Wooden furniture is an indicator of elegance and style, which is why we so willingly have it in our homes. Interestingly, more and more often wood plays the main fiddle in the kitchen as well – especially the wooden countertop.
Wood is a natural material that is experiencing a real renaissance when it comes to both construction and finishing works. It is the perfect way to warm up a room
However, when we decide on wooden furniture in the kitchen, we have to take into account the fact that there will be many dangers lurking there, for example, in the form of hot pots, constant dirt or kitchen utensils (such as sharp knives), which can cause various mechanical damage. So the question arises, how to protect wooden furniture, especially kitchen worktop, which is a place of numerous culinary activities, and what finish should be used for such worktop?
Let us pay attention to the fact that the kitchen countertop is the part of furniture, which we use the most intensively. After all, we eat meals on it practically every day and sometimes it also becomes our workplace. Children also do not give the countertop a moment’s rest, because they like to paint on it or spread and play board games. We should not be surprised that over time, any mechanical damage, abrasion or chipping will severely damage our wooden kitchen countertop. In addition, moisture, which is not difficult to come by in the kitchen, also adversely affects the condition of wood.
When will a material actually be suitable for making a kitchen worktop out of it? When we cover the wood with a suitable protective coating, which will also add charm and character to the countertop
The most popular forms of impregnation of such wooden countertop are: varnishing, oiling and waxing. Varnish has the most supporters because it is quite easy to apply, but also very durable. 2-3 layers applied to the wood with a brush will certainly suffice as protection for years. Depending on the kitchen décor, we can choose the degree of gloss to our wooden countertop, as well as the composition of the varnish itself
Fortunately, there are many impregnating preparations on the market, so we will certainly not have any problems with it. It is worth knowing that the less chemical the preparation is, the better.
It is impossible to give a definite answer to this question. It depends not only on the type of wood, but also on our individual preferences. There are several important issues that we must take into account: the color that we want to obtain, the way of caring for the wooden countertop, as well as renovation, which over time will certainly be needed
As we mentioned before, varnish is better if we want to keep the natural color of the wood, but it is also easier to apply if we use a brush or a roller. If you apply several layers of varnish on the countertop, it will be a good protective coating against any damage. The downside, however, is that over time the scratches that will form on a lacquered countertop will darken considerably. The difference between oiling and varnishing wood is mainly that we can only oil raw wood, before any processing or finishing of the finished furniture.
Many people nowadays opt for wooden kitchen countertops in the kitchen because they are a furniture material that is quite easy to work with. For example, if your kitchen has non-standard dimensions and we need to somehow build in hard to reach corners, wooden countertops will be the right choice, because you can order them in any size we need, what’s more, combine them according to your own design.
