Monday, November 9, 2009

Totally Off Topic....

Does anyone have experience with wood finishes? We recently purchased butcher block countertops for the kitchen and I am all over the place....one moment I am leaning towards mineral oil and beeswax, the next it's a Waterlox impermeable finish.

Each has pro's and con's, I guess I need to decide if I want an old European worn and stained look, or a more modern furniture type finish that can not be cut on, ever. Oil and wax is completely non-toxic. A poly marine type finish will keep the water out but I question it's ability to truly be food safe....then again I feed my kids right off the kitchen table all the time and that is not 'food safe'.

Really I have been waiting years for soapstone, but it just is not in the budget, nor will it be after going over budget on our recent addition. Keep in mind my house is post and beam, so the kitchen ceiling is pine, and the cabinets are maple. Now I am adding oak to the mix- thank goodness the floor in the kitchen is tiled!!

(oh, and what about copper sinks, anyone have experience with that? I love their natural anti-microbial properties and think the staining wouldn't bother me.)

6 comments:

Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig said...

I use mineral oil...I like the "lived in" look. I give it a good soap and water scrub down...let it dry...then rub generously with the oil. It looks beautiful when you first do it...as a matter of fact...I better put that on the "to-do" list!

Erin said...

My vote is the mineral oil, too! It seems a little strange to have a "butcher block" countertop that cannot be truly used. We had the same dilemma 3 years ago during our kitchen remodel. Especially since you have post & beam, I think it would mesh well with that. You would also be surprised at how modern wax & oil can look. Ours has a used often quality about it, but yet with white cabinets and stainless hardware, black & white framed artwork... you get the picture, still modern! Can't help you with the copper sink though, all I know is that they are beautiful!

Kelly said...

OK ladies, I sent you e-mails inquiring about your sink experiences, that is the biggest factor here....also need to decide if drop in or undermount is best. Undermount looks GORGEOUS with wood counters in my opinion, but that would most likely require buying a router as well.

Erin said...

Hmmm, I too LOVE the look of the undermount, but it can be a problem with an oiled/waxed butcher block countertop for water splashes. The lip on the standard mount prevents alot of the mess. I think if you decided to laquer/seal it, alot of the potential water issue is solved, but then you can't cut on it - Catch 22!

Kelly said...

Toal catch 22! Te other optionis to use different finishes through out- waterlox on the section the sink is in and wax on the rest. Only issue there is once waxed the waterlox can't be put on unless the wood is stripped. Big mess!

Thomas said...

This post is completely out of my element. Sorry, Kelly. You will have to post photos of counter tops. I love the look of butcher block.