When it comes to organising your kitchen renovation, an early consideration is often deciding what material you would like your cabinetry made from.

It is important to reach a verdict on this as early on at the quoting stage! This is because your chosen material is one of the single more important decisions that will heavily influence the price of your renovation.

That is exactly why we have pulled together a comprehensive comparison between the two most common kitchen renovation materials; 2PAC and Laminate. In this post we are going to be comparing the positives and negatives for each choice, as well as showing examples of the visual differences.

Before we get too specific, let us define 2PAC and Laminate. 2PAC is essentially a hardened paint finish for your flat pack kitchen cabinetry. Whereas Laminate is a synthetic product made through the process of compressing plasticised sheets of paper together. This laminate veneer is glued to the surface of your cabinetry, which comprises of MDF board, and edging tape is applied for a seamless finish.

Colour
When it comes to colour it depends on the exact hue of cabinetry you are looking for as to which option will serve you better out of 2PAC and Laminate. With 3 leading brands of laminate, there are hundreds of colours to choose from and a series of finishes from each range so you are spoilt for choice. Polytec, Formica and Laminex are industry leaders who each provide a varied selection of block colours, woodgrains, stone effect, marble look and many more options. However, 2PAC provides even further flexibility within your colour options, allowing you to personally mix your own paint shade and obtain the precise hue you desire.

Finish
You will find that laminate is available in finishes such as; matte, textured, semi-gloss and high-gloss depending on the look you wish to achieve. Laminate options are also available for fingerprintless finishes. When it comes to 2PAC, you are able to select the level of shine for your paint finish; satin, semi-gloss and gloss.

Profile
A significant difference between 2PAC and laminate is when it comes to profiling. A 2PAC kitchen allows you to add character with different levels of profiling and routing, helping you achieve a ‘Hamptons’ style kitchen. Whereas laminate will always be a flat surface, sometimes with a slight texture if a woodgrain material has been selected.

Thermo-laminated vinyl is the only product that can help you achieve a ‘Hamptons’ profiled kitchen using laminate. This product sits roughly in the middle of the price spectrum and does come with disadvantages so it is a lesser used product. A downside to thermo-laminate is that it does not withstand high-heat temperatures in certain parts of the kitchen and as such will bubble and melt.

Durability
Laminate is a particularly hard-wearing material that resists the majority of scratches and nicks that kitchens can be prone to. This hard-wearing material shows remarkedly little wear and tear over time. While laminate is a harder surface than 2PAC, you are able to touch up the paint on your 2PAC cabinetry when small nicks or scratches occur. Laminate is less likely to chip but there is no way to amend imperfections on the cabinetry once they happen.

Price
There is no doubt that 2PAC is a significantly pricier option than a laminate flat pack kitchen. 2PAC costs roughly 40% more than your standard laminate finish. This price is again markedly increased when it comes to selecting 2PAC cabinetry that is profiled in any way. The total price of cabinetry will increase parallel to the amount of routing required for a Hamptons style finish. As a result, a profiled 2PAC kitchen may cost double the budget as a laminate equivalent of the same size of kitchen.

While laminate is certainly the most cost effective choice of kitchen material and you are not deprived of colours and finishes, 2PAC cabinetry allows you to have more design control over the colour and profiling of your kitchen. If you are looking for a Hamptons style kitchen, 2PAC will almost always be your only option. However, if you are looking for a flat surfaced kitchen and comparing between the two options – Laminate is a great way to reduce the overall cost of your Flat Pack Kitchen.