A butcher block countertop for the island

When it comes to our new kitchen, it’s been a true labor of love.

Our friend Dave has built all of the cabinets (see them before painting here). This is not a quick job and we are forever in his debt for his work and expertise. After building all the frames and installing and facing them, he custom built and installed all the drawers and shelves. My dad and I filled holes, caulked, sanded and painted while he worked on the inset doors.

During this time, Ryan and my dad also installed the countertops. These countertops were in my in-law’s kitchen before a remodel and have been in storage for 4 years. Ryan and my dad made the cuts to allow it to fit the kitchen, but the corner worked out perfectly. 

No local granite companies wanted to deal with granite we weren’t buying new, so we ended up making the cuts and installing the granite ourselves.

There is VERY LITTLE guidance out there about cutting your own granite – but our friends at Imperfectly Perfect shared some great photos and steps about the process. I’d recommend starting there if you are doing it. Ryan and my dad were able to complete the project with no major issues – using a diamond blade, lots of measuring and patience.

The only hiccup in our plan was the island. There was a piece of granite for a 7 foot island, but it was curved at the end and ended up being a few inches too short.

Nothing can be simple.

Ryan ended up using this piece to outfit the narrower countertop on the wall-o-cabinets, where it looks quite lovely.

And that left me in a pickle on the island. I had lots of great advice on Instagram, and was waffling between zinc/stainless and butcher block.

In the end, we chose to go with butcher block – it’s a classic look and ties in well to the rest of the house (and that great barn wood hood I shared yesterday).

 

There are a variety of wood countertops to choose from – oak, maple, cherry, walnut … and each are beautiful in their own way.

I wanted something a bit richer than all the other wood tones we have going on in the house. With light floors, I felt that we could do something darker. This led me to Walnut – we ended up choosing the Williamsburg American Walnut Countertop from Lumber Liquidators.

The countertops were available at our local warehouse within 24 hours – where we could pick it up and bring it home.

The piece comes unfinished and at 8 feet long, it needed to be cut to size. We brought it into the kitchen to see how it would work.

Then, Ryan spent an afternoon cutting and rounding the corners, sanding, finishing, and installing.

We chose to use the same Tung Oil finish we used on the flooring, and Ryan ended up putting about 4 coats on before it stopped soaking in.

After installing, it looks so gorgeous and adds so much usable counter space to our kitchen. The walnut is just such a rich, dark wood. And it’s amazing how much depth the tung oil added to the wood.

We are getting so close to having a “complete” kitchen, but the countertops bring us a big step closer.

Thanks to Lumber Liquidators for providing flooring for our main living space in our new home. And thank you for supporting sponsors who make projects like this possible.