom-crafted look, our experienced design team will work closely with you to find the perfect materials to bring your vision to life. With a focus on quality, durability, and aesthetic appeal, we're committed to helping you discover the ideal kitchen surfaces and cabinetry components to transform your space.

Benchtop Surfaces

HPL Surface

High Pressure Laminate

High Pressure Laminates such as Formica are still the number one choice for bench tops in New Zealand. The product is very cost effective comes, in a huge range of colours and is very durable providing it is treated with respect. Laminates have been around for over fifty years and it is not unusual for us to replace a twenty year old kitchen with a top still looking in reasonable condition. The secret of looking after laminates is not to place hot pots directly onto the surface and not to cut without a chopping board. It is possible to design a great looking, cost effective kitchen while still using a laminate bench top. Once you move to a more expensive stone or stainless steel bench top you can expect more heat and impact resistance.

Advantages

  • The most cost effective product
  • Huge colour selection
  • Bench top arrives with kitchen cabinets so no delay in installation

Disadvantages

  • More prone to heat and impact damage compared to other products
  • Can be perceived as a cheap alternative in more expensive homes
Stainless Steel

Stainless Steel

Stainless Steel tops are obviously very heat resistant and could be described as almost bullet proof. They can be very stylish as well as practical if the right profile and finish is chosen.

Stainless is sometimes eliminated as a bench top choice because it is reflective and tends to show scratches. With a brushed stainless top you do tend to be conscious of initial scratches but it tends not to be an issue after a year or so. Like a new car "the first scratch is the worst scratch." After a year or so a stainless top will be covered by a myriad of tiny scratches and take on its own patina.

Stainless tops also come in a variety of patterned surfaces and these do not show scratches or reflect light to the same extent as brushed or polished stainless. Stainless tops are more expensive than high pressure laminate but can still be cost effective.

Advantages

  • Reasonably priced
  • Range of different finishes
  • Very impact and heat resistant

Disadvantages

  • Price can increase if joins (welds) are required
  • Brushed and polished stainless steel can show scratches
  • There is a time delay between cabinet and bench installation
Natural Granite surface

Natural Granite

Granite is a natural stone product that is sourced from many different countries. It is a very strong product that stands up well to heat and abrasion.

Light coloured granites can be more susceptible to staining if not resealed on a regular basis.

Being a natural product there is variation in the colour between shipments of granite so we typically arrange a visit to our granite supplier so you can choose your own piece of stone. Each piece of stone has its own character and it's a great feeling to pick your own piece of stone that has been millions of years in the making.

Granite is often used in more classic looking kitchens, while engineered stone is used in more contemporary designs.

Advantages

  • Stain resistant
  • A good colour selection
  • Reasonable heat and impact resistance
  • Contemporary looks
  • Can be built up to any thickness

Disadvantages

  • Thick tops are more expensive
  • There is a time delay between cabinet and bench installation
Engineered Stone​

Engineered Stone​

Cutting edge fabricating technology combines beautiful natural quartz and granite stone chips and seals them within a high quality resin. The resulting Engineered stone benchtop creates a kitchen bench guaranteed to be the perfect balance of hard wearing strength and natural beauty.

With an excellent choice of colourways to choose from, your stone worktop will add a contemporary designer edge to your completed kitchen. In addition, it’s low maintenance, abrasion and stain proof nature ensures it is also extremely practical and easy to clean.

Villa Kitchens offer two of the most popular brands of Engineered Stone bench options – Trendstone and Caesarstone.

Contemporary Engineered stone benchtops are a beautiful yet hard-wearing choice for your modern kitchen. Engineered stone can be installed in standard 20mm or 30mm thicknesses or mitred up to a range of different thicknesses to suit your kitchen design.

Advantages

  • A good colour selection
  • Reasonable heat and impact resistance
  • Can be built up to any thickness
  • Non-porous
  • Easy to maintain

Disadvantages

  • Dark colours can look flat when compared with granite
  • There is a time delay between cabinet and bench installation

Cabinet Materials

Interiors

The inside of the kitchen cabinets are constructed from Melteca. This is a product manufactured from a wood bi-product core sandwiched between two layers of melamine material. Melteca is the accepted industry standard for cabinet construction because it is durable, easy to clean and reasonably priced. 

Door and Drawer Fronts

When it comes to door and drawer finishes you have a number of choices that vary in price and durability.

 

Melteca

Melteca

The greater percentage of kitchens installed in New Zealand still consist of coloured Melteca doors and drawer fronts. The product is extremely durable provided that the right board and edge banding options are supplied.

Melteca kitchens are not only durable but also very cost effective. This makes them the natural choice for families, landlords or anyone wanting a hard wearing, economic kitchen.

When buying any kitchen it is very important to ask the company what type of board they use. You should be looking for a supplier who uses MDF rather than Particle Board. The particle board (chip board) version of Melteca can easily soak up moisture to significantly reduce the life of your kitchen.

At Villa Joinery we only use MDF which we source from three major suppliers: Prime Panels, Bestwood and Melteca. These New Zealand companies combined give you a choice of over 150 colours in a variety of finishes.

Melteca

Acrylic

Acrylic is a newer material that is durable & has a moisture resistant finish.

A bold, simple, stunning kitchen cabinet that has the versatility of offering matt or gloss finishes. Acrylic gloss finishes are prone to scratching.

A beautiful addition to your modern kitchen design.

Vacuum Formed Vinyl

Vacuum Formed Vinyl

The next doors finish to consider Vacuum Formed Vinyl of which Designatek are the main supplier. The product is a vinyl skin that is vacuumed on to the face of a water resistant mdf door. The process has been around for over fifteen years and has the advantage of having no visible line around the edge of the door. Vinyl gives you the ability to specify a patterned door in a product that is well proven and very durable.

Spray Painted Lacquer

Spray Painted Lacquer

Lacquer is a two-pot paint finish, somewhat similar to the paint on your car. It has the advantage that you can specify any colour and degree of gloss giving you almost limitless possibilities. Doors are available in a wide variety of patterns.

Lacquer is more expensive than the other two options but has a very definite place in more expensive homes. It does require more care than other products and we tend not to recommend it for rental properties or families with busy children.