Just make sure you keep them sealed with linseed oil (food safe) - at least once every 3 months.

This is the house tour that made me fall in love with butcherblock countertops... I want to marry that kitchen.

I love butcher block and it can be used as an accent top in the kitchen since it is soooo expensive. I think some granite is becoming passe but not all. Less movement in the stone and a honed surface keep your look more classic. Don't panic if you have granite tops, it will be around for quite a while.

I love butcher block counters! We're planning to use one of Ikea's counters as a desk surface in our art room/office, and maybe in our kitchen when we redo those counters.

We recently renovated our 100 year old kitchen and we put in Ikea butcher block countertops. It only cost $400 for the butcher block for a fairly large kitchen (my brother fabricated and installed the countertops for us). They look absolutely beautiful! I sealed them with a fantastic all natural eco-friendly product called Rubio Monocoat. One coat rubbed on seals them forever and it's not an oil that needs to be reapplied. This product actually hardens and looks so natural and hand buffed. It easy to apply, durable, stain and water resistant, looks amazing and it is all natural so there is no toxic off-gassing. I just love my butcher block countertops. They really are the icing on the cake in my kitchen!

Sweet lord, I want to make out with that 5th photo.

there are few kitchen treatments i've seen where butcher block wasn't a phenominal addition. both rustic and modern, i'm crazy about those warm wooden counter tops as well.

I had butcher block countertops and I loved them. For 10 years, then the 'lasts forever' sealing stuff stopped working and they started to get black around the faucets and the edges of the sink. Nothing worked to get rid of it.

So now I have granite, except for an island that's butcher block.

I love the look of butcher block. It really warms up an industrial looking kitchen with lots of stainless steel.

But it isn't trouble free.

I love the butcher block look! Does anyone know where I can find more information on those gorgeous letters 'cuisine' in the 2nd pic.? I would really love numbers, but I'm still very interested in the letters, as well. Thanks!

Love love love how these look, it really warms up a white and stainless steel kitchen nicely.

I've been in love with butcher block ever since seeing my dream home here http://www.aliceindesignland.com/blog/inside-look-montreal-family-home.html. The countertops are classic, cute, and affordable....what more could you ask for?

I inherited one when I bought my studio. I've sanded and sealed with food grade solution and I still can't get the water stains out from the previous owner. I'd rather have something with less maintenance.

The thing that scares me about butcher blocks is I always can picture how my cutting boards look after awhile and wouldn't want my countertops looking like that.

I do love picture #3 above though, the dark stain is beautiful and butcher blocks look great with farmer sinks.

Its hard to imagine any stone ever going out of style, maybe granite will be a classic? I just put shiny black granite in my otherwise all white/stainless kitchen. Looks really great with my furniture which is modern.

My close friend had stainless countertops but it had a brushed design (so no fingerprint issues). That was really beautiful as well.

I dream of replacing my fugly white formica with Ikea's oak butcher block. Any how-tos coming?

Just redid our kitchen on a tight budget with Ikea Abstrakt high gloss white cabinets and Ikea birch butcher block. It's so beautiful and we get so many compliments -- people can't believe it's Ikea. I really struggled with the counter top material. I wanted caesar stone but couldn't afford it. The Ikea butcher block was so affordable (I think it cost about $500 for the whole kitchen) and we sealed it with Waterlox, after lots of research. It looks wonderful and is waterproof (Waterlox is a food safe marine sealant). I'm sure we'll have to reseal in a few years, but right now I'm loving this kitchen! (Also have white subway tile as a backsplash).

I absolutely love the sink in the first picture. I have never seen a farmhouse sink with a drainboard that big integrated. Anyone know I can find one like that?

We are redoing our kitchen with butcher block and I wonder about what kind of sink is best to avoid water damage to counter. Undermount? Overmount (is that what this one is called)? Where do you want the base of your faucet? (we don't have room for a wall mount) Wondering if I can go with a farmhouse sink (a look that I love) or if its better to have the faucets mounted in an overmount stainless type sink so that any water around the facet doesn't come into contact with the counter. Or undermount a farmhouse so that water pours in rather than potentially collecting on the counter below the rim.

So many variables! please help!

