Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

Wood countertops have been making a comeback in kitchen remodels, and there are many different species to choose from. If you want countertops that look like fine furniture (no way would you ever actually wave a knife at them without a nice thick cutting board in between), then teak is a handsome choice. The medium-colored wood is favored in outdoor environments (everything from decks to boats) because it has natural water-shedding resins. These same qualities make teak a nice choice for the kitchen (though not for cutting, as mentioned; it’s too dense of a wood to use as a chopping surface).

You can get teak wood countertops in wide planks, which are glued together to offer a tabletop look (such as in the picture here), or butcher-block style, which is when many narrow strips are glued together. Wider boards tend to move and warp more than narrow ones, which makes the latter more practical, but they sure do look good. The decision comes down to whether you need a practical kitchen or a trophy kitchen is more your style (do you do a lot of cooking or do you order in all the time anyway?).

Source: Smart Choices for Your Home from Taunton Press