Solid oak worktops are one of the most popular choices for a kitchen. Well known for its durability, warmth and natural beauty, oak has been widely used for decades for buildings, furniture, barrels and worktops. Oak is a very dense wood, which gives it its strength. It also has antibacterial properties, making it ideal for the kitchen area.
When it comes to oak worktops, there are many options for your kitchen due to the grades of oak and designs available. This blog will discuss the types of oak and worktop designs to help you choose the best worktop for your kitchen design.
As oak is a natural material, each piece is unique in character and charm. This means there is an option to suit all tastes, budgets and kitchen designs, whether you prefer knots and darker grain lines or something more uniform with lighter honey tones.
The solid oak kitchen worktop is available in four main grades;
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Rustic oak shows the timber in its most natural form. It has all the beautiful characteristics of oak at its best. With knots, distinctive varying grain lines and unique patterns ranging from golden honey colours to a rich dark chestnut brown.
Prime oak has all the beauty and character of natural Oak but has fewer knots, and then the natural oak gives the worktop a more uniform pattern and colouring.
Deluxe oak has the charm and elegance you would expect, with less colour variation and fewer knots. This gives the worktop beautiful, even golden tones and age lines, which are so distinctive with natural timber.
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Deluxe prime oak uses only timbers, which have the most even colouring and fewer knots. This grade gives the worktop a more uniform colour showing milder pattern grainline variations.
Worktop Designs
Solid wood worktops are created in three main designs; 40mm stave, full stave and super stave. The 40mm stave worktops are made by joining 40mm staves or blocks together using V-groove joints to create an entire worktop. This design gives the worktop a distinctive block pattern effect.
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The full stave design uses stave (planks), which run the entire length of the worktop; this design shows the long grain lines at their best and can give a more uniform colour than the 40m stave design.
Super stave oak worktops are created using wide staves that run the entire worktop length, as with the full stave. However, the super staves are wider, which gives a larger surface area and shows more extensive grain lines of this distinctive timber.
Solid oak is a beautiful asset to any kitchen design and will create a durable work surface perfect for a busy modern home. Choosing which worktop is best for you depends on whether you prefer the rustic oak, with its many knots and distinctive grain patterns. Or the more consistent look of the prime oak or deluxe prime oak, as well as the budget you have available. Whichever oak kitchen worktop you choose, you are guaranteed a durable surface with abundant charm and character.
