Kitchen work surfaces - wood?

[Tableclothing]

When The Awfulness is past we're going to have our kitchen re-done.

We are considering getting wooden work surfaces. Does anyone have any experiences they'd share? I've seen some really beautiful examples, but how much work are they to look after? How easy are they to ruin with one misplaced pan? Are they ever sustainably/ethically produced? How do they match up to the alternatives?

This is the first time we've had a new kitchen, so need all the help we can get. Thanks in advance!

[NotMeNoNo]

I would add to pps, if you like a wood finish: dont have an undermount sink, use only Osmo/hardwax oil not Danish oil, olive oil or any other rubbish, try not to choose oak as it is prone to going black on contact with water/iron. We had teak worktops (reclaimed), nothing marked them at all. Iroko is also a very hard oily water resistant timber but check its sustainably sourced. Most people reporting problems may not have had the right protective coating.

[opinionatedfreak]

I have quartz.

Love it. Looks good. No maintenance and for the first time ever I can put hot pans/baking trays on the work surface.

[QuitMoaning]

I have marble effect Carrera quartz, white with grey graining. Had it two years and it looks immaculate. I take reasonable care of it but it is not difficult and it was chosen for its durability. I am very happy with my choice... I like wood but I wouldn’t take it well if it got damaged.

[VenusClapTrap]

I’ve had black granite for nearly fifteen years, in two different houses, with no staining, scratching or any other marks. There has been much abuse - Dh does the cooking, and he spills, clangs, plonks hot things down and cuts onto the surface, and then leaves all the clearing up till midnight. 🙄 Puddles and smears of god-knows-what get left for hours.

Not a single mark, anywhere. Current kitchen was put in by the previous owners, and the units are pretty dated, so I reckon this granite was here at least a decade before we arrived too.

[CountFosco]

I thought granite was porous and stained badly?

[paap1975]

As others have said, water stains them, fruit juice stains then and they need a fair bit of upkeep. I wouldn't have them again. It's also very frustrating when others use your kitchen and are not careful. I would say they were ruined within a couple of years.

[Duckchick]

We have a dark speckled reddish granite (tan brown) in our kitchen which I love, it's brilliant at not showing dirt or limescale marks.

I love the look of wood worktops, so we have walnut in our utility room. I have to admit, we struggle to stay on top of oiling it so it doesn't look as good as it should. We have also managed to scratch it by putting keys down on it.

[Honeyroar]

Ps, we were advised by a plumber friend that Belfast sinks and wooden work surfaces cause more problems than anything.

[Honeyroar]

We have had them for about seven years now. I’ve rewaxed them about three times. They were from Ikea.

We just blot water spills with a tissue. We have a ceramic range, so often just use that as a surface too. If not we use trivets to put pans on. We have large clear glass surface savers by the kettle that add a bit of protection and aren’t noticeable. I don’t find the wood difficult at all, despite many people saying they would be, and we’re far from manic about looking after them. They look lovely too.

(Old photo from when the kitchen wasn’t finished, but gives you an idea)

[Martysmarvellousmeals]

Had wood worktops for a number of years now, they have to be sanded/oiled and looked after to keep in good condition. Had a leak round the tap which as its very difficult to sand down etc, the area ended up turning black with the water. Managed to get most of it looking better with wood bleach. Also under/around the belfast sink has water damage, sick to death of the drips getting into the wood.

I hate hate hate the wooden worktops, as soon as I can afford to change the kitchen Im going to set fire to the bloody tops

[SparrowInTheHedge]

I have solid walnut which I LOVE against the white cabinets, it's so warm and beautiful. I was going to get oak originally but then spotted the walnut in the show room when we went to place our order, fell in love and made a decision on the spot.

I do feel like I am constantly wiping it though, and DP is sloppy when doing the dishes. It leads to a lot of arguments as I don't understand why he wants to be able to leave water splashed everywhere - it would look manky on any surface!

A couple of months ago I accidentally scratched quite a long area with a tiny piece of gravel which had attached itself to the underside of a mindful chef box. It was heavy, I put it on the counter edge and shoved it without thinking. So I need to sand and reseal, and will try this Osmo stuff, I hadn't heard of it until this thread!

[VenusClapTrap]

A friend of mine put in very expensive wooden counter tops last year. She is very particular about them - there is always a tea towel draped across next to the sink on the ‘drying’ area to stop anyone putting anything wet on there, despite there being grooves there for that purpose.

In spite of her being very careful, the wood below the taps is already looking stained, I’ve noticed. I feed her cats when she’s away and I’m terrified of splashing when I wash out the bowls! It all seems unnecessarily stressful.

