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Benchtops
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Thoughtfully Designed Benchtops by So Watt
The team at So Watt are passionate about creating furniture solutions that not only elevate your space but support the way you work and live. Our benchtops are a natural extension of our design ethos — honest materials, smart design, and lasting functionality. Whether you're outfitting a creative workspace, upgrading a kitchen, or designing a custom joinery project, our benchtops are crafted to inspire productivity and complement your style.
A Range That Celebrates Material and Craft
Every So Watt benchtop starts with a high-grade plywood core — because we’re plywood people through and through. We use Birch Plywood as the base for most of our benchtops to ensure material consistency across our joinery projects. On top of this solid foundation, we apply a variety of surface finishes depending on your project needs and personal aesthetic.
- Laminex on Plywood offers a durable and easy-to-clean surface while maintaining the visual warmth of exposed ply edges.
- Fenix on Plywood gives you a sleek, ultra-matte finish with fingerprint resistance and excellent durability — a modern choice for kitchens or studios.
- Metal Pressed Plywood adds a bold industrial touch with options like copper or brass, designed to patina beautifully over time.
- Blackbutt Plywood, with its rich grain and natural tone, is a favourite for IKEA Hack joinery, though we don’t recommend it for wet areas like kitchens.
With our ready-to-order benchtop collection, sizes are set — much like buying a stone slab — to reduce waste and keep manufacturing efficient. If your project doesn’t quite fit one of our set sizes, consider ordering the next size up and repurposing offcuts for shelving, panels, or even a custom side table DIY.
Designed for Everyday Use and Long-Term Impact
So Watt benchtops are made to be both beautiful and practical. In kitchen and bathroom settings, they bring warmth and texture to spaces often dominated by hard surfaces. Just keep in mind: for any wet area installation, sinks or basins need to sit on top of the bench to avoid exposing ply edges to water. We’ve got a handy care guide to help you understand the best finish for your needs — whether it’s a low-maintenance laminate or a metal that ages gracefully with use.
Our customers love that So Watt benchtops don’t just look great — they work hard too. They’re easy to maintain, built to last, and fully compatible with DIY projects. You don’t need specialist skills or equipment to install them — just a bit of confidence and some basic tools. Cut edges can be sealed at home using simple products like craft PVA glue, which dries to a water-resistant finish.
Need a closer look before committing? We offer material sample sets so you can touch and see your options in person. Our samples include Blackbutt ply as well as swatches of Fenix and Laminex laminates. You can even combine a clear ply sample with laminate swatches to get a realistic idea of how they’ll look together. We currently don’t offer metal samples — but trust us, they’re worth the leap.
Lead time on benchtops is around 5 weeks from order to dispatch, excluding public holidays. If you're local, you can skip the wait and pick up directly from our Marrickville workshop. And while we don’t install benchtops ourselves — we’re focused on making them look great and work brilliantly — they’re designed to be straightforward enough for any savvy DIYer or IKEA Hack installer.
FAQ
What materials are used for your benchtops?
Being plywood people, all our benchtop options are made with a plywood substrate, then we apply different materials to the top of the ply, such as Fenix or Laminex brands of laminate or various metals. The plywood used for this is Birch Plywood so that it matches other birch ply elements used in our joinery projects. We do also have a blackbutt ply option but this is not suitable in a kitchen environment and only part of the collection so that it can be used to IKEA Hack joinery.
Can I customise the size of my benchtop?
In the same way you would need to purchase a whole slab of stone, we only offer set sizes for our benchtops. There are numerous reasons for this, from efficient shipping methods to minimising waste from offcuts. If your benchtop size isn’t in our collection, the best option is to purchase the next size up and see where you can use the offcut. Maybe it’s a cover panel on another cabinet, or cut into multiple smaller pieces to use as custom shelving or even a fun little bench or side table DIY project!
How do I care for and maintain my benchtop?
We have a comprehensive care and maintenance guide to help you care for your plywood benchtop. Depending on which material you select there will be different care and maintenance needs, so it’s important to have a read of this at the time of ordering to check you are comfortable with the upkeep. Like all benchtops, especially in a kitchen, they take a real beating so overtime will likely show signs of wear. Keep that in mind when ordering as you may opt for the brass or copper that highlights this patina as its main drawcard!
Are your benchtops suitable for both kitchen and bathroom installations?
Yes our benchtops can be used in both kitchen and bathroom settings, keeping in mind our other FAQs about care and maintenance of our plywood benchtop options. The most important thing to know when using plywood for a benchtop is that a sink or basin will need to sit on top, and not be mounted from the underside of the bench. This is to cover the plywood edge of the sink cutout from extended exposure to water.
Do you offer samples of your benchtop materials?
We sell super handy material and colour sample sets so that you can see the options in person at home. Benchtop samples include Blackbutt ply as well as Fenix and Laminex laminate squares. The laminate squares are not pressed onto the plywood in our sample sets, so it's a good idea to order a clear ply sample as well, then you can visualise the laminate when it is pressed onto the ply substrate for the clear ply edge and the colour on top. We don’t currently offer samples of the metal finishes.
Can I order a benchtop in a specific color or finish?
One of the best things about shopping with So Watt are all the options! You can have a lot of fun creating your own colour schemes for your project by combining colours from all our different finishes. Head to the samples page to select from the available options, or read more about the characteristics of these material finishes here.
How long does it take for my benchtop to arrive after ordering?
The lead time for our benchtop panels, and anything in our IKEA Hack collection, is 5 weeks for manufacture from the date of your order. Keep in mind any public holidays during this 5 weeks will not be included, so if you order just before christmas you will need to add a couple of weeks to this lead time while the team have a break. Shipping is in addition to this lead time and will depend on your delivery location. We also offer free pickup from our workshop if you want to skip the shipping lead time
Do you provide installation services for benchtops?
Our team is focused on designing and manufacturing high-quality plywood pieces, so we hand over the install to allow us to stay focused on what we do best. The good news is you don’t need to have any trade qualifications to install our benchtops because they are all safe and easy to cut with readily available tools like a wood saw. We recommend working with your IKEA Hack installer to see if they can do this for you, otherwise your local hardware store may be able to cut the panel down for you before you install it. Give any cut edges a sand and then seal them with either a water-based clear sealant like this one from Bunnings. You can even use craft PVA glue to seal the edges around your sink cutout! Once it dries, PVA glue acts as a plastic barrier so it’s a great trick for waterproofing timber edges.