HPL or Melamine? What's the Difference

Two laminates, different construction

In the Greek market the term “bakelite” is used every day for HPL. Both options, HPL and melamine, belong to the same family of materials. Their difference is not in appearance but in how they are made.

The HPL is made from multiple layers of paper impregnated with resins, pressed at very high pressure and temperature. The result is a solid sheet with real “body”: better moisture resistance, a more stable edge and a more “substantial” feel to the touch.

The melamine is chipboard with a sheet of melamine covering, heat-bonded to the base. In Gentili Time, for example, the melamine door is 22 mm, made of chipboard of class E1 and CARB2, with an ABS edge glued with polyurethane adhesive. It offers good resistance for the everyday use of a kitchen.

Bakelite is not a cheap material, it is a spectrum

Here we always make one clarification to those who visit us in the showroom: HPL is not one fixed quality. It is a spectrum of materials, from basic postforming versions to very advanced materials such as Fenix.

Fenix is a new-generation laminate from the Italian Arpa Industriale, with a matt, almost velvety surface that, in the manufacturer's words, leaves no fingerprints. It also has a property no other material has: surface micro-scratches are repaired with heat. In the Italian houses Fenix is classed together with matt lacquer, not with melamine. In Pedini Materika the smooth door with the 30° cut is also available in Fenix NTM.

Melamine, on the other hand, remains a very smart starting point. The premium materials are its natural upgrade, not its “opposite”, and we always show you this with real samples in your hand.

Fenix & Gentili finishes →

Colours & finishes: what range there is in practice

The most frequent question after “what is bakelite” is “what colours does it come in”. The answer has two parts that are usually confused: the decor, that is, what the surface shows, and the Finish, that is, whether it is matt or glossy.

The decor: solid colours and wood effects

The range is not small. In Gentili's current price list the Fenix doors are offered in twelve solid shades: Bianco Kos, Grigio Chiaro, Beige Arizona, Castoro, Grigio Londra, Grigio Antrim, Bromo, Rosso Jaipur, Verde Comodoro, Blu Fes, Cacao Oronico and Nero. Not only neutral whites and greys, but also red, blue and green, and alongside them a separate series with wood effects.

At Sira, the same 22 mm door is offered in matt laminate, in Fenix or in PET Canneté: three different surfaces on the same shell. And melamine offers a similar range: Gentili has ten melamine shades available immediately, from Bianco Alpino and Cappuccino to Cemento Beton and Old Naturale.

How does Fenix look in a real kitchen? In Skiathos we designed a Gentili Time with doors and worktop in Fenix NTM Rosso Jaipur. In Ilioupoli, Gentili doors in Fenix NTM Nero Ingo, soft-touch and anti-fingerprint, with an HPL worktop in a wood effect.

The finish: a clarification is needed here

Many people look for “glossy bakelite”. In the houses we curate it does not exist. We read the current Febal, Gentili and Sira price lists: glossy laminate, glossy HPL or glossy Fenix do not appear even once, while glossy lacquer appears dozens of times. Fenix is matt by design, which is exactly its point.

So if you are asking for gloss, the right conversation is not about bakelite but about lacquer, and we explain the difference in the article matt or glossy kitchen. If you want a matt feel, resistance to fingerprints and rich colour, bakelite, and Fenix in particular, is exactly what you are after.

Where you will see the real colour chart

Nowhere on a screen. A matt surface changes appearance completely depending on the light, and a sample in your hand tells you in two seconds what no photograph does. We have the sample books in the showroom, and the Gentili Time in Fenix Nero is set up there; book an appointment and we will go through them together.

Bakelite as a worktop

Bakelite is not only a door. As a worktop it is water-resistant chipboard V100 with low formaldehyde content (CARB P2), covered with HPL. It is the most versatile material in length: it reaches 418 cm in one piece, like no stone, and comes in edge thicknesses of 2, 4 and 6 cm. The compact HPL is a solid sheet 12 mm, the same material throughout the thickness, and gives the slimmest profile.

We state the limit openly: it is not a material for hot cookware. The manufacturer itself asks that you do not place a pot or iron on it. If you cook intensively, we suggest Fenix, quartz or sintered stone. A Fenix worktop is even offered with an integrated sink in the same colours, as in the Sounio, where a classic Sira Eva has a Fenix NTM worktop in deep burgundy with a sink of the same surface. All the worktop materials are in our kitchen worktops guide.

HPL or melamine, side by side

For the overall picture, read the full kitchen materials guide.

Frequently asked questions