I shared with you a little update on the kitchen pantry last week. We are really loving the space. I wanted to share with you our counter top project. We thought about getting a slab of granite that was throughout the kitchen. But we really wanted something that had a different texture. Wood was a perfect choice…plus it saves about $290 :) Not bad. One thing I will say….we are able to use wood in this area because it will not be a “work” surface. I would do some good research on wood counters before doing this in your entire kitchen. Wood is a porous surface….it would require alot of maintenance if it was constantly getting wet or used a lot. I tend to like things that show a bit of wear….so small imperfections do not bother me. Just something to think about…

I went to lowes and got one 2 by 12 by 8 foot board( please note: this is the only thing we needed to purchase for this counter. We had all the other supplies needed from other projects. (If you need supplies or tools, this Lowe’s promo code might come in handy.) Our white pine board cost us $7.50, and we needed sandpaper. If you don’t have supplies on hand from other projects…you will spend more than $10…still a lot less than most countertops )  Take your time and look for the boards that are perfect. We used white pine which is a bit harder than yellow pine…and you can sometimes find straighter pieces of the white pine. The straighter the board the easier your job will be to create one uniform board.  I had the cutting center cut 2 pieces that are 31 inches wide. The total size of our counter is 31 by 25. For the back of the counter we cut a 2 by 4 to 31 inches. So a total of 3 pieces of wood had to be glued together….to form one large counter.

I applyed a bead of liquid nails to all the boards and tied it tight with twine (large clamps would work great here) and we placed a super heavy briefcase on top. Let this dry 24 hours. No exceptions. Don’t touch it or move it. Sorry to be such a bossy pants…:)

When the glue dries…it will be one fabulous piece of wood :)

Next you need to fill the seams with a stainable wood filler. Place a bead and wipe with your finger. You can sand down the rest of the filler when it drys. Allow this to dry hard.

Next….go outside and realize “dang it’s cold, but I want to sand this down anyway…” I sanded the whole top with 80 grit. Then again with 120 grit. Nice and smooth…love :) Be sure to get the edges too.

Wipe all the sand off really well. Apply a wood conditioner (otherwise your stain will be all blotchy…blotchy no good!!) Dry 15 minutes.

3 coats of stain….sanding gently in between each coat. Then poly, 3 coats. Just like the coffee bar.

What do you think?!?! Love right…and $10…..LOVE that!!!! It is the perfect color for the kitchen. It will look so nice against the white trim and steel walls :)

It is coming together so nice :)
What do you think?? Are you going to make a wood countertop now?!?!

* All in all, this is a very affordable countertop project. Again…I  want you to know I had most of the materials on hand from my previous coffee bar project. You may need to spend more than $10 on your supplies…just an fyi ;) Thanks for the kind words about this project….I am so thrilled with how it turned out!