Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
It’s no secret that we totally fell in love with everything about our new home as soon as we walked in – which for me was a bit later since Chad bought the casa before I ever saw it in person, but that’s another post.
We’re not too demanding, but as cute as our little kitchen was, it didn’t take long for the white laminate counters to really annoy us. Metal cans left sitting for too long would create grey rings on the surface, anything red that hit the laminate left permanent pink marks. It was frustrating and a little unnecessary.
So once we decided to take the countertop plunge, we did a lot of research on all of our surface options. Here’s a little run down of our thought process.
Of course our first idea was granite. Light colored, beautiful, expensive granite. The downside? The price tag. More importantly though, we knew we wouldn’t have the resources or even the desire to gut our cabinets completely. So we worried that brand new shiny granite countertops would look too nice.
It sounds funny to say that, but what we really mean is that we didn’t want our kitchen to look like we were willing to splurge on really nice counters and were too cheap to replace the cabinets – which would have been true. Plus we were looking to get outside of the box a bit, 1950’s kitchens didn’t have granite.
Photo: Decor Pad
Moving on, we thought about soapstone or even honed granite. We found some DIY articles on This Old House that led us to believe that with the right tools we could actually order our own soapstone slabs online and cut and install them ourselves. Check out where to order your soapstone here.
We probably could have managed, even though our last TOH experience didn’t go quite as planned. In the end we decided that soapstone was a little too dark for the look we were trying to achieve (think chem. lab table) and it turned out to be equal to or more expensive than granite in our area.
Photo: This Old House
So then we started getting creative. What about concrete? Too heavy for our cabinets, we’d likely have to have a pro come in and do some reinforcement work – meaning dollars, meaning not much different that our previously ruled out options. Too messy and risky to DIY – for now.
Photo: True Form Concrete
What about stainless steel? This could be super cool right? True, in a modern kitchen. We don’t think our little charmer could handle that much steel as is. We needed something warmer.
Photo: Boston Design
Our last search led us to butcher block. We had seen it in lots of different places – HGTV, IKEA, Country Living, even in Chad’s grandmother’s house. Some friends recommended them, others warned against it. As you all know, in the end we decided to just go for it. Our thought? If all else fails and it doesn’t work, we’re out $300 and can go with another option. Just get the laminate out.
There are some downsides in that the look is not expected and could be a hit or miss with potential buyers in the event we sell our home. The wood is also a soft and porous material. We took care of this concern by adding about four coats of Waterlox to ours. Now they are slick and shiny. Water beads up on the surface and wipes off super-easy.
We picked up two 8 foot slabs from IKEA, the style is NUMERAR and the counters are 1.5” thick – an inch thicker than our cheapo laminate. They are super heavy (but not as heavy as granite or concrete) and we’ve been really happy with the quality. Pricier options are available from Boos and less expensive versions can be found at IKEA and also at Lumber Liquidators, which we’ve heard good things about.
Our only advice? If you’re in the market for new countertops and only new countertops take the time to look at your kitchen. Take note of its age, structural capabilities, color scheme, etc. Look for counters that will compliment what you’ve already got and don’t be afraid to try something new. We’re sure glad we did.
Thanks for reading! Please feel free to leave a comment with thoughts, tips, ideas or general musings. Triangle Honeymoon is a nice place so all we ask is that you be nice to both us and your fellow readers when commenting. Some comments may be held for moderation but no worries - it will pop up soon. We'll also try to answer any questions posted as soon as possible.
You can also subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader. Thanks again!
Apparently we went through the exact same thought process around the same time. 1950′s kitchen… constrained by budget and the limitations of DIY. We came to the same conclusion – butcher block is period appropriate and oh so cute. Your kitchen looks great! Well done.
Lauren! Is your kitchen done? We’d love to see pics. I just looked at some of the progress pics on Facebook and we do have really similar kitchens. I am sure it looks great I love your sink!
I LOVE it. I came across your kitchen makeover on AT, and noticed you were in Durham too so I had to stop by.
I’ve gotta say I love the countertops. I may have to try it in my kitchen b/c I’ve been through all the same thinking as you (down to stainless steel being too flashy for our cottage) and I am SICK of our 50′s laminate.
