Choosing a worktop you will still like in ten years

A worktop is the hardest-working surface in the house, so choose it for how it ages (sample note).

Oiled oak marks and mends: a light sand and a coat of oil a year. Honed stone stains a little and softens into a patina. Composites stay the same for years, which some people love and others find flat.

Ask for a large sample, put it next to your sink for a week and use it. You will know.