wooden or granite?

[nightowlmostly]

We are getting ourselves ready to put in a new kitchen, and I'd really love a solid oak worktop.

The only thing is, I'm not sure whether it would be too much hassle, if there's even a tiny spillage while cooking does it need to be cleared up right away? What if you don't notice, will it be ruined?

I know granite or composite stone are more expensive, but they are harder wearing. Not sure about it because I think having some wood in the kitchen will make it feel a lot warmer and homely.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

I've had beech with a butlers sink and draining grooves. The light wood was prone to red wine/tea stains. These were easily sanded out. The draining area is a disaster as wood and water don't mix.

Next we had black star galaxy granite. Lovely shiny mirror like black. This was my biggest disaster. It showed every finger mark and crumb (think a mirror with sticky finger prints). We had a really sunny kitchen and the light shining in showed every spec. Also olive oil spillage never came out, and the granite is unforgiving if you knock a plate on it or (heaven forbid) a little one slips and bangs their chin,

Currently we have had walnut for 2.5 years. Very low maintenance. Didn't repeat the previous errors. We have a large stainless steel sink with drainer so water doesn't get near the wood. The dark colour (or harder wood?) Hasn't shown any marks. It is very easy to look after, even for somebody as lazy as me!

Walnut, highly recommended.

We have granite round the main sink and hob (I had a hot pan on wood disaster at my mum's) and oak finished with Danish oil on the other two bits. Works great for us. No problems keeping the granite clean - though that's because it is very tolerant of muck sitting on it for a while....

we have a matt granite and it's fab. I didn't want the polished version as I was just not going to spend all my time polishing it and then it would look dirty. Matt doesn't really show fingerprints and i think it looks classier. It's mostly black in colour with white flecks but because it is muted they don't really show up - which suited me. I thought wood was a good option but again because i am such a slovenly housewife I thought I'd never bother to wipe up the spills and that would be that. We would never get around to sanding ti as much as it would need.
The black matt granite is teamed with white cupboards which should show the dirt but don't because all you see is the black/white contrast. Our floor is solid oak which is very forgiving with dirt. You see, having failed miserably to keep up with HouseFly, I now don't need to!

Love my iroco wood - it's naturally oily so doesn't need much looking after. Doesn't need any special treatment, and can put anything on it - hot/ frozen/ wet etc.

I love my corian worktops, worth every penny. No joins anywhere and so easy to keep clean

I have black quartz surfaces, a hardwearing granite/ reisin composite. It's got sparkly flecks in it and although it is shiny it doesn't show up crumbs or wipe marks. It's very low maintenance (not as much as the previous grey black laminate but hey!). All told I love it and don't have the worry of it getting watermarked like granite, although it was more expensive than the granite equivalent. It looks great with oak cabinets, stainless steel appliances and ivory travertine stone floor.

OP are you still thinking wood?

I have oak from Barncrest (recommended by a fellow Mnetter) and love it. I got the 'butcher's block' sort and Danish oiled it like a thing possessed for a bit, but it has loved me back ever since. I am careful about wiping up spills etc but am probably more careful than I need be. Provided you are well furnished with trivets and things (and nice trivets can be quite decorative and tasteful) I'd recommend wood.

We are going to be having an eco version of quartz installed next week. Will report back as to how it is.

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

Overnight we have been looking at another option, Duropal laminate. Anyone heard of that or used it before? I really don't know whether I can look after wood as it needs to be looked after, if I'm completely honest! And granite seems to be flawed too, the gloss kind anyway. It's so hard!

We've ordered samples of the stuff anyway, will let you know if it looks ok.

I have had both. I have wood now and love it as you can drop stuff on it, sand it down if you are bothered, oil it and it looks like new. The granite is good but you need to keep it dry as it's porous and will end up looking patchy and 'white' if you leave pools of water on it.

I have solid oak - i LOVE it! I gave it SIX coats of danish oil then one coat a year. It's fantastic and looks lovely.

Is Danish oil the stuff you get in Ikea? You sort of rub it in and it sinks in?

I got my Danish oil from Barncrest who supplied the worktop. I expect one Danish oil is very like another, but it's excellent stuff.

Ok, thanks :)

I agree with Minerva you should look into corian. I've had both wood and granite and they are both pains to look after in different ways, but corian takes whatever you throw at it. Quick clean with Cif and perfect. Would recommend it to anyone.

We got the samples of that duropal laminate and it's a bit rubbish. Gong for oak I reckon, hope it's not too much of a drama.

Thanks all, any more tips welcome!

I would avoid wood. We have just got rid of our manky, heavily marked wood work surfaces in favour of a granite composite called Getacore and I am absolutely delighted with the way the kitchen has been transformed. The wood had gone black and rotten around the sink and you couldn't even put a hot drink down without marking the surface. Getacore is hard wearing and has no joins and is about half the price of granite. It isn't as heavy either - something you would need to consider in case your cupboards weren't strong enough to support granite. When they install Getacore they sand the joints and polish it so that the surface is joint free. The other advantage is that if you damage a small part of your worktop they can replace just the damaged area because the joins are sanded and polished to make the worktop look like one solid piece.