Can’t wait to read even more about your DIY home adventures.
-Abby
Hey, this has been SOOOO helpful!!! I’m in the process of getting my new kitchen cupboards with counters (Christmas/birthday gift from my husband). The cupboards are oak; an amish man is making them. I decided to go with him making butcher-block counters as well, for much of the same reasons you listed. Our home is 1850 stone, and the kitchen not real big, so granite would look weird and was super expensive. Do you find the waterlox works really well. I’ve read so much good about it on the internet. I’m getting everything unfinished, so will probably paint the cupboards. Still mulling about colors: it’s supposed to be done in about 3 weeks or so. We’re keeping the top cupboards as they are real wood; just need to repaint them. I’d like to ad crown molding as you did: REALLY makes them look NICE!! Love what you did with that!! I would LOVE to get a new island put in, but that will have to wait a few years. My in-laws paid for us to have our porch inclosed, so that will need to be painted and worked on as well once the drywall goes in in about 2 weeks. I may do the floor with brown paper bags polyerthaned on: yes, sounds really strange, but I found it as cheap alternative online and think I may give it a try to save some money for now. Love all this blogging stuff: so fun to see other people’s great ideas!!
Thanks bunches!! I’ll be back to see how things are going over here! :)
Thanks so much for checking in on us! Your kitchen projects sound great – we’d love to see how it all turns out, looks like you guys have your hands full. So much fun right? We do love the Waterlox and highly recommend it. It’s got a lot of fumes but if you can handle that you’ll be happy with the end result we’re sure!
Have you had any issues with the undermount sink and butcherblock? I’ve asked around because I’d like to do the same, and quite a few people are telling me it’s a bad idea to go with an undermount sink because of the potential water damage that could happen around the sink. Any issues with that? Or did the sealer solve the problem? Any advice would be much appreciated! :) Thank you!
Caitlin – We haven’t had ours in for a full year yet, but we have not had any issues with water damage. The Waterlox seems to be working great. We are not really hard on our kitchen, no kiddos. But we also dont freak out whenever things get wet. We used Waterlox all around our sink and fixtures and used clear caulk to seal the space between the sink and the wood. We plan to reapply our Waterlox at the end of the yaer if it looks like they need it – although we’ve heard they won’t. Hope this help!
Very helpful. Thanks! :)
I love your kitchen and was planning to take a spontaneous road trip to Atlanta or Dallas (I live in MS) to buy the butcher block for my recently purchased 1940′s home. However, it looks like they are out of stock and don’t plan on getting any in. I’m so sad. I’m going to call the stores tomorrow to see if maybe their stock on the site wasn’t updated. I’m sure you live close to one, but I am 6 hours away from an IKEA and $350 for shipping is not an option. :) Do you have any thoughts or suggestions?
That’s such a bummer. I would definitely call the store for sure to make sure they are out and aren’t planning on getting any in. I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t be ordering more. Anyhoo, you might also want to check on Craigslist to see if anyone near you offers services of picking up IKEA items. Sometimes people around here will post on Craigslist when they are making the 2.5 hour trip to IKEA and will offer to pick things up for people for a smaller fee than normal shipping costs. If they are totally out, I would suggest calling Lumber Liquidators if you have one near you. Their prices are as inexpensive as IKEA but I don’t think they are too bad at all depending on the size of your kitchen. It would be worth a call to them. Good Luck! Let us know how it turns out.
Your remodel is amazing, and I’m loving your blog! Just beginning the counter top search and was wondering what type of wood you chose for your counter? I’ve also been contemplating a dark counter, do you think the wood will take a stain prior to the Waterlox treatment? Thanks!
Thanks Melissa! We bought our countertops at IKEA and they are the NUMERAR style in Oak. I think that ours would have taken a stain prior to sealing but we didn’t need them any darker. We’ve heard that Lumber Liquidators has a nice selection too.
Are you a high quality kitchen sinks? Did you know that a quality kitchen sink can last up to 30 years? Besides kitchen sink can make your kitchen design be more elegent. Get more information about kitchen sink at http://www.kitchen-remodel-ideas-1.com/kohler-kitchen-sinks.htm