Wood can far exceed the cost of Granite counter tops, It all depends on the labor goes into it. End Grain, exotic woods, mixing wood for checkered or inlay patterns all will cost alot.

Way too many variables to be able to compare. For instance, a slab wood walnut face grain top (furniture quality material) is going to be much more expensive than a maple edge grain butcher block top. And the longer that a slab wood/ face grain top gets, the more expensive, relatively, that it will be. (It's a lot harder to find clear wood in 9' lengths than it is in 4' lengths... And the more rare a commodity is, the more expensive it gets.)

The quote for our island which is about 11' by 3' for
1 1/2" Black Walnut with an eased edge was $6,522 plus tax. I say about because one side of the island has a rounded over hang.
We are also doing marble in the kitchen and that quote ran between 8,000 to a little over 9,000 depending on the marble. Hope this helps.

Thank you everyone. The walnut is gorgeous. Our island is actually 119" X 54", I clarified. The quotes you have given me are in line with what I was told. What about pine? Is this a practical material? Is it way less? Thanks again.

We also wanted one island in wood. Our trim supplier salesperson suggested we use our leftover walnut flooring,(no extra charge) they put together for a very nominal fee. I don't remember exactly how much, but I think just a few hundred $$'s.(But we did buy close to 100K in windows and trim materials from this place) It looks thinker with the rim. It is not finished with urethene like the floors, but they did put some kind of sealer on it. I love the way it turned out. If your building, you may want to talk to your trim carpenter. Good luck!

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Here is a link to a much more affordable option if you think you can live with walnut butcher block. (48'' is the widest listed--not sure if they do custom wider widths...)

Here is a link that might be useful: Hardwood Lumber

We used 2" thick reclaimed antique heart pine for all of our counters. A local craftsman made them from beams salvaged from a local cotton warehouse. They're finished with 3 coats (I've since re-coated once) of Good Stuff from Ballyblock Co. No maintenance other than general clean-up with soap & water. We don't baby these, they're nearly 5 years old and we'd install them again in a heartbeat. $22.00 per square foot, installed.

A closer look from above.

I'm going to try to go with a wood counter in walnut - face grain. I'm going to find a woodworker to laminate the boards and make a lip to make it look thicker. Then I'll put plywood under it like some people do with granite and solid surface. When I lived in Chicago, many, many years ago, I found a great place that will do that. I had them make a solid cherry walnut table top for me for very cheap.

Sorry for the hijack. We are thinking of doing walnut but have a 6yr old and a 4 yr old - and don't want to have to treat the island with kid gloves forever. Thoughts? Also, feel free to e-mail me directly at joemiller20@yahoo.com

Thanks!