Wooden work surfaces in the kitchen - good idea or maintainance nightmare?

[DANCESwithLordPottingtonSmythe]

Sorry, been on the rubber floor thread and it's got me thinking about my 'dream' kitchen! I LOVE the look of painted units and wooden worksurfaces but I'm sure I've read the upkeep is a nightmare. Any opinions?

Love ours. It has been treated with swedish oil I think, and you really need to keep on top of that or it will go black near the sink (ours was black but DH sanded it down and treated it). It looks lovely though!

don't do it, pain to clean, supposed to oil etc

DH and I have our hearts set on a wooden one (yes, even DH) in our new house. This thread is really upsetting me . Will have to report findings back to DH .

Fourplusone - I know how you feel. Here, have this but fgs don't put it down on the work surface

I want that tablecloth.

FourPlusOne - I am sure they are okay if you or DH are prepared to do the maintenance
DIY tasks take years round here!

I have discounted it

granite all the way here

its a bit footballers wives but by god its practical and hard wearing

Ours is oak and I love it. It looked fab when oiled and sanded the first time I did it and now needs doing again but i'm quite liking the rustic look atm so am putting it off!

DH has promised that he will do the twice/thrice yearly waxing sessions if we do get them. Still undecided though. Don't know what I would have instead.

Dances - have you been put off or still considering it?

Its like wooden flooring, the better quality the better it lasts. Ours is Iroco (sp?) which is a really hard but attractive type of wood. Its probably worth more than my whole house but dp was a time served carpenter in his youth and made the worktops from reclaimed wood. (To go with the solid wood bespoke kitchen he made god I love him )
We can put hot things on it, we don't have to oil it THAT often but we are quite happy with the rustic look. I much prefer it to the granite that shows every tiny fingermark.
No good for rolling pastry though as its never cold, I have a piece of marble under the stairs that I keep for that!

I think it depends what you treat it with. We have pine, which gets sanded about once a year and then treated with something called finishing oil, which makes it waterproof and heatproof. When you first do it, they recommend 3 or 4 coats, followed by a coat a month for the first 6 months. After that, once a year will do it. And wood looks so much classier than the glittery shiny stuff granite

We have walnut. I love it. Not much maintenance. We have a huge stainless steel sink and drainer so water doesn't get anywhere near the wood.

We used to have star-spangly black granite. This was HIGH MAINTENANT (think a mirror with finger prints on it ALL THE TIME). This is particularly visible if you have a really light and sunny room. Contantly polishing. Any crumb or anything on it showed up straight away. Oil marks are permanent (NEVER spill olive oil or put the bottle on the granite) as I found out on day 1 of granite :(

Walnut all the way for me.

I love ours. I have about half wood, half laminate worktop. The laminate is round the sink.

I have found the worst stains come from egg white!

I find granite very cold.

I hate ours, we rent though so can't change it.

I got caustic soda on mine too, and it's black around the sink and buckeled under the sink drainer.

When we buy a house I'm having granite. I'll probably get just as it's completely out of fashion.