One Year On: How Our Minerva Worktops Are Holding Up

It’s been almost exactly a year since we revealed our new kitchen. And I think for the last year, I receive an email at least once a week* from someone contemplating Minerva worktops, asking me how mine are holding up, whether I’d recommend them, if they’ve been at all problematic. There wasn’t that much information on them online when I was researching myself so it was a bit of a leap of faith for us choosing these. I can understand all the questions because I was in the same boat.

(Also, if you Google ‘Minerva Worktops’, my blog post comes up in the #4 spot so that’s another reason I get so many questions about mine!)

We all know that there are about a million different worktops to choose from. When we’d initially started our kitchen planning, it was the one thing that I was stuck on literally for years – what worktops should I choose? I did so much research on the pros and cons of just about every material out there – from cheap and cheerful laminate (which has come a long way in the last 20 years) to natural stone products to man-made products like Corian and acrylic.

In the end, we settled on acrylic and more specifically, the Minerva brand. I wanted something that would work well with our marble-effect tiles and the Minerva Cararra Marble effect seemed to be a winner. It’s high-quality and mid-range which made it perfect for our budget and hard-wearing. The pattern in the acrylic goes all the way through which means that any scratches could be buffed out quite easily.

Can Minerva Worktops be DIY’d?

We struggled initially to find someone to install our Minerva worktops (you can read all about that debacle here) but in the end, decided we would attempt all the cutting and joining and installing ourselves. And when I say ‘ourselves’, I really just mean Wayne. Now, he’s a pretty confident DIYer and I would say unless you are a confident DIYer yourself, you may want to leave this one to the professionals. But it’s entirely do-able and is probably very similar to fitting butcherblock worktops – a decent router blade goes right through it and you can sand them and buff them in the same way you can with wood so if you’ve done butcherblock worktops successfully in the past, you shouldn’t struggle with this material.

Why Minerva?

The reason I chose Minerva worktops was that they ticked every single one of my boxes in terms of durability, stain and etch resistance, the fact that they were non-porous, getting the look of stone (which I really liked) without the ridiculous price tag (which I didn’t) and the fact they were super hard-wearing. It feels lovely to the touch as well – not as cool as stone but not that plastic-y/room temperature feel of laminate either and the fact that it’s almost soft to the touch like honed marble is.

How Are They Holding Up?

A year on and they are holding up really well. We got one stain on it when we set down an old pot on the surface overnight that had some rust on the bottom but that buffed right out. I have the odd tiny chip here and there from dropping things on the surface (probably no bigger than a pinhead) – again, it’s not something you’d ever notice unless you went looking for it. So it’s not completely ‘bulletproof’ but it’s survived pretty heavy wear and tear. Otherwise, there are no stains or marks at all and we are very heavy users of our kitchen – we like to cook a lot so it’s in use multiple times a day.

Do Minerva Worktops Scratch?

Are Minerva Worktops Really Worth the Money?

The one question I always get is, ‘Does it scratch?’ and yes, it does scratch a bit. There are very very light little scratches all over my worktops but they are really only noticeable if there’s light shining on it and I get my face all up in it and try and find them. Are they noticeable just on an everyday basis? Nope, not really.

I think the light colours do really well in terms of hiding any scratches (I have heard that on the darker worktops, it’s more obvious so bear that in mind). I think if the scratches ever became so bad that I started to really notice them, then an afternoon of buffing them out wouldn’t be that big of a deal and I’d have ‘brand new’ looking worktops again.

Would You Get Them Again?

Kimberly Swoon Worthy Minerva Worktops Review

Ultimately, I’m still incredibly happy with the worktops and yes, I would happily to get them again.

I love them for the ease with which they clean and I love that I don’t have to worry about anything staining them or marking them. And as a lover of luxe finishes, they really do look expensive. For me, the money was worth it (they cost around £1800) but I’m not totally OTT in terms of perfection. So if those light little scratches that no one notices except for you will drive you crazy, then perhaps it’s not the one for you! If you are okay with that, I think they are great!

This is not in any way shape or form a sponsored post. I just thought with so many questions, it was probably best I did a post about my review.

