We remodelled our fairly large kitchen which required a few pieces of worktop including a join. We hired a specialist work surface company who gave us great advice on exactly where to cut/join and they used really experienced installers. They were half the price of the surface quoted by the kitchen company.

The joins were visible, but you didn’t really see them and they made no visual impact on the kitchen.

FYI one piece of advice we got is don’t join a surface at the sink, as it’s much more likely to eventually leak. Place the join to one side.