Thanks folks. I just spoke with a local company who can make the whole thing for me for a lot less than Boos (they also sell Boos). I can get either end-grain (like the typical butcher block) or plank. He recommended plank, as it looks more like a big farmhouse table, which sounds like a nice look. Our kitchen is quite small (an L shape about 10 x 10 at one side of a 20' by 16' room with fairly low ceilings...) and this island is going to be pretty massive in the space. So maybe a farmhouse table look is more appropriate? Do you think a 5' x 4 1/2' island is just too big for this space? I am considering cherry, on cherry cabinets, with a 10" overhang on the outside for stools. Prices quoted were $725 plank; $925 endgrain... about half what granite costs around here. So I'll do granite on the regular counters only. What do you think???

I'm doing it too! I'm going for a walnut top, either edge grain or plank on a 3x8 island--also with stools and used for prep...but I have decided to waterlox it. Apparently, it's a very natural looking finish...not high gloss at all. With our habit of leaving giant messes overnight after gatherings, I figure it gives a little more protection and I used to have a butcherblock that I actually used for cutting...I loved the look, but once it was well used in areas...it never felt or looked that hygenic! I sanded it down well when we listed the place for sale b/c I knew it would be a problem...however, if you're a big chef, I'm sure you'll appreciate the convenience...as everyone seems to remind us here...go with what you love!

I've had edge grain hard maple in my basement kitchen (now an apartment) for 20 years & my new kitchen for 6; basically, it's the only counter space so both have gotten a lot of use & I cut on it & set hot pots on it. I use mineral oil but after the 'new' wore off, I became lazy & oiled maybe twice a year without any bad side effects. The 2 big no-nos are letting water stand & using a serrated knife. Stains like beet juice or crushed raspberries can be a problem if not cleaned up immediately but maybe it's because I don't oil enough. For dough, I use a large cutting board (actually it is the sink cutout) on a table because it's lower & more comfortable for kneading but there's no problem with sticking. Usually I use flour or sometimes, EVOO but if I oiled more, I could probably do without anything. Personally, I'm not a fan of end grain blocks because they're too absorbant no matter how much they've been oiled & tend to pick up odors that linger for days. Shallots are the worst, LOL! I've never had a dark block so I don't really know how they would look after a while with heavy use but I would question how vibrant the wood will look if it isn't oiled regularly. I have a sneaky suspician it will be dull & faded like unfinished wood if the main use areas are not oiled every day or so. I could be wrong but it's something you probably should research before sinking a fortune in a piece of furniture quality wood. Another question you might ask if you're considering some of the dark woods that aren't naturally dark , i.e. oak. Has it been stained & if so, with what? Oak is very hard to stain using penetrating stains (I've refinished a lot of furniture) & the finish tends to set on top so I'd question if I wanted to cut food on it. Even if it's been treated somehow to age it, I suspect it will show knife marks. Whatever you decide, enjoy it. BB are very forgiving & can hold their own regardless of the abuse - just no wet feet!

I went with Black Walnut Homeowner DIY pieces from Craft Art. I got samples of Black Walnut, White Oak, and American Cherry. The American cherry was a yellow/red, white oak was medium brown with honey blonde graining, and the black walnut sample was a definite medium to dark brown and I could see part of a dark filled knot. And definitely do the homeowner version. It has any knots filled and comes with one coat of oil already on it. After I bit the bullet and bought it, I was really pleased with the look and color of the Black Walnut that I finally settled on. It was a true walnut and was a warm to dark brown. I didn't need to (or even want to) stain it to get a really nice deep color we were going for. I did go ahead and get the "waterlox sealer/finish" and the "waterlox satin finish" that they recommended in their instructions - and you do need both if you want to make it waterproof and fully sealed. Seriously, their instructions were really helpful - even to someone like me who sort of knows what I'm doing (aka over confident when I shouldn't be, haha I am man enough to admit it). They were written like a... recipe? Had a breakdown of items you need, time frame it takes to actually do and time frame including dry time, then detailed instructions including hints and tips and stuff. Way better than the instructions I found on the crazy Ikea finish that I tried to use on a different project. Things we considered: - What color are your cabinets? Ours are medium to light brown, but I think we may have them repainted to an off white to make the black walnut stand out more in the future. -What color is the paint in that room? I personally think our grey/green makes the walnut look more "cool" in tone - but if the room was the yellow color we almost went with, the walnut would reflect that and pick up those yellow tones and be even warmer looking. -Do you want to match or contrast? Or both?! We have "mullican solid wood - oak" from loews. It is a medium brown but has dark almost black grains. We decided that would work well to compliment the Black Walnut and that the White Oak would make it too consistently yellowish of a tone in the room. This is our floor: I hope that gives ya something to work with. I am certainly not a designer, but now that its all installed and done, we get lots of compliments so that has to stand for something! Ps. My finishing products (the waterlox ones I mentioned) came a couple days before the top did, actually. I had a chance to practice which was really nice. Highly recommend a quick practice run, even if its on plywood or a 2x4, the technique matters on the last coat. Oh and last thing, I was able to find how much product I needed to finish it so I'm including that so you won't have to look through their site: "For a 2 oz. pouch, coverage is approximately 7.5 square feet for one coat. For a pint the coverage is 60 square feet for one coat. For a quart the coverage is 120 square feet for one coat." This is a LOT like what mine turned out like (minus the edge profile): Here is a link that might be useful: craft art DIY stuff - and if you have a contractor doing the install, tell him to watch the install video on there, too. Helped us a lot.