If you’re going to get butcher block countertops in the kitchen, then you should use them allow them to show their age, states architect Eric Rauser, who loves seeing the history of a household and a kitchen through butcher block counter tops. “Homes from the ’50s have these fantastic butcher block islands, and they were used for pruning and cutting meat and poultry — they were not made for display kitchens but for daily wear and tear,” he states.
Whether you have different cutting boards for produce and meats or you do all your prep work on a single butcher block countertop, take a look at just how different kitchens incorporate — and flaunt — those hardworking surfaces.
More ways with wood counters in kitchens and bathrooms
Optimise Design
This Z-shaped cutting board adds a warm, organic touch with this sleek kitchen. The front ridge retains the board in place, and the back keeps the knife stable while cutting; the raised back also enables you to sweep chopped food into a pan or bowl at one fell swoop.
Rauser Design
Here is a fantastic depiction of the holy trinity of kitchen station workflow: first a deep apron sink, and then a built-in butcher block countertop, then a stovetop. You can wash, homework, cook and cut at a smooth stream.
“If you are using your countertops plenty, it must present its age; that is the beauty of getting those butcher block surfaces,” states Eric Rauser, the designer of this farmhouse kitchen.
Tip: Rauser recommends religiously cleaning butcher block surfaces with nontoxic cleansing oil after usage. “We utilize a salad oil that is mixed with a citrus oil, that’s the drying agent,” he states.
Nic Darling
Kitchen designer Robin Amorello says that thick butcher block countertops, such as this one in a contemporary loft kitchen, ought to be utilized for what they are intended: rolling pie dough, cutting and chopping vegetables and other ingredients, and other daily tasks.
“Kitchens need working work surfaces,” she states. If you really want to keep your surface from getting completely worn, she still recommends keeping a mobile cutting board handy.
Gardner Architects LLC
The dark wood in its contemporary kitchen installments the comfy, warm allure of this Craftsman teahouse. Wenge island countertops and a matching wenge slipping cutting board extend the prep and work surface without sacrificing style.
Robin Rigby Fisher CMKBD/CAPS
This 4-inch-thick end-grain maple countertop cozies up next to the sink and lets two individuals work and homework side by side with ease — a bonus during the vacation season.
Tip: End-grain butcher block countertops are made of the toughest grain of the wood, which makes them ideal for cutting and chopping.
Beautiful Kitchen Design
At first glance these two kitchen islands appear identical. However, a closer look reveals different sizes and purposes. The butcher block top next to the rock island countertop indicates the identity of this foreground island — it’s the prep island. (The desktop island is your breakfast bar.)
Kitchen designer Mikal Otten points out that the two islands relate well to each other and yet aren’t too matchy, with each having a specific function. He states, “I think that makes a complicated and layered design.”
Alex Amend Photography
Tip: when you have limited space, hang cutting boards on the wall and turn them into functional art. Bonus: They’re a arm’s length away when you need them.
Johnson Architecture
Integrated sink cutting boards scatter the sink of this cottage’s kitchen, which makes cleaning, chopping and prepping ingredients a cinch.
Emily Campbell
Save space in a studio by eliminating the need for a mobile cutting board; incorporate the planks into the design. Here a studio owner (and designer) flanked the oven with a set of butcher block countertops, breaking out prep locations and maximizing his small kitchen space.
Mascheroni Construction
Any vacation kitchen workstation would profit from this mobile cart. Topped with a butcher block, the cart can be wheeled around the kitchen and pushed back into position, flush into the wall.
Tip: Consider a built-in drawer for your cart to arrange often used knives.
Mary Prince Photography
Designer Jenn Clapp’s kitchen island doubles as her family’s cutting-board prep station and vacation strategy center. “When we’ve got a free afternoon in the winter, you can bet we are planning a dinner here which takes three hours and three glasses of wine to finish cooking,” says Clapp.
More:
Make your own scrap-wood cutting board
Why wood works for kitchen counters