wooden worktops

Friends of mine have an ultra smart expensive kitchen with wooden work tops which were neglected by the DH. They would never have them fitted again as there is too much work looking after them. I would not entertain it- I prefer something I can wipe easily without worrying about treating the area.

I had them in my last house as they were there when we bought the palace. I would never choose them as they were not practical at all.

In my new home I had to start from scratch with the kitchen and chose quartz counter tops. They are really good - no marks or stains and I'm happy with them.

I love mine. Every 10-15 year we sand, bleach, wool, and oil with many coats. Daily I just clean with my washup cloth. Monthly I wash, bleach, wool and oil 2 coats.

I had beach worktops in my previous house and loved them. They looked like new after 9 years. I had glass worktop savers either side of the hob in case hot pans were put down.
Prior to being installed they had 4 coatings of oil, each side and there after oiling once every six months. Apart from that they could be cleaned with every day surface cleaners.

Funny I was just thinking this morning how much I still love my wooden worktops, and they have been in 15 years. In that time they have been stripped back completely twice and re-oiled, the rest of the time I just wipe them with a wet cloth and put an extra oil coat on every 6 months or so. I have glass chopping boards on a couple of areas so the wood is still visible but it doesn't get scratched with chopping knives.

Mine were in the house when we bought it and were ruined by previous owners (as was everything in the house!!). We sanded down and oiled and they look like new. I love them. Like others I have a couple of glass chopping boards. Very easy to look after.

I bought a house with wooden worktops and hated them with a passion - they were forever getting black spots. The kitchen also had a butler sink; the draining area was wood and split through completely, although we always used a drip tray for the dishes.

After four years I heaved a sigh of relief and had it all ripped out and replaced with bog standard wipeable worktop. It's more practical and has 'lifted' the whole room.

Wooden work tops require maintenance but do look good if cared for properly.Depends if you have the time and inclination. I prefer a wipe clean surface.

All my kitchen surfaces are wood. Not fancy and no maintenance. I don't like plastic and don't have anything plastic.

My neighbours have wooden worktops and complain that any drips of red wine or beetroot juice, or anything dark coloured, stain the wood and is a nightmare to get off. But they do look lovely when they've been sanded back and re oiled. I'm too much of a slattern and want something that I don't have to spend too much time keeping clean,so it's laminate worktops for me.

Love mine, they don't seem to be too much trouble. dH sands them down and oils them about every couple of years. I don't take any extra care when I'm cooking and they seem to survive.

We had oak worktops fitted when we replaced our kitchen but soon got tired of the maintenance needed. Although we were careful, they needed sanding and reoiling every few months. After two years we had them covered with a composite by a company called Granite Transformations. It took a day to install, looks like granite but was less than half the price, doesn't stain, we can put hot pans straight onto it and can wipe it clean with a microfibre cloth.

I got a wooden-topped island, and was supposed to go over it a few times with linseed oil when it was new, but after the first oiling I decided I couldn't stand the smell so I gave up.

I put transparent plastic on top and it's been fine for the 2-3 years I've had it. If I was more classy I'd get a sheet of toughened glass to put over it.

Wash the wood worktop, leaving it wet. Use a cotton ear bud dipped in half bleach water to remove red wine, HP, beetroot, berry stains. Once the stains are gone, rewash the surface, dry.

I would rather have wood than a high gloss finish,a cousin ordered black high gloss cabinets and work surface with mirror steel appliances, she went on and on about how her kitchen would look like something from a magazine, Weeks after it was fitted she was moaning like hell about how much hard work it was to keep fingerprint and crumb free. I did not laugh

My wooden worktop a are a out 15 years old and still good. When new I oiled them about 8 times over the first few months - Liberon was the one I used. Since then I admit to taking little care other than wash it over with the W/up sponge and a microcloth. This summer I think we will sand the surface and redo the oiling process. I think that you need to oil them a number of times initially to get a good coat on it.
The other thing you could use is Danish oil - cheap enough in a DIY store - coat the wood and allow to dry - I used it on a pine kitchen table and it was waterproof and very durable - I am thinking I will do the worktops with that in the summer. The only possible downside is that it slightly darkens the wood.

We are about to refit our kitchen and I have looked at various types of worktop from marble to wood.

I am actually going to stick with a easy-clean, low-maintenance laminate work top. As far as I can see as well as being the above there is nothing to beat laminate, in price and range of finishes

Thanks for the replies - I'd been having a bit of a moan about it on another forum, mostly men . They were discussing how to renovate and prepare an ancient discoloured wooden worktop and I asked if it was worth it. Also, doesn't the wood absorb the smell of any food that falls on it?
I'm sure many of them don't bother to discuss it with their wives first.

Monica I moved into a flat with a new kitchen nine months ago. The worktops are wood block effect laminate and I think they look really good. I would certainly prefer laminate to marble or any hard shiny tops.

Wood has natural anti bacterial properties but does need a bit of maintenance as has been stated. About 20 yrs ago we bought two large wooden chopping boards which fit over the edge of the counter top from Habitat, but they are now wearing. Unfortunately don't seem to be able to replace them. Does anyone else know where can get this type of chopping board?

Lazigirl same things, only much cheaper, in Ikea.

Some years ago, my son had wooden worktops in his flat. They looked lovely but required quite a lot of care and, on reflection, he said he wouldn't have got them if he'd realised that.

We have had the same laminate worktops for around 20 years and they still look pretty good and are easy to maintain.