Are wood worktops a bad idea?

[Marylou2]

I'm planning a new kitchen as part of an open plan extension. I love the whole ivory shaker look, i know it's not to everyone's taste but I have my heart set on it. Would oak worktops be a huge mistake?I think they look so beautiful and DH is willing to oil and sand as necessary. We're pretty careful with hot pans but I'm concerned about the area around the sink. Any advice would be much appreciated .

I was sceptical as I thought they would require a lot of maintenance but OH really wanted wood so I was persuaded round.

We treated them well with Danish oil to begin with, i.e. do every day for a week, every week for a month and have had no issues at all.

Pic on profile (i think)

Don't regret it at all.

Better photos of worktop

Interesting that some of the haters used varnish rather than oil.
Varnish does not let the wood breathe so of course it will start to look sweaty and smelly under there.
The point of the oils is that they work with the wood to keep it happy.

My Mum's wood worktops are 40 years old and still look great.

I have samples of Oak, Beech and Bamboo that I got when choosing all those years ago
the bamboo has the clearest grain and is thus the most forgiving of wear and tear.

We have them and I love them. No regrets. Only oiled once so far, had since Aug 14.

I discovered Mumsnet by searching for info on wooden worktops, as it happens. Osmo is the best product ever.

Tiz we have a matching window sill too! It is made from an off cut of the breakfast bar component.

Looks gorgeous Tizwoz. Just the colour I'd like.

I don't know if it's possible to hijack your own thread but while I have all you lovely kitchen experts here, what do you have on your floors? Particularly interested if you have dining/living area with the same floor. I'd love solid wood here too but possibly might have to compromise for practicality.

Knackered/rusticold oak floorboards with polyx on them (7 years old polyx so could do with re-doing) downstairs. New oak floorboards with polyx on them upstairs.

Textured tiles The colours fine but I would like to replace them with smooth tiles or laminate, easier to clean.

Bamboo ....
it runs through my kitchen, dining room, hall, office and bathrooms.

Had a party with 40 drunken teens the other week
and a different party with 50 drunken old gits last month
it recovered fine from both after a steam and a mop

bamboo is the only "wooden" flooring considered suitable for kitchens and bathrooms, which must be a plus.

With 2-3 coats of Osmo top oil, you will love wooden worktops.

bamboo is the only "wooden" flooring considered suitable for kitchens and bathrooms, which must be a plus

My 100 year old floorboards have coped with both - absolutely fine. I know that we didn't have hermetically sealed houses then (I still don't). But I don't buy into the 'rules' on what to put where generally.

Think of the mess and the proper scrubbing of these boards that would have been done back then.

I'm seriously considering bamboo PigletJohn. I was looking at Karndean and Amtico but now have a whole new enthusiasm for natural materials.
Does anyone have a reliable supplier they could recommend?

Just wondering if the "double" wood look might be a bit too much? A bit like double denim?

Oh no Marmite! Was quite hoping that the cream painted cabinet doors might break them up. Now i'm concerned I'll be the kitchen equivalent of a black bra under a white shirt. (not really)

Talkin, would you mind sharing where you got your bamboo flooring from? And how many kidneys we'll have to ebay to afford it Thanks

Whatever you get, when the sink hole is cut into the work top, ask them to make the off cut into a chopping board

Talkin I'd love to know where you got your bamboo floor from too.If you'd care to share.

Marmite / Mono / Mary
Pic on my profile of my kitchen .... showing both sets of bamboo

I got all of it online, from two different companies.
Not sure either website is still running, but its all imported directly from China
it was around £14 / sqm 6 years ago - so much, much cheaper than wood because it grows in three years rather than 30

any Y Y Y to using the offcuts : my island is in fact two pieces back to back so that it fits the units
and the sink holes (I have a utility room that is not in the picture) have become tables and the corner shelves are other offcuts.

I Lied.
Here is the stuff I have
simplybamboo.co.uk/collections/classic-series/products/medium-coffee-horizontal-bamboo-flooring

its glued down with the mega glue that is DPC as well

That's lovely!! Definitely one for my floor options list.Thankyou.

Wow, thanks Talkin. That's another one I can tick off my list, fantastic value for money. Do you have yours in wet areas (utility/downstairs loo/etc) too?

(Just noticed you said bathrooms in an earlier post, so ignore last question!)

Sorry for thread hijack btw...

Stone tiles with electric underfloor heating. Lovely and warm in the winter.