Just lovely.

I'm not sure I picked the best views of my island above. There are a few more pics on my thread below along with others of the rest of my kitchen. Or, if you click on one of the pics, my photobucket has more.

wood types

Clive Christian Kitchen

Antique Pine by Devo wood working

HGTV

walnut

Mesquite Island (not sure what that means)

walnut from Devos woodworking

alder

pine

oak

They are very helpful and can probably give you details about the #6 photo above -- try sending a msg to Anne via info@devoswoodworking.com

The flat piece is the cherry, the upright is the tiger oak on my fridge, and the third sample is my pewter countertops.

Mesquite is a tree native to the SW USA and Mexico. Lovely wood, extremely stable, harder than hell and with fabulous grain and color. Also chews up woodworking tools, doesn't come in large chunks and is $$$$ unless you have contacts (or a chainsaw and a permit).

You'll want to use an oil finish if you plan to use the counters for chopping; Waterlox isn't suitable for that.

One thing I do like about it - it's a softer landing than granite, which we have around the perimeters. I'm nervous if I put the coffee pot down too hard on that granite!

Hope this helps

(One of my neighbors said that all of her friends stopped using their kitchens after a remodel but I love to cook and bake and have something going on every day.)

This is John Boos - maple, with mineral oil rubbed on.

Here is my island.
It's John Boos Hard Rock Maple in the oiled (boos mystery oil) finish.

We cut right on it. Love it.

Where do you put the ones that don't fit--the new ones and the screwy sized ones?

This is an attractive pantry/baking space...is it a separate room or is all this seen from another part of kitchen?

Eugenie: Your cutting board looks fantastic. We had a thread about cutting boards back in October (linked below). Would you mind taking a picture of your board and posting it on that thread, which I linked below? Thanks!

(Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.)

I would have loved Walnut. *swoooon* Maybe someday....

LOVE to read cookbooks. Your collection is stunning.
Now you must tell me your favorite!
Okay so one is too hard to choose.
Tell me your top 10. I love cook books, my collection
is a pittance but knowing what others love I can slowly
collect a few good ones.
Thanks,
~boxer

(please ignore the photoshopped backsplash, I'm hoping to finish my kitchen this century sometime...)

and a link to the page online in case I did the image wrong.

WOW! Your kitchen is to-die-for drop dead GORGEOUS! Every element, every detail, perfection. Are there more pics posted on a blog or anywhere, I'd love to see more and read about your project. Very impressive design and decor, well done!

-DenaMarie

I had always thought they had to be plank or "butcher block" type but I see now that I was mistaken.

Would it be OK to stain a wood countertop in color other than "natural" wood color (yellow and browns) or black (provided the finish is food safe)?

I know it would be unusual but I don;t see why not.

Thoughts?

Sure. There's plenty of stained ikea BB around, like reshal's:

But now that there are so many reasonably priced alternatives, like real black walnut for DIY from craft-art, for example, it's gotten easier just to get the genuine article unless the budget is really tight.

Thanks!
Mary Ann