July 21, 2026

Veneer is real timber and ages like timber, darkening and warming over years. Lacquer is sprayed colour, deep and flawless when new, and repairable but not invisible when chipped. Laminate is the toughest of the three and the least expensive, and it looks much the same in year ten as it did in year one.

Which is right depends less on taste than on how you cook and who else lives in the house.

Veneer

Real timber, sliced thin and laid over a stable core. The grain is genuine, the board will not move the way solid timber does, and it takes an oil or a hardwax finish beautifully.

How it ages. Oak darkens noticeably over the first two years, and faster near a window. Most people like this. Some do not, and we would rather tell you before you choose it than after. Walnut goes the other way and lightens slightly.

What damages it. Standing water at a joint, and prolonged steam from a kettle placed under a wall unit. Both are avoidable.

Repairs. Scratches in an oiled finish can usually be sanded back and re-oiled locally, which is a genuine advantage over the other two.

Lacquer

Sprayed colour, hand-polished between coats. Our deeper colours take eight coats. It gives a depth of finish nothing else matches, and it lets you have any colour you want rather than any colour the timber offers.

How it ages. Very well in stable conditions. Strong colours can shift slightly with years of direct sunlight, so a south-facing room is worth mentioning at design stage.

What damages it. Impact. A lacquered edge chipped by a saucepan is the most common damage we see, and it tends to happen at the corner of an island where people pass.

Repairs. Possible and usually good, but rarely completely invisible on a gloss or deep colour. We keep the formulation for every kitchen we build.

Laminate

The hardest-wearing option and the least expensive. Modern matt laminates are fingerprint-resistant and genuinely difficult to damage.

How it ages. Barely. That is the point, and depending on your view it is either the whole appeal or slightly soulless.

What damages it. Heat at an edge, and sharp impact at a corner where the edge banding can lift.

Repairs. Not really. A damaged laminate door is replaced rather than repaired, which is cheaper than it sounds because the door is the least expensive part.

How to choose

• Young children, dogs, heavy use. Laminate on the base units where the knocks happen, veneer or lacquer above. Nobody says you have to pick one.
• You want a specific colour. Lacquer. It is the only one that gives you a free choice.
• You want the kitchen to look better in ten years than it does now. Veneer, without much hesitation.

See them before you decide

A screen has never told anyone the truth about colour or sheen. Every finish we offer can be seen in person before anything is cut, and we would strongly encourage it. The difference between a matt and a satin lacquer under your own kitchen lights is not something a photograph conveys.