Oak butchers block worktop? Impractical? How to stop them turning orange?

[LeeMiller]

We are

We have seen some of the oak butchersblock worktops available at Ikea which we like the look of (and the price), but I'm getting anxious after spending too much time on pinterest/reading blogs... Can anyone help me with these concerns?

• upkeep Are they that much of a pain? I'm not worried about burn marks as we always use trivets but we don't have a dishwasher so sink is used for washing up and the work surface regularly gets heavily splashed. The sink will sit on top, not be inset. Obviously I can wipe it down afterwards but they will definitely get wet. Are they just going to get black and mouldy?

• colour/finish.

I love the natural finish of the wood as it appears in store, but I understand that it needs protecting/treating. In many photos I've seen, treated wooden worktops are a) shiny and b) orangey! How can you protect your worktop but keep a natural, rustic look? Or is it impossible?

I've used oak block worktops in a few developments because they look great but I wouldn't use them in my home - I had one initially and it went very black around the sink. Unless you are going to be on it constantly, the splashes will stain it. You do need to protect it with something like Danish oil immediately otherwise it will stain every time you do anything at all. However, the oils (in particular the one that Ikea sells) don't turn it orange, just a deeper brown.

You may find it too much like hard work having a wooden worktop but the good thing is that they are cheap enough that should part of it get badly stained, they don't cost very much to replace.

thanks lalonglegs , that's exactly what I'm worried about. That they look great at first but won't stay that way. They are cheap but not so much if you have to keep replacing them...

Does the ikea oil make it shiny? And much darker looking?

We have wooden worktops and I hate them - they stain really badly and go manky around the sink. We replaced our microwave recently and discovered that underneath is a completely different colour to the rest. If you leave a slightly damp tin sitting on them they leave black rings too (so coffee tins would need to be kept in the cupboard). I think they're also harder to clean than normal worktops - you need to properly scrub at bits rather than just being able to give a quick wipe. Maybe you could keep them nice if you're fastidious about it - if everyone in the house isn't definitely going to dry around the sink every time they run the tap then forget about it.

Thanks QueenStromba. That's exactly what I'm afraid of. We have a depp farmouse sink but there still seems to be water everywhere after I do the washing up. Of course we can wipe up but want if we miss a bit, would be a shame to ruin them. Did you treat them?

deep farmhouse sink!

I've had mine for a 3 years and it's marked in a few places but that doesn't bother me at all. we haven't oiled ours anywhere near as much as we should and it's showing a few bare would patches but we've only ever sanded it once and it came up perfectly.

I love the look and feel of wood and wouldn't have anything else but it's probably no good for a person who likes things looking just so. I prefer a more lived in appearance.

We've had no marking at all around the sink though.. It's more marks from the bottom of the tea bag caddy - that sort of thing. No mould at all.

We inherited a kitchen when we moved that had an oak worktop (not ikea though) and it stained so easily! I believe the kitchen was about 3-4 years old when we got there and we had it four years. It was beginning to go very black around the sink area and there was absolutely nothing you could do about it!!

My parents put in an ikea kitchen about three years ago with an oak top like you are looking at and without sounding nasty - it's a bit of an embarrassment now! It's ridiculously marked and water stained.
I wouldn't have a solid wood worktop now at all, whatever my budget!

I had one I put in for 12 years, it was fine I sanded/oiled it twice a year, took about 15 minutes to do. You use spills around the sink to remind you to re-oil it... you really don't have to wreck it, it is easy to avoid or put right.

I have now got one someone treated badly for 10 years. There were black marks around the sink, weird discoloured patches long one long length. I sanded it last summer and it came up quite well. I just sanded the stained length, in more detail this time, and it looks brand new.

As for the orange colour, you can choose different oils, find the colour you like.

What on earth is embarrassing about a marked work top?

No idea? That is a bit odd Ferk, how was it marked? What made it embarrassing?

{Looks at her refurbed worktop, suspiciously }

Thanks guys. I don't mind a bit of light marking and am not a fussy type at all, but I'm rather put off by the tales of black mould.

Palomb and Blanche, what oil do you use and does it change the colour/look shiny afterwards?

Danish oil, it is the usual stuff and no, it didn't go orange. I am toying with trying a different finish next time (tin of oil is almost gone).

In 15 years I haven't had any black mould and I can sand out light dents too! So I can get a new worktop every few months, if I want too

I have them and I love them. They need sanding and oiling around once a year.

HOWEVER, you NEED granite or something around the sink. Wood around sinks does not work.

I just used the ikea oil

Such mixed experiences! I am torn! There will be a sink in the middle of the worktop though so I'm thinking I may need to rethink, WellErrr. It is quite humid where we live and I am a splashy washer-upper...

Could you use granite for the wet areas? In my last home I had wood around one section and granite in the wet areas and next to the cooker. It looked great and the wood aged well. I only oiled it once in six years.

You absolutely have to get granite or corian around the sink. The rest will be fine but wood and sinks don't go, I don't know why kitchen fitters agree to install them.