7 Comments

Diane on November 22, 2017 at 1:04 pm

Hi Kimberly

I wanted to add some comments about the process of buying a Minerva work surface because I really liked the fact that they are solid acrylic – unlike Corian – and not backed by MDF. However after a really great conversation with Minerva (can’t remember the parent company at the moment) they then pass you onto their stockists and it all fell apart. In my area (SW London) the supplier was Selco (and my contractors use them all the time) but the mark up that Selco put on the two lengths of work surface PLUS the fitting costs from the contractor meant that this was more expensive than a quartz work surface fully fitted. I was so disappointed and I mean GUTTED because I had really bought into the idea of an acrylic work surface. So the honest answer is if you are going to DIY it, yes it’s a less expensive option than quartz or any other stone but if you need to pay a fitting fee, forget it!!!

Kimberly Duran on November 22, 2017 at 1:38 pm

Hi Diane, thanks so much for your sharing your experience! I find it really strange that Selco put a huge mark up on the product itself? I was able to order the worktops via their supplier but there was no additional markup at all. They simply supplied them and then our fitter was going to fit them (I think I was quoted about £400) but because our fitter bailed on us, we decided to fit them ourselves. I’m wondering if it’s a London thing or if it was just Selco being greedy!? xxx

Ellenor | Champagne Lifestyle Blog on November 23, 2017 at 5:51 pm

Your kitchen looks gorgeous! I don’t own my own home (yet!) but I’ve always wanted marble countertops but know it would be far too expensive. This looks like a great alternative and they will last!

http://champagne-lifestyle.com

Pauline on November 27, 2017 at 9:54 am

From the photos that you post of them they still look as good as when you first put them in xxx

Hillary Jarvis on December 31, 2017 at 9:03 pm

Can you share the source for you brass hanging rail below the cabinets? I couldn’t find it on any of the source pages.

Kimberly Duran on January 1, 2018 at 11:37 am

Hi Hillary, the rails are from Rowen & Wren:

https://www.rowenandwren.co.uk/bitra-hook-rail.html

But you can see all the sources of everything in this post:

https://www.swoonworthy.co.uk/2016/11/kitchen-remodel-sources.html/

Hope that helps!

Hillary Jarvis on January 1, 2018 at 5:24 pm

Thanks very much!

Diane on November 22, 2017 at 1:04 pm

Hi Kimberly

I wanted to add some comments about the process of buying a Minerva work surface because I really liked the fact that they are solid acrylic – unlike Corian – and not backed by MDF. However after a really great conversation with Minerva (can’t remember the parent company at the moment) they then pass you onto their stockists and it all fell apart. In my area (SW London) the supplier was Selco (and my contractors use them all the time) but the mark up that Selco put on the two lengths of work surface PLUS the fitting costs from the contractor meant that this was more expensive than a quartz work surface fully fitted. I was so disappointed and I mean GUTTED because I had really bought into the idea of an acrylic work surface. So the honest answer is if you are going to DIY it, yes it’s a less expensive option than quartz or any other stone but if you need to pay a fitting fee, forget it!!!
- Kimberly Duran on November 22, 2017 at 1:38 pm
  
  Hi Diane, thanks so much for your sharing your experience! I find it really strange that Selco put a huge mark up on the product itself? I was able to order the worktops via their supplier but there was no additional markup at all. They simply supplied them and then our fitter was going to fit them (I think I was quoted about £400) but because our fitter bailed on us, we decided to fit them ourselves. I’m wondering if it’s a London thing or if it was just Selco being greedy!? xxx
Ellenor | Champagne Lifestyle Blog on November 23, 2017 at 5:51 pm

Your kitchen looks gorgeous! I don’t own my own home (yet!) but I’ve always wanted marble countertops but know it would be far too expensive. This looks like a great alternative and they will last!

http://champagne-lifestyle.com
Pauline on November 27, 2017 at 9:54 am

From the photos that you post of them they still look as good as when you first put them in xxx
Hillary Jarvis on December 31, 2017 at 9:03 pm

Can you share the source for you brass hanging rail below the cabinets? I couldn’t find it on any of the source pages.
- Kimberly Duran on January 1, 2018 at 11:37 am
  
  Hi Hillary, the rails are from Rowen & Wren:
  
  https://www.rowenandwren.co.uk/bitra-hook-rail.html
  
  But you can see all the sources of everything in this post:
  
  https://www.swoonworthy.co.uk/2016/11/kitchen-remodel-sources.html/
  
  Hope that helps!
Hillary Jarvis on January 1, 2018 at 5:24 pm

Thanks very much!