Any advice from

@Sarah we put in butcher block last year and sealed it with waterlox. Waterlox sinks into the wood and seals instead of making a barrier on top so it can handle a lot of abuse and looks beautiful. It's holding up better than our cast iron sink.

oops, hit submit too soon, wish I could edit this thing...

I never comment but I just had to add my feedback. I love our waterlox sealed butcher block tops but...
If you are high maintenance then maybe consider something else. We sat a cast iron skillet on our top and left it overnight- it left a big black ring that now has to be sanded out. We also have a few places where red wine has left rings that won't come out. This is after 6 coats of waterlox. We are not super diligent but know that you kind of need to be. We're 4 years in and we need to totally re sand them down and start again.

I need to re-do the counter in my counter and am now considering butcher block, paricularly in light of the comments about being able to seal / waterproof it.

Oh, and AT? For the love of all that's holy, can't you please do something about making it easier to report spam?

I've always LOVED this kitchen with its mahogany counters:

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/home-tour-country-cottage#slide_6

It's pretty gorgeous on the other side too, what with the perfect shade of red, antique spool chairs...

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/home-tour-country-cottage#slide_5

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/home-tour-country-cottage#slide_7

I love to cook, and for me, the beauty of kitchen design relies mostly on how it meets the needs of those using it. To that end, butcher block, though pretty, will never be good kitchen design for me for at least two reasons: I want to be able to put a hot pan down anywhere on the counter without damaging it, and, as far as I can see, it offers no advantages worth the hassle of the maintenance required. There are some things I'm willing to be fussy about--like my cast iron pan--but countertops are not in that category.

Wow, I love the end-grain butcher block island in the fourth picture. I have a similar butcher block through my pass-through window (though much smaller). If the one in the picture is like mine then it is not a dark stain. It's probably walnut which is naturally dark and oh so lovely.

We have butcher block on one set of counters--13 feet and no heat or water nearby. The (much smaller) counters by the stove and the sink (6 linear feet total) are granite (got a remainder piece for a very good price). We mixed the surfaces to get the best of both worlds--beautiful wood and sturdier countertops where we need them.

I love the kitchen in photo #4. What's the source of the photo where I can possibly look at more pictures of it?

Never mind, the answer is at the end of the post. My first time posting and I ask a stupid question. :)

@kariwk - smart idea! I think that's what we'll do in our kitchen, too - butcher block in the work/chop area and something more impermeable framing the sink.

I decided to go with butcher block after I got sample pieces of various countertops, and tried all the tools I normally use on each one, butcher block was the only one that I could restore to its original condition after heavy use (granite and marble all showed such significant signs of wear, signs of wear that visually drew my attention, that I personally wasn't happy with them as options). Butcher block needs to be maintained throughout the year, you need to reseal, you can't just put on 6 coats of something and think it's fine forever. I maintain mine 1-2x per year and if I damage it I do it more often (I occasionally gouge it with the corner of my bench scraper and need to sand/reseal but it's so easy to do).

Erin021910, you can spend forever looking for letters and numbers, if you want antiques enjoy the hunt but if you want something just for decoration... print out numbers or letters in the font and size you want, go to a local metal shop and ask them to cut them and smooth the corners (you should always have a current tetanus shot when working with metal because you don't know how it was stored), then experiment on scraps of the metal with painting techniques to find the look you want before painting/etching them all.

I have three sections of Ikea butcher block leaning in the corner waiting for my lazy but......

Where I live, granite is the norm (it's expected). I think the butcher block will really stand out as unique in this area. Really excited!

Such a great post. Reason why I love AT! Wondering if anyone who has a butcher block island can tell me what they did in the corners? Did you miter the corners and try to match the planks as in matching striped fabric? Did you do a 90-degree angle?

Also, any more thoughts on butcher block around a sink would be appreciated. Just about ready to pull the trigger on walnut butcher block for entire kitchen counter and cream painted cabinets.....much liike photo #3.

Does anyone know where I can get a sink with drainboard like the one in the 5th picture? I need this for our butcher block kitchen remodel and can't find one anywhere....

Hi there! How is the Rubio Monocoat holding up? I am about to use it on my Ikea oak countertops.