Walnut oak or iroko worktops?

[Mummymillymac]

We are in the middle of choosing our new kitchen and I’ve decided on an absolutely lush white quartz for our huge island..but for the surrounding worktops I have my heart set on real wood, and in particular iroko or walnut?

Trouble is I’ve only seen the tiny sample blocks in the showroom and was after some info from anyone who has them?

The kitchen units will be white Matt handleless btw.

Any advice or tips?

No advice whatsoever, but either sounds stunning.

I’ve had iroko in an old house, and now have dark walnut.
My advice is that iroko has more of a reddish tinge, but both are very hard and non-porous, unlike oak, which is softer.

Both need oiling but look stunning.
When you look at samples, bear in mind that both darken dramatically after oiling and exposure to natural light, until they settle into their final colour after a few weeks.

Iroko is the hardest wood, so I would expect it to withstand use better than oak or walnut. I have no experience of it as a worktop, but have a set of chairs made from it in my kitchen which are 25 years old and have withstood my three children and now grandchildren without a scratch or dent in the wood itself, although the varnish has taken some terrible knocks!

Do they need to be looked after? My friend had lovely wooden tops, but bloody hell she couldn't wash up without having to wipe them down and be really careful. Cost her a bomb and were a total pain.

Thank you so much - and yes I'm aware that any wooden worktop needs maintenance and care but I'm a complete clean freak so it's no problem for me

Any advice on what sink to have with wooden worktops?

My friend has a butlers sink and grooved drainer in the wood. Looks amazing.., totally impractical.

Not trying to piss on your parade, just jealous as I'm too much of a slattern to even entertain the gorgeousness of a walnut top

I think iroko is a lot less sustainable than walnut if that makes a difference to you

If you remember back to school science lessons the bench tops are often iroko. I am guessing it would cheaper...walnut is quite expensive. as the pp said, walnut is a dark rick brown, iroko is lighter shade and usually has a lovely sheen

there is an amazing reclaimed furniture/kitchen place in the NE that used iroko. When we did a kitchen refurb we eventually went corian but toyed with iroko for a while (it was science lab bench tops they were using...)

We had those reclaimed school teak/iroko worktops in our last house. They darkened to a lovely rich colour after oiling. They were absolutely bullet proof. Although being a bit artfully bashed up to start with helped. Iroko is a very hard close grained oily timber it will be a much more durable worktop than oak which is sensitive to water and metallic staining.

I have an iroko fire surround my dad made me. Its only been stained but it reacts to water really badly. Not sure if it would if we had oiled it or treated it differently/more

I actually love how it looks once it's been worn in abit, when you get those marks/scratches that come with time. I think it adds character.

I do worry about water staining etc with it being around the sink but I though that the walnut or iroko will hide more than the oak? I am known to be slightly anal, I mean enthusiastic when it comes to my daily cleaning schedule, so hopefully would be able to keep on top of/ prevent most stains. Is that realistic or will it drive me crazy?

Now to persuade the hubby 🙈 he doesn't like to be too 'out there'!!! I'm the opposite and would love to have something slightly different to the traditional oak...(both our parents have real oak timber worktops too)

I also think the darker colour of walnut or iroko will stand out beautifully against the white cabinets more than the oak?

I think both are beautiful. Iroko has more red in it, whereas I found walnut a slightly cooler brown. Just as an aside, if you go for iroko, don't be shocked if it turns up looking a pale yellowish colour - it changes a lot once oiled and exposed to light.

Personally I would swap your worktop materials - have the quartz around the back units where all the heavy work is and have the lovely warm wood on the island.....as it is much more sociable than a cold hard surface if you are gathering there for drinks/snacks/breakfast etc and you and your guests will get to enjoy it more...

This is what inspired me actually about the reclaimed worktops.

I have black American walnut with white painted cabinets. I treated it with Osmo oil, redo it once a year, and it looks as good as new.

Iroko is less resistant to moisture changes, heat and rot.. It does age to a silver patina. Oak is resistant to rot and compliments Iroko.