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Birch or Beech IKEA countertops for staining black?

tkswift
12 years ago

Does anyone know if the birch IKEA countertops stain as well as the beech? We want to stain them black with India Ink. Also, is one a harder wood than the other for holding up? Thanks!

Comments (9)

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    12 years ago

    Beech is both harder and darker than birch, FWIW.

  • jakkom
    12 years ago

    Beech is a beautiful wood, more popular in Europe than in the US.

    If you do this, we'd love some photos of how it comes out!

  • jalsy6
    12 years ago

    I have the birch ikea top, for my island. While I didn't stain it black, it wasn't the easiest to take the chestnut colored stain I did apply, and is a little uneven. It has 3 coats of Waterlox on top. In addition, my kids sit there to do their homework, and for sure you can see the imprint of just about every assignment they've had...It is a temporary solution for me, ultimately to be replaced with granite when the budget allows! Here's a photo of right after it was done

  • bellajourney
    12 years ago

    We got the birch Numerar countertops and stained them black with india ink. (These will be temporary countertops until we can afford to upgrade them.) I think it took the stain well. I'll have to check with DH on how many coats of stain and poly he did.

    The reason why we chose birch instead of beech is b/c I liked the yellow color of the birch better - if the staining didn't go well, our next step would have been to sand it down and restore and keep the natural color.

  • tkswift
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks all! I too, am doing this as a cost alternative. For me, soapstone and marble would be my choice! The DIY renovation of our kitchen is a few months away but I will definitely post pictures when they are done! There seems to be mixed reviews on how well they take stain... I hear that IKEA is often out of the 30" depth piece and I want to bump out my sink so I need the extra depth. IKEA is out of the beech which I was originally planning on buying ( chosen for no particular reason) but they have the birch so I wondered if I should snag it while I could.

  • angie_diy
    12 years ago

    Oh, I am anxious to hear how this turns out, too. I really like the idea, and probably would have done it if had known about it before buying DIY soapstone slabs! Please post pix after you do it.

  • tkswift
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Angie-Be glad you didn't know and just run with the soapstone! =) Bellajourney- Thanks for the picture! Was the edging hard to do?

  • st3r3otype
    11 years ago

    There are so many threads talking about this india ink stain idea, but only one set of pictures! Pics please!

  • flwrs_n_co
    11 years ago

    Brickmanhouse stained her IKEA butcherblock counters with India ink and describes how she did it in her reveal post. She finished them with Waterlox. I've linked her beautiful kitchen reveal below. Her description is a little less than half way down where she answers various questions. HTH!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Brickmanhouse's kitchen reveal