Doesn't matter to me! I saw a link from someone a month back or so and bought mine at Craft Art and they are WAY BETTER QUALITY at almost the same price.

Here is a link that might be useful: Craft Art DIY/IKEA Wood Countertops

Agreed! plus, they have samples and great customer service!
Another vote for Craft Art!

Thanks lazygardens - we are only 15 mins away from Ikea and are debating on getting some to make a small buffet out of a pony wall.

I bought Craft Art, too - based on adivse from another GardenWeb member! Then my sister saw mine, loved it, and bought it, too!

It was about the same price as Ikea only it was SO much better. They have black walnut which is what we both went with and they used full length boards so it looks really high end.

What do you guys think??

Here is a link that might be useful: Craft Art butcherblock countertop vs Ikea - CA wins!

Sarah, your kitchen is gorgeous!!

Sarah, what kind of finish did you put on yours?

I posted this (below) right after we did the project and here is a copy of the exact directions on how we did it. We used the products that Craft-Art recomended because it is a waterproof and they send you precise directions - SO nice to have.

"First things first, it came pre-sanded with an "eased" edge which is softened but squared, and it already had a coat of Tung Oil on it which all the "Homeowner DIY" ones come with - yes, we called to check before the purchase! The knots had already been filled, too, so the surface was smooth and flat. Because the instructions I indentify most with are recipes, excuse the format, but here is what I did!
Prep/Active Working Time total: ~2.5 Hours
Actual Time Including dry time: 4 days

Day 1:
1. Lightly sanded with the sandpaper they recommend (20 mins)
2. Rubbed Tung Oil in grain direction (20 mins)

Dry Over Night

Days 2 and 3 and 4:
Repeat steps 1 and 2 and dry over night again.

Day 5:
Step 1. Install! (My sister's DH did their install)

They said you don't have to wait so long between coats, but it was just easier for us to do it at the end of the day after work. For you weekend warriors the total time may be less but on work days that's just how it worked out.

I watched their (Craft Art's) install video on their store website and it was more detail than we needed but was very helpful anyway.

Read the directions they include because you have to be sure and do things like rub in the grain direction and little stuff like that but this is the gist of it."

Here are pics of how it looked when it arrived!

This is an in process pic - still wet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to thread with Craft Art DIY countertop finish directions

Badgergrrl and diagina,

What finish did you guys end up going with?

I'd love to see some pics!

lazygardens - thanks for posting that info! We already have our counters, but I was wondering about their availability, should I have to replace one, and for a while rumor had it they might be discontinued altogether. Glad to hear that won't be the case.

The Craft Art store has some very pretty wood (love that walnut, Sarah!), but the price doesn't sound all that comparable to me.

We paid $300 for 170" of Ikea oak counters. For the product closest in appearance (Rustic Walnut Edge Style) Craft Art would cost $935, and that's before shipping.

I'm very glad to hear that the Ikea butcher block will be back!

The Craft-Art countertops look beautiful and I have no doubt that they are great quality, but I can do my kitchen with Ikea's for $500 where it would be $1800 with Craft-Art's. I'm on a tight budget and that's a very significant difference to me!

I guess it depends on how much you're doing. My countertops are very small, so the price differential is minimal and worth every penny. That and they're available, I've been hearing from my Ikea that they're coming in soon, first it was May, then June, now July.

The plank option and having maple was what did it for me. I also dislike the finger joins on the Ikea tops.

Sarah...I'm going to have to find my pictures. I had some on my phone and don't think I deleted them yet. Otherwise I'll snap a few. And I used Waterlox.

Lazygardens & Lanval...I think it's more about what style you're after. What sold me on Craft Art was that my ENTIRE COUNTERTOP only had 6 pieces of wood. I remember when I was deciding between the two and I counted the number of pieces of wood in the IKEA top and it had over 50--and they're these narrow strips that weren't even level on the display top. I wanted something that looked really upscale and the Craft Art looked like a piece of furniture. I'm going to post a link that shows the difference between all of IKEA's tops and what Craft Art does and you'll understand. But it's all about what style we're going for--both will work depending on the look we want!! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

I don't understand the defensiveness about craft art that's creeping in here. Yes, it looks great. (Sarah, those most recent pics really show how beautiful it can be.)

But unquestionably if you want straight run normal depth counters, ikea is significantly less expensive if you have a longish run, especially when you compare the cost of upgrading the craft art to the same thickness.

Personally, yes, I agree the craft art is nicer and if I could afford them it would be totally worth it, but I probably don't and ikea countertops can be beautiful, too, with a little work. There's no need to pretend ikea isn't an acceptable alternative for those on a strict budget. Craft art can warp some, too, you know. Their video explains how to install it to pull the warp out if it does. And a level counter is due to proper installation, not innate virtue. I'm sure that reshal and brickmanhouse can both put an egg down on their counters without it rolling off. :)

Writersblock...I hope I didn't sound judgmental--that wasn't my intention at all. That's why I tried to acknowledge that we all have different design intentions, etc. I didn't want to make any comment on money or budget because all of us have different situations and priorities. I apologize to anyone if I offended, because it clearly wasn't my intention.

