Maybe we should have a little wine glass icon that we can click on so readers will know our status when we post. It would have to be uneditable though.

Wood counter luv. It's all good.

Pics or it never happened :-p

I git'cha. :)
It's so nice to appreciate something we didn't necessarily know would be so great.

Plus, the wine is always delicious.
got my own cup here. :)

Bahahaha, williamsem - I thought about that later!
One of the few pics I have...
(I'm presently on the barstool with the wrinkles ;)

Looks great. I love that deep golden glow! Perfect place to enjoy that glass of vino.

Agreed, CEFreeman!
Cheers! ;)

Wow!! Anyone would love to sit on one of those stools, with that lighting and enjoy a glass of wine on those countertops. The entire setting is so warm and inviting. Slainte!

The counters are fabulous! Wood was my first choice all the way. DH is the one that would not go for all wood. Now that we have the island in wood, he realized how great the rest would have been. His loss. :-(

Enjoy your beautiful countertops! Green with envy here.

Beautiful counters and your kitchen looks pretty done to me! I really wanted wood counters but couldn't get it past my committee either (DH). Enjoy your wine! Right now a little jealous of both your counters and the sipping of wine....

(CEF: why am I picturing your wine glass with a swizzle stick full of little olive-sized cookie dough balls?)

Trebuchet - uneditable, too funny!

dawn_t - The wood countertops are perfect, loved seeing your kitchen. Warm and inviting sums it up!

I love the wood. It has that warm feeling and says "come on over and curl up with me and a glass of wine" ;)

How did you treat the wood? Did you stain it and what sealer did you use?

Seriously, very nice work!!

Lovely kitchen!

Just gorgeous!!! And if you did this DIY, you're entitled to many bottles of wine! I never thought about the non-breakable qualities of wood. I am also doing partial DIY, am indulging in many glasses of wine throughout the process. I did get granite, but invested in "break-resistant" wine glasses instead!

Here is a link that might be useful: shatter resistant wine glasses

Cheers to the granite not working out 'cause the wood top looks splendid!!! At -30 you need all the warmth you can get even if it's an illusion. The kitchen looks great. What's left to do?

Dawn, I can't even imagine granite in your warm wonderful kitchen. KInd of funny because wood was my first choice, but i couldn't source a reliable wood top here (this was about 8 years before ikea arrived) and had to settle for granite. A few years ago, I made our island (must be something with us prairie girls and tools) and found a carpenter to made the wooden top for it. I love sitting there in the morning drinking by tea - esp. when it is -30 as it is this morning. Enjoy your beautiful kitchen and I'm sure the gods will make sure we have a hot and mosquito free summer after surviving this winter of snow and cold.

Beautiful!! Wood was my second choice for the perimeter, also. I am very impressed that you DIY...the kitchen is PERFECT!!

Nancy

What a lovely, inviting kitchen. Sometimes, we get lucky, and we get saved from ourselves...your countertop is one of those things...it works exceptionally well in your kitchen.

I love it! I can't imagine anything else there, so you must have really embraced it when designing and not realized that if you just now have come to love it. Looking outward to the official reveal!

Seriously, you folks are the best!
Thanks so much for listening and for all of the wonderful comments. It's -29ish this morning, but my heart is warmed...

Stuff left to do: toe kicks, backsplash, cabinet crown, filler pieces, over fridge cab needs to be built and put up. Range hood vent hole through kitchen wall needs to be cut (waiting until DH goes away for a day, to do it - he's having a fit about me cutting it out. I should have done it when he was in the hospital)

trebruchet: lol re: uneditable
aktillery, I used Minwax stain (blend of Special Walnut & Provincial) and sealed with Waterlox. It didn't darken as much as I had hoped...
Daisychain, I'll never complain about mosquitoes again - what a winter!
Thanks for wine glass link Legalin :)

Really hope I didn't sound trivial or plaintive last evening, I was just, shall we say, reminiscing, lol... I'm very grateful for a roof, 4 walls and a furnace!
Guess, I'm just a little worn out - it's just been a long, cold winter with DH slowly recovering from being seriously ill in the fall (dang deer tick bite).

Thanks again everyone!
Dawn (who works the 0700hrs shift tomorrow - so no wine for her tonite!)

dawn, when we first got our wood top for our island, i couldn't find waterlox anywhere here. I think I was told it was something to do with environmental restrictions. I used old master's instead and while it looked nice at first, it didn't last. I'd like to redo it this summer with waterlox. Can you tell me where you got it? I'm hoping that since we are both on the CDN prairies (and it is also -29 here), your source is close to me. I appreciate any info you have. Thanks!

It's beautiful! I am getting granite but this makes me jealous!

Nice, nice, nice! And I agree with whomever said you should be so glad that your first choice (the granite tiles) didn't work out.

So pretty, warm, and inviting! I always enjoy when folks share "u-turn" decisions made during the design process.

Love the wood countertops. Interesting that several posts mentioned spouses haven't jumped on the idea for all wood, as we've had the same conversation here, at times. (I may use your photo as ammo.)

I agree with everyone else, it looks just perfect there, and I like the color you ended up with (thanks for mentioning the stains you used.)

Hope DH feels better soon.

Thanks mudhouse!

Daisychain, I tried to source it locally, but no luck. Was really hoping there was a retailer in Winnipeg, as it's only 2 hrs away. I ended up mail ordering from a company in Ontario.
No longer have the receipt, but I'm pretty sure it was this company. Service was great. (I see they're also now listed as a Cdn retailer on the Waterlox website):

Exotic Woods
5229 Harvester Road
Burlington ON, L7L 5L4
(905) 335-8066
info@exotic-woods.com
www.exotic-woods.com

It's classified as a hazardous material, so shipping was high (around $50 - 6yrs ago). I bought the gallon size thinking I'd need it to do 5 coats on all sides of a 8ft x 2ft counter as well as the peninsula (39" x 70").I only used about 1/3 of the tin, so maybe I didn't apply it thick enough? I do recommend 6+ coats tho'
And a respirator!!!

HTH :)

Oh my gosh Dawn, your original post made me hoot when you talked about all the different animal hairs. I so wanted to see a pic of it and then I scrolled down to see it in all it's glory. It is beautiful! No way does that look like a DIY with an all thumbs DH. I could spend hours there with numerous hot cups of coffee. I love everything about it and your wood counters are to die for beautiful. Best wishes to many happy hours in your beautiful kitchen.

Thanks so much dawn. That's helpful to know. I'll definitely do it in the summer when I can have all windows open. 6 coats, eh? I may have to send the kids to camp to get that many done without fingerprints :-)

Wish I could help to get you motivated to finish your projects, but I am barely moving myself in this cold. Suppose to "warm up" to -19 tomorrow. As long as it is warm enough for my students to go outside for recess, I'm happy.