Sebastian Aronowitz, founder of The London Kitchen Company explores why material choice is so important when designing a kitchen, deserving the same attention as the overall appearance.
Kitchens are usually chosen for how they look. Layout, door style, colour and appliances dominate early conversations while materials are often discussed much later if at all.
Yet it is the materials the kitchen is made of – how they age, how they can be repaired, and how they respond to daily life – that ultimately determine whether a kitchen still feels good 10 or 20 years later.
Materials are presented in a simple ‘good, better, best’ structure. Certain options are positioned as upgrades, others as compromises with little discussion of the pros and cons for your specific family and lifestyle. This makes material choice feel like a ranking exercise rather than a practical decision about how a kitchen will actually live.
Alongside this there are ideas about kitchen materials that circulate widely but are rarely explained. One of the most common is the belief that solid wood is always the best option. In reality, whether solid timber is suitable depends entirely on how it is being used. The issue is not quality but suitability.
HOW KITCHENS ARE FINISHED TODAY
Most modern kitchens are factory finished. Doors are spray-painted in controlled conditions, creating a smooth and consistent surface. At the more affordable end of the market,
vinyl-wrapped doors are common, while some contemporary kitchens use acrylic finishes to achieve a high level of uniformity.
When new, these finishes look immaculate. The precision is part of their appeal.
The difficulty is that this perfection is fragile. Once a sprayed kitchen picks up a few chips – often through ordinary use rather than abuse – those areas are difficult to repair invisibly. Over time, the kitchen starts to look tired surprisingly quickly, not because it is poorly made but because its finish does not lend itself to renewal.
WHY REPAIRABILITY MATTERS
Instead, a hand-painted finish offers a more flexible approach. This allows a kitchen to be maintained in the same way as the rest of the house. Damage can be repaired and repainted. Doors can be refreshed rather than replaced.
Visually, this also changes how the kitchen sits within the home. A hand-painted kitchen feels less like a product placed into a room and more like part of the fabric of the building itself.
This matters not only aesthetically, but practically. A kitchen that can be renewed gradually is far less likely to reach a point where wholesale replacement feels necessary. From a sustainability point of view, that ability to repair rather than replace is significant.
HOW MATERIALS AGE
All materials change with use but they do so in different ways.
Timber deepens in colour, picks up scratches and shows wear in areas of frequent contact. Painted surfaces wear around handles. Natural stone stains, scratches and wears unevenly over time. None of this is failure; it is simply the result of daily life.
Some homeowners welcome this as adding character and interest. But many don’t. The key is understanding in advance how different materials will age, and deciding whether that pattern of change feels comfortable.
Problems arise when materials are chosen for how they look when new, without considering how they will look years later.
WORKTOPS IN EVERYDAY USE
Worktops reveal these differences most clearly.
Many homeowners initially ask for timber worktops. They are drawn to their warmth and the associations of nature, tradition and craftsmanship.
They often change their minds once they become aware of the upkeep needed. Regular oiling, wiping away spills and standing water as soon as they occur and generally taking care (not leaving washed dishes out on the surface to dry etc) are all part of living with wooden worktops.
The appearance of natural materials also changes over time. Because no matter how much care you take, they will inevitably pick up stains and scratches. The colour of the wood will deepen over time. This patina is for some people part of the attraction.
Similarly, natural stones such as marble provide depth and character but are porous and sensitive to acids, meaning spills can etch the surface rather than simply stain it.
There are many engineered materials which aim to reduce some of these risks. Quartz worktops are much less porous and are resistant to staining. Ultra-compact surfaces such as Dekton or Neolith are even more resilient and offer excellent heat resistance.
However, even these materials aren’t indestructible. Their very hardness works against them, as they chip more easily. Design plays a very important role here, as edges should never be left too sharp for this reason.
Repairs are sometimes possible but they are not always invisible.
Acrylic solid surfaces such as Corian or Hi-Macs strike a different compromise. They are less heat resistant, but even severe damage can be invisibly repaired using an offcut of the same material. Although the surface will scratch and mark, it can be re-sanded and brought back to new.
Each of these materials performs well in certain situations and less well in others.
One material may stay pristine for years, but offer few options once damaged. A repairable surface may show wear sooner, but can be renewed many times over its lifespan.
Understanding this difference helps move material choice away from a simple hierarchy of “best” and towards a more thoughtful decision about long-term use.
CHOOSING WITH INTENTION
The kitchens that continue to feel right over time are rarely those chosen purely on appearance or status. Instead, they are shaped by a clear understanding of how materials behave and how a household actually lives.
There is no universally correct choice. The best materials are those that suit daily habits, tolerance for wear and willingness to maintain. When those decisions are made intentionally, the kitchen becomes not just something installed in a home, but something that genuinely belongs there.
Sebastian Aronowitz is the founder of The London Kitchen Company