Off to take the kids to soccer. I promise to reduce my posts for a while now. :)

Oh, please don't do that, DiaGina. This would be a really dull place if everyone agreed with everything!

The other thing that's a factor for Craft-Art is where you live---we looked at them, and also at IKEA, MapleBlock, John Boos, and a few small PNW places. Because we're on the West Coast, the shipping at Craft-Art killed us---made it about five times more expensive than IKEA for our space. (If you live close enough to go get it, it's a lot less, but even so, for a 2x4 counter, was $200+ vs. $90 at IKEA.) I did like the woods better at Craft-Art (and basically at most places other than IKEA!) because I really wanted fir or cherry, but I don't think there's any scenario in which it's cheaper or even comparably priced. The difference is mostly that with smaller counters, it's easier to close that gap---had it not been for the shipping, we would happily have paid an extra $100 (i.e., more than double the cost) to get cherry vs. beech, for instance. When you're looking at more counter, though, that difference is magnified.

We did end up with an IKEA beech Numerar counter, and while they're not perfect---the wood is definitely not free of imperfections or perfectly uniform in color as it would be with a custom counter, though the butcher block is well-constructed and even/level on the piece we have---they are definitely the best deal we could have gotten for the money. I hired our cabinetmaker to cut it because we don't have easy access to a table saw; he'd originally given us a bid to build us custom cherry butcher block for the space that was roughly ten times the IKEA cost (though that included finishing, cutting, and installation---by the time we've finished and installed the Numerar and paid him for cutting it, we'll probably have tacked another $150-$200 onto the cost). He observed that it was nicer than he'd expected it to be, asked me how much it cost, and was pretty stunned when I told him. Basically, he couldn't have come close to matching it even using lower end wood.

Does that mean it's as good as what he would have built, or what we could have gotten from Maple Block or Craft-Art? No, I'm quite sure it's not. However, it's sturdy and finished up beautifully (surprisingly so---I wasn't thrilled about some of the wood coloration, but once the finish was on, the whole thing became a deeper rosy red and came together in a way that I'm very pleased with). And I absolutely think it was a good deal given what we paid---plus it allowed us to finish our project within budget. So as much as I would have liked cherry plank counters, I don't regret the route we took. If you have the extra money, I think it's great to spend it on quality counters or a beautiful type of wood, but if you don't or have other priorities for your budget, I think the IKEA counters are a great option.

I can't speak to the quality of the non ikea butcher block, but I can't imagine that they are better quality because my ikea butcher block is unbelievably beautiful. I wish I knew how to post a pic here because I think people would be shocked. I think it was the waterlox that brought out the beauty of them though, I sanded and water loxed at least 6 times, and not only are they gorgeous, but they are bullet proof. They don't scratch, stain, or anything. I'm pretty shocked. They have a gorgeous rich color, they look like a custom job. My aunt has the same ikea counters and didn't water lox and I don't care for them though.

That's a beautiful countertop Sarah. I'm curious if you allowed for movement of the top when you secured it to the to base? That's an easy thing to overlook and I would hate for you to run into trouble down the road.

I really hope they July/August time frame is real. I too read on previous posts and other boards that the Numerar counters would be in "sometime next month."

18 months and I'm still waiting for some Taljare curtain rings to come back in stock...

Thanks for the kind words, Writersblock.

:)

Chiefneil, I'm sorry to just now be following up. I will ask the actual installer, my sister's husband! Despite having a lot to do with the finishing, I didn't help much with the install. He seemed to know what he was doing and he followed the directions provided, but I will ask - that's a great question!

Chiefneil- Yes! He allowed for movement. Craft Art sent corner blocks with the top for the install. They had larger diameter holes which allowed for possible movement. He found out because it was actaully written in the installation instructions (though I'm not certain he would have thought of that on his own - you are very right!). Thanks so much for checking.

I have a bad feeling about IKEA butcherblock countertops. I planned my whole kitchen from IKEA using butcherblock and first it was "they won't be in until July", then August now October,I am afraid they aren't coming in at all!! And here I sit with my kitchen all together except the countertops!!

i've been waiting for the ikea butcher block to come back into to stock too. should have known i wasn't the only one! :) i just need a small sz relatively speaking so i'll probably order a boos from a local company that quoted me roughly $80 more than ikea would have been.

Just keep checking the stock prognosis online. I was at Portland Ikea 5 days ago and was told "mid-September"... low and behold they had stock on Thursday. A friend of mine was able to get me two eight foot counters (Birch) today.

My local Ikea is showing it has birch 8' too , but no other sizes and no oak or beech.