How my IKEA counters are holding up
Four years after installation!
When I purchased my home in 2018 I self installed real butcher block counter tops. I purchased the last batch of non-veneer wood counters available at Ikea. This means that the counters are solid wood and not an MDF composite under a sheet made to look like all wood counters.
This picture is from the first day I had the counters. They looked amazing and I treated them with an additional protective coating.
For those that are new to the world of home improvement, there are two types of butcher block counters: pre-treated and not. I did SO. MUCH. RESEARCH. Before I installed these.
I watched videos on how to seal counters and getting a matte versus glossy finish. I looked up how pretreated held up over years. I watched videos on how to refinish both types of counters. I went back and forth on if I wanted to stain and seal my counters myself or get them pre treated.
Here is what a glossy finish looks like. While this may be great for some people, it is not for me. You have to strip the counters every time and the sealing process takes weeks. Since the poly finish needs a couple days to dry for each coat and you have to do both sides or it will warp, this task is not for the faint of heart.
Side note: If you have animals with fur, this task is made ten times harder. Can you imagine all of the fur getting in your sealant?
I ended up landing on the Ikea counters because they were pre treated and had great reviews.
I also like the idea that I was purchasing from a sustainable forest and that they already know what they were doing with butcher block. No thought required on these, just cut and mount in place.
All that being said, how do they look now (4 years later) after going with the matte finish?
Well I just refinished them and they still look pretty great! I really love the choices I made in my kitchen. I would totally do this again over a glossy polyurethane finish.
I also would like to mention that there is a certain level of character that butcher block gets through the years. There are little circle stains from cups or hot pots that were set down.
To some people this seems dirty but I love the added story this brings. Knowing something has been lived in feels cozy and almost nostalgic.
My favorite thing about these counters is that they are solid wood. This means when I go to sell my house I can take a power sander to my counters and get rid of any blemish and reseal them.
