Best Materials for a Modular Kitchen

The carcass near the sink and the hob should be a boiling-water-proof plywood or an equivalent you are willing to name in the quotation. A cheaper board in a dry tall unit is a reasonable saving. The same board under the sink is not.

Shutters: laminate is robust and quiet. Acrylic and high-gloss finishes mark more easily and cost more. Membrane and painted shutters need an honest conversation about chips. Counters in a heavy cooking kitchen want a surface you can wipe; quartz and a good granite are both defensible. The edge detail matters as much as the colour.

Hardware is where kitchens are cheapened quietly. Soft-close hinges and channels from a named maker are worth writing down. If a quotation says only “imported hardware”, ask which one.