We had a 18 foot long cherry counter in our old kitchen, going on 9 years. We didnt cut directly on it (but who cuts directly on any counter, if only for sanitation and transportation of what you cut) and we didnt put pans from the oven on it without a hotpad (but then, who ever sets something down from the oven without a hot pad?).

Anyway, we got a few dings but nothing major, in fact nothing you would notice. We oiled it like once a quarter, no big deal. It is beautiful, everyone love the richness. A buffet on cherry is always a show stopper, too.

PS My kids are now 11, 8 and 7... so babies when we put it in

Remember if it gets really bad, it can be sanded a bit.

I have an oiled finish Boos hard rock maple island. We cut right on it and put hot pans on it. We have had for about 8 years. Still looks fantastic

It really depend on what is "ok" for you. Our kitchen table is beautiful. We fell in love with it at the store and had to have it. Gorgeous wood. Fantastic "boat" shape. and they said it was an indestructible finish.

Yeah right. It still looks good - but it makes my heart sad to see all of my kids' nicks, dings, scratches... most of them are in the surface finish level, but a few get down to the wood. I can't wait for the day that we remodel the kitchen, move this table into the dining room and have a truly "indestructible" table top surface.

Now I KNOW I'm being picky about it. My sils would laugh at me over this. But we fell in love with the pristine beauty of the table -- and now I see scratches. I cringe everytime I see the kids slide the cereal bins across the table. I'm not too overly fond of the fork marks showing me where my youngest ones sit.

So... the wood counter WILL get dinged. it WILL get scratched. That is a guarantee. You need to decide if it will matter to you or not.

(and for whatever reason, dings/scratches bother me on THIS table -- not any of the other "adorned" woodwork in the house of 4 kids.)

OMG, it would be awesome to have "kid" dings in something you use every day. If you have company and it bothers you, toss a table cloth over it. Otherwise, enjoy the memories.

I just painted my hallway. There was a "punch" in the drywall about 4 inches up from the floor - not bad. I was gonna patch it but I remembered when my son's best friend was using our treadmill in the office. He got it going too fast, it flang (that's a real word) him backwards, he hit one wall in the hall and richochted into the other wall, head first. That was 15 years ago. I was gonna frame it, just for kicks...."Josh was here." We love the memory as he died in a car crash 4 years ago.

I have a 3' X 3' X 3' solid maple butcher block, used in 1890, full of dents, dings and divots, between the kitchen and the dining room. Even people new to my home (with a really nice sitting area in the living room), grab a dining room chair and gather there. As long as they keep their fingers out of my chopping place, it's all good.

I have a couple of pieces of rustic, primitive barn board tables with doggie chews on the corner when the pups were teething. I have a wooden vegetable box that was my son's first cradle (long story there) that is turned long ways and holds a $500.00 Mill Creek piece. I have a 1930's wooden breakfast table that still has ciggie burns on it from where my grandpa fell asleep during Happy Hour. A hand forged, iron, tree pull thingie that loggers used, hangs on the fireplace mantel. I don't know the story behind that but our best friend found it up in the Oregon mountains while hunting, only the T end was sticking out of the ground and it's 10 feet long. "Roco, I just knew you would love this." "Thanks, Jim." (mud, dirt, leaves, probably a dead animal, all attached) I think of him every time I try to dust it.

Now, I'm sorta learning to like that sippie cup drip stain from my granddaughter on the pine dining table. I could get it out but I don't want to.

Enjoy every ding, stain, and imperfection. Live large.

roco -- it's been a little difficult because my eyes are all teared over and I can't see well, but I just clipped your post into my clippings-place (whatever it's called). That is the most beautiful posting I've seen here. Thank you for sharing all those beautiful memory-pictures. Dings are not all they're cracked up to be, are they? I love the knocks of life; thank you for writing so lovingly of some of them.

Will you please post the framed punch when you get it done? It would be an honor to see 'where Josh was'.

BTW, I'm writing from my door-desk that I was going to get rid of in favor of an actually grown-up-person's real desk when we remodeled, but I haven't the heart. It has taped-over holes in the desk, mostly, I'm embarrassed to say, the result of anger-smacks. I used to put band-aids over them when the kids were younger. I thought I'd upgrade to clean painter's-blue tape ... since I'm an adult now after all.

I understand the attraction of clean lines. But there's so much life in the rest.