Wood worktops - would you?

[Gazelda]

I'm sure this has been discussed many a time, but I've searched and can't find a recent thread.

We've got a Victorian cottage and are extending to create a smallish kitchen/diner/family area. We have a separate sitting room. We love the shaker style of unit. We're probably going for a cream or sage. Porcelain wood effect floor tiles.

We can't decide on the worktop. Wood looks so lovely, and we can't find anything else we like. But I know that we'll regret it as soon as the first water drop or hot pan marks it. And either we'll forget to oil it regularly, or DH will take weeks to sand/oil/sand/oil to get a perfect finish, meaning that my worktop is,out of use for 4 months every year. We've been recommended Rustin Plastic Coating, but not sure how durable that is.

Anyone got ideas, suggestions, thoughts etc?

@iamme21

This is part of mine,just been oiled. My kitchen is nearly 14 years old, and as you can see the wood is not perfect but has held up really well.

These look lovely! I have oak worktops but I I want to lighten them so they look similar to yours! Any ideas how I'd do that? I think, originally we made the mistake of using a coloured oil rather than a clear one. I now buy clear but the worktops have really darkened.

We had iroko in our last house, it looked beautiful but did require a bit of maintenance every year. The only issue we had was a bit of darkness behind the tap and once left a bottle of dettol for a few hours which left a bad mark, looked like it burned off. We need to redo the kitchen in our new house, I'm not sure what I would do again. I think possibly wood on the island but something else around the sink. Definitely don't get oak, it's too soft. Suitable for tables and chair but definitely not round a sink. Iroko is pretty bomb proof if you oil it. It's what's used for science tables. We got ours from worktop express, very good value.

We have had them for ten years. I love them. I’m no clean freak housewife, yet haven’t a mark on ours. We were told by a (plumber) friend to not put a Belfast sink with them as thats where most problems occur with wooden surfaces, so we chose a normal sink, and we have a couple of clear glass surface protectors in areas that are used a lot (by the kettle and side of the sink) for a bit of added protection. I’m fastidious about wiping water up with a tissue around the sink too. I’ve oiled them twice in ten years (although they really need doing again).

Iroko is pretty bomb proof if you oil it. It's what's used for science tables. We got ours from worktop express, very good value

Off to google

But i love my oak....

Replaced laminate with laminate in my kitchen, the old worktops were untouched, not scratched, no burn marks despite being around 20 years old. The stuff is bomb proof and zero maintenance beyond wiping down.

there are some posh upgrades on laminate but apparently they scratch if you put keys or anything not soft down on them. Sod that. And the work involved with wood - no thank you!

Ooooh pretty

The iroko...

Wooden worktops are ideal for any room that does not contain water, hot pans, or sharp knives.

@PigletJohn

Wooden worktops are ideal for any room that does not contain water, hot pans, or sharp knives.

😂😂😂

I did once. Never again.

We've had ours 12 years and apart from the area around the sink they have worn very well. They're not perfect, but they still look pretty good and we don't oil them anywhere near as often as recommended. At least if you damage them it's fairly easy to rectify. I'd happily have them again, but I would go for granite around the sink.

@PigletJohn

Wooden worktops are ideal for any room that does not contain water, hot pans, or sharp knives.

I know you’re were probably joking, but Actually we’ve got it in our utility too, and it’s so much worse in there because it’s so hot because of the boiler. It dries out so quickly and doesn’t look half as nice as the wood in the kitchen.

Ours were treated really well with Danish oil initially, and then we've only just sanded them down and retreated this year after 10 years. We had a few minor marks which were removed with oxalic acid before we retreated.

I was sceptical about wood initially, we'd had beech in a rental house that was really badly marked. I was persuaded otherwise, so we installed oak and really pleased with them. Nowhere near as delicate as I'd been led to believe. Relatively cheap as well. My worst case scenario was we could replace as they only cost a few hundred quid if it all went terribly wrong.

When we resanded it was a 2 day job (and most of that time was just waiting for oil to dry), no idea how someone's husband can have spent 'most of last year' doing it

Yes you can make it work and I've learnt the hard way. I'm on my third kitchen with wooden worktops.

We had oiled beech and it was crap. Next time we fitted a kitchen we got oak and coated in it Osmo hard wax oil - it's bomb proof. It's easy to sand back and re-coat if there are any signs of wear which you can't do with other worktops.

Finally, as SwedishEdith says upthread you need to get a sink where the base of the tap sits in the metal or ceramic. That way you avoid black mouldy bits round the tap. Like this www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/ammeran-onset-sink-1-bowl-stainless-steel-s59158164/

We’ve had ours oak worktops for 15 years. I bloody love them and wouldn’t have anything else. I varnish them in a matt varnish every few years and obviously never put a hot pan on the surface. They are warm, natural and look fab in our cottage.

I have beech worktops in my kitchen. I was doing the kitchen on a major budget but wanted something that looks expensive. I should definitely oil them more - I have done it once in 5 years. I don't put hot pans down on them but my parents never owned a kitchen where this was an option so it's not an instinct I'm trying to avoid. I would try and avoid anything where the tap isn't contained within the lip of the sink as dripping hands will mark the wood. It's not The most practical option but it's certainly perfectly find practicality wise and looks great.

This is the third house where we've installed iroko worktops on the perimeter surfaces. (We have microcement on the island).

At our last house we had granite (fitted by the previous owner) and we also chose granite a few houses back. Personally I love the look of iroko and much prefer it to granite, although I agree it does need gentle-ish handling, particularly around the sink 😉

Ours has been in for three years and still looks great. However, if we move again - or change kitchens - I'll be opting for white marble-like quartz.....

We have both oak and quartz (on our island). I love both. But I don't abuse them so I always use a chopping board on both for hot pans / chopping etc.

If your kitchen installer prepares them properly they will just need minimal maintenance yearly and I haven't had any issues with water marks or ring marks from hot cups etc as they are properly oiled / sealed.

I'm very happy with both of my choices.

Love mine. Need sanding round the sink on occasions and new oil on worktops every so often. Usually just put some olive oil on it when it looks dry (Jamie Oliver tip so not just me making up random stuff because I'm too lazy to sand and oil properly)

I use olive oil as well grumpy

Not all the time just on occasion 😀

We have Iroko and it's gorgeous, and so hardy. Not sure how long it's been in as previous owners put it in but it's 7 years plus minimum. Seconding the sink advice though.

We've had our oak worktops for three years and there's not a single mark on them.

We've used osmo poly x oil and it's amazing. We Have a regular ceramic sink rather than a Belfast sink so less dripping. We do all make sure we wash up any spills but the oil is so effective it leaves any spills as bubbles on the surface. We've only reoiled it once and it only took half an hour to do so not that much of a commitment.

Had them in a previous house and found them hard work although we loved the look of them. We have them in our current home, been in for around 4 or 5 years. We've used osmo this time and it's a game changer. No stains, no problems and easy maintenance. I love them.