Butcher Block Countertops: One Year Later

As we’re getting ready for Thanksgiving, one of our tasks the past week has been to deep clean our kitchen to prepare for the onslaught of activity and gathering. On the agenda was doing a little butcher block countertop maintenance. I thought it would be fun to share a bit of a one year update on how our countertops are holding up in case you’ve ever thought of adding them to your own kitchen.

I’ve shared this plenty of times here, but in case you’re new, our kitchen has been the source of a multi-year “renovation.” There are a number of reasons for this, but the biggest one is financial. We’ve wanted to be good stewards of our finances, and we’ve felt the best way to do that was to work within our means. Often, that has meant that projects need to be divided out and conquered on a timeline that works best with our savings account.

When we bought our cottage, the original 1950s yellow formica countertops were still hanging around.

I am such a fan of old things. But those countertops held absolutely no allure for me.

They were stained, dingy, and in a retro/atomic pattern that was very specific to the era in which they were installed. In trying to create a more timeless look to our cottage, we knew they would eventually need to go.

At first, we thought about trying to DIY some product over top of them to make them work. But there were a lot of problems with that plan. Ultimately, we decided to just wait until we could fully replace them.

In December 2022, we finally took the plunge. Along with painting the lower cabinets green, Rob bought two huge pieces of acacia butcher block from Lowe’s and painstakingly cut them to fit in large pieces onto our lower cabinets.

We chose wood for one key reason: It’s timeless and warm, which is the goal of our entire home.

The Verdict?

I have absolutely no regrets about our countertops. They take an absolute beating in our kitchen, and they still look beautiful.

Our kitchen sees three full meals prepped in here nearly every day. Rob loves to cook, and while I subscribe to the school of “Clean As You Go,” Rob is more of a Chaotic Cook. Our countertops have seen hot dishes, wet drinking glasses, coffee spills, and the cast iron feet of my thrifted paper towel holder.

While the countertops clean up perfectly with oiling, I don’t recommend butcher block countertops for those with more pristine sensibilities. At least in our house, oiling each evening just isn’t realistic. So there are seasons where a countertop imperfection could last a few weeks. Our house is old, and with the country vibe, the imperfections just add charm.

I was most concerned about the area immediately surrounding the faucet, but even with a near-constant soaking, that area of wood still looks incredible.

Butcher Block Care

For daily cleaning we just use soap and water to wipe up. I love using the Dawn Spray with a damp paper towel.

For more in-depth care, we utilize the Howard brand of butcher block products. After a thorough cleaning, we wipe the counters down with Howard Cutting Board Oil. After letting it penetrate for about three to four hours, we wipe off the excess. Then, we wipe the counters down with Howard Butcher Block Conditioner. We usually let that sit overnight and then wipe off the excess in the morning. (Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Most of the literature encourages more frequent oiling in the first few months just to really protect the wood. Admittedly, we weren’t super great about that, and our countertops still look brand new after an oiling, no matter how long it’s been since the last one.

We adore our butcher block and recommend it to anyone looking for a warm, lived-in look to their kitchen. Drop your butcher block counter questions below; we would love to answer them!