I’ve got granite. Zero faff. Put whatever you like on it and it doesn’t matter. I like a practical kitchen.

[Pirandello24]

We had wood in our last house and are getting it again in this one when we redo the kitchen. Had them for 3 years, never re oiled them and they looked like new when we left. Osmo oiled them like crazy to start and they looked after themselves! They also didn't show up spills and crumbs which we loved as we're not exactly on top of cleaning with two small kids.

[Singinghollybob]

We got wood worktops in our kitchen 6 years ago and had read all the horrors about them, but decided to go ahead anyway. We also take a 'good enough approach to housework but have got to say they've been much much easier to take care of than I thought and still look lovely now.
We've sanded and oiled them probably 3 times in the 6 years, use chopping boards and don't let spills sit on the wood for long.
Still very happy with them and the area around the sink looks just as new

[bathorshower]

We rented a house with solid teak work surfaces, which were decades old. They must have been very expensive, but they were bomb proof (they had to be; the house had been rented out for over 20 years). We did oil them occasionally (oil provided); water spills didn't need to be cleared up immediately. One thing which really helped was a double drainer sink (stainless steel with a draining board on each side), so they didn't suffer through splashes.

A friend demonstrated they were heat proof when he put a hot wok on them (I might have squeaked!). They were, however, slightly sticky - the design on a plastic bag would come off onto them. So not completely ideal.

[mumsiedarlingrevolta]

I have granite -which is apparently out of style- and I love it.

Love being able to put hot things on it and it cleans really easily.
I like its serviceability-so easy and low maintenance.

Also looks great.

[Lucked]

Ours are wood weren’t great when we moved in and then got worse through lack of care. They had been very maintained by the previous owner. I spent a very long week sanding them right back about 5 years ago and then using osmo oil. I love them now with the exception of around the tap.

So -
I would not get them pre oiled unless they will use osmo.

Do not get taps that pass through the work top, get a sink that has holes for taps.

[CountFosco]

This is very interesting. We moved into our house a couple of years ago and the surfaces in the kitchen are half wood and half laminate (Wren kitchen). The wood is round the oven, the laminate round the sink. I adore the wood,we've done nothing to it since we moved in and despite being a foody family of 5 (including a 10yo who has an omelette for breakfast every day and can't clean up after herself) it looks gorgeous. The laminate is suffering around the sink. I'd have wood again but probably have a composite like corian for the sink.

[greytminds]

We have wood and the surfaces are now 8 years old and have had heavy use. We re-oil every three months or so, it’s really only a 10 minute job and then leaving it to dry overnight. I love the surfaces.
The main issue we have found is metal contact on the surface - tin cans etc have the potential to stain. We managed for 7.5 years not to mark them then BIL left an old baking tray on the side for a few days when he was house sitting and it left some black marks that we can’t seem to sand off (although haven’t tried the electric sander which will probably get rid).
I’d have wood again, I love the appearance. Don’t feel like they are always dirty, ours seem to clean up really well.

[mmmmmchocolate]

I loved them at my old house, you are supposed to oil them periodically —I didn’t— because they would take 2 days to dry and I couldn’t use the kitchen. I’d probably oil them once a year.. they look beautiful and yes I was careful with them but I’m careful with the laminate coated wood ones I have at my new house and these don’t look anywhere near as nice!

[MrBennsshop]

If you use the right products on wooden worktops, a cloth shouldn't be getting dirty and water doesn't need to be wiped up immediately. Osmo oil (we used 2 products) will seal it completely. If you get water on it, it turns into tiny droplets. Have had all the same problems as everyone else above when using any other brand of surface protection, but we genuinely haven't done a thing to this worktop since we had it put in 2+ years ago and it looks brand new. Got the osmo tip from MN so thank you for that whoever it was!

[Flamingolingo]

That depends on your budget - we currently have quartz, which I really rate, especially in a light colour, and I think it’s easier to care for than the granite we had before. But not everyone wants to spend £££ on stone. There are some very nice solid surface materials out there now, like Maia or Minerva. These are a thermoplastic so have issues with hot pans (but then so does quartz actually and I would never put a hot pan directly on granite either because I know people who have cracked theirs doing this), and I think are prone to scratches but can be buffed out. I really like Minerva, it was just more expensive than quartz here (combination of amount of worktop and particular style I chose)

[Tableclothing]

I really appreciate all these replies! You're making not-getting-wood a really easy decision!

But what would you have instead? If you love your worktops, what are they made from?