We have been picking out the materials and supplies for the Laundry/Powder Room renovation and I'm excited to say have found the bench top for the laundry.
This is the wall the bench top will go along from the wall to the door frame with cabinets underneath and overhead.
I had my heart set on a butcher block style bench top which would compliment the jarrah floorboards running throughout the house (but not in the laundry which is tiled) and because it is a much cheaper option than the granite bench tops we picked for the kitchen and bathroom.
We checked out the range of bench tops at Ikea but they were too light in colour and we wanted something closer to our jarrah wood look. This is Ikea's Lagan $160 wood bench top.
There are laminate choices as well but personally I'm not a huge fan of laminate because you can tell it's not real wood and I wanted something more authentic. This is Ikea's Pragel $125 laminate bench top.
We ended up finding an authentic wooden bench top at Bunnings from the Interbuild range for a very reasonable $99. They are hardwood panels made from finger jointed lamellas glued together and finished with a hard wax oil suitable for wet environments.
It's important to ensure the materials used in any wet area are suitable, can you imagine doing all that work and spending a heap of money only to have the cupboards warp and bench top bow. No thank you!
It's important to ensure the materials used in any wet area are suitable, can you imagine doing all that work and spending a heap of money only to have the cupboards warp and bench top bow. No thank you!
There were 3 wood colours to choose from and we fell for the Karri as it has the same red tones of wood that our Jarrah floorboards have.
We went through each bench top and yes I made Mr P shuffle them all along until we found the perfect one with the right amount of knots and character. They are heavy too, weighing over 20kgs each!
The one we picked out had a beautiful pattern with the wood joinery and even had a heart shaped knot (well kind of) it was meant to be!
I love the redness and depth of the Karri wood and think it will look amazing and really pop against the white cabinetry and splash back tiles.
We will cut the bench top to size, cut the sink hole out, and the leftover wood can be used to make something - maybe a chopping board or tray.
I'm so happy we found the bench top that's another thing ticked off the shopping list!
What do you think of using butcher block as a laundry bench top?
You can see my
Laundry/Powder Room renovation progress posts here:
Home Coming - The DIYers
The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday
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Love the colour!! Will look beautiful with the white XX
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah I think its going to look pretty special too :)
DeleteI love the piece of wood you selected for your bench top! I am thinking your laundry room is going to look really nice once you get this all done. You two have been so busy this week!! Lots of progress!
ReplyDeleteThanks Carrie Im pretty excited we found what we wanted in the end :)
DeleteI cant wait to get started hopefully in the next few weeks we will have everything and can start the demo. We have been busy bees after a few months of slacking after Xmas!
What a lovely look to tie the laundry to the rest of the house, it's going to look fantastic! I too would have shuffled through all of the options to choose the right one, imagine missing that gorgeous one you found.
ReplyDeleteI hope it all works well together :) Yes of course we have to make sure our men pick out the prettiest ones for us!
DeleteHi, looking at one of these bench tops for my new laundry - has it stood the test of time?
ReplyDeleteYes the wooden bench top is in perfect shape almost 2 years on now!
DeleteRegarding the wooden bench top - did you treat it in addition to how it was delivered? Have you treated it since installation. The website recommends every 6 months!
ReplyDeleteHi Alan, if you check out the installation post it shows how we treated it with a clear satin varnish - http://jarrahjungle.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/laundry-renovation-turning-wood-panel.html
DeleteAs we are using it as a laundry bench top (not in the kitchen or anything heavy duty) we haven't had to seal it again as yet it still looks really good :)
Thanks Michelle, lucky to find this article. I have confidence now to buy.
ReplyDelete