Need 'rustic' kitchen countertop ideas

If you were to use stone tile, the type you mortar in place, you'd want a layer of sheet rock over the plywood. Often used for flooring, stone tile makes a beautiful countertop. It's relativily easy to do. Pieces are cut to fit so it really doesn't matter how square the old counter is. Upkeep and maintenance are cheap and simple as well.

Do you have any big trees on your property? If you cut one down, you can take a log to a small guy sawmill and they'll cut slabs for you(they might have wood cut already too--in any case they could help you with the custom stuff). You can leave one side with the natural curve of the barkiness, in other words, don't saw that edge to make a straight square edge. You'd have to wait a year or two to cure the wood. Or you could cut rounds and saw off sides to make "tiles". I'd love to have wood countertops for the butcherblock idea, I love the scars and wear. You'd just have to be sure the wood, because it shrinks.

Actually, studies on wood cutting blocks have shown that bacteria do *not* grow well on wood surfaces. It seems part of the tree's innate protection from bacteria is that the cell-wall structure of wood disrupts the membranes of most kinds of bacteria (which is why it takes so long for wood to decay).

Use a search engine to look at concrete and at wood countertops on the web for ideas that are not hugely expensive.

The top for our kitchen island is a piece of maple bowling ally lane. Im sure its hard to get ahold of, but if you can its almost indestructable.
I have a picture of it, but there is so much kitchen stuff, homework, and mail on it you cant see much of it.

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I believe you can treat the top of your poured concrete countertop to avoid staining. Check into it.

I just remembered something I saw on HGTV that was so creative and so cheap. This couple remodeled their kitchen for a song compared to what most shows do. The wife was a graphic designer (creative mind!) well, they took tiles, in this case white cheap 4x4 and she took a hammer to them and broke them up. Then she did the countertop and back-splash in mosaic style using all white broken tiles. It was gorgeous. If you don't want white, check with the local Home Depot and Lowes and ask about boxes of broken tiles. They'll sell them to you for cents on the dollar. You could mix up all kinds of rustic colors and who cares if your countertop is perfectly square or not.

I wish I could remember exactly where the video clip was on their website. So here's the kitchen design link and maybe you'll find some terrific ideas (hope you have DSL or high-speed cause I don't think dial-up can handle this)
http://design.hgtv.com/kitchen/allVi...?obj=Video&s=1

Fun seeing the ideas people have. Do post photos when you finally finish!
BW

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Have you considered tin? It would look great, be easy to clean, easy to install, very rustic and durable!

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I have a friend who owns a tile company and they used to have tile on their counter in the kitchen until they remodled their kitchen. Tile is hard to upkeep for a counter. I have helped her clean inside every groove of the tile after the kids had spilled juice and seriously I had sprained my wrist once I was done. I went to the Dr. and everything cause of the pain. She did have that counter for about 12 years and it did look nice when it was cleaned.
Anyway she opted for marble one piece counter.

I guess it depends on how much use you will give your counter and if you like to clean your grout so it looks nice or if you won't care.

Humm...that's a new one! Would it rust? Do you know of someone who has used that for a countertop and did they like it? Where would one get a piece about 2' x 10' ???

I've seen a beautiful countertop made from a huge slab of cypress. It had the natural curve front, and was gorgeous. Of course, I only visited there, didn't live with it, so I don't know what it was to maintain it.

Another option I've seen and liked for the rustic kitchen was a top made from rolled flashing with corrugated backsplash. I can't remember exactly what it looked like where it joined on the countertop, but seems like it was caulked or filled with a seam looked like silver solder or a pretty weld bead, but I don't know what it was and didn't get upclose to investigate.

Halo

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"... And what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Micah 6:8

I've enjoyed reading through this thread as DH and I are also trying to decide what to use for countertops in our rustic kitchen. Right now, we have the particle board look as well :baby04:.

I think that we will be using some slate from a friend's old barn roof...we'll put it on as one would tile. But, in our perusing around the net, looking for ideas, we came across this site:

http://www.glumber.com/CuttingBoards.htm

Has some BEAUTIFUL ideas for various kinds of wood counter tops. Of course, we always try to figure out how we can make our own...but having a picture to use for inspiration is helpful.

Good luck and have fun !!

Erin

Like MichiganFarmer said about the maple bowling alley lanes, they would make fantastic counter tops! My buddy had gotten some a long time ago, and they were in alittle rough shape from sitting around for a couple years in a damp garage. So last summer, when sanded them down and put sealer on them. Made perfect work benches. Funny, at the time I thought they would make some awesome kitchen counter tops!

I haven't seen one in a long time. My great-grandmother had tin countertops in her kitchen...my great-grandpa built the cabinets so I guess tin was the cheapest thing he had available. He caulked the edges to prevent leakage underneath and it seems like Grandma kept them waxed or something to keep them from rusting.

I LOVED my great-grandma's kitchen. Very rustic, very country, very cute. Grandpa put glass in the cabinet doors and all the counters, sink, etc. were lower than normal because Grandma was just over 4' tall. It was like a playhouse...kid size (plus she always kept homemade treats in the stove's warming shelf).

I would guess you can buy sheets of tin at home supply stores.

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I'm with Wild thang on the use of a one-piece slab of wood, especially if it has a good grain and there is an exposed edge in its raw state. An edge like that would not only look rustic, but would fit in with the counter being out of square. There are plenty of polyurethane products on the market that can be used for sealing the timber.
Suburbanite is pretty much correct about wood resisting bacteria - many a butcher down here was angered by the health department's decree that their chopping blocks had to be replaced with 'modern' plastic type cutting boards. Seems that the plastic type actually allows bacteria to thrive in any cuts made in it, and requires the use of strong anti-bacterial solutions.

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We've been thinking about using sheet copper for ours.
My sister saw it on HGTV and said it was beautiful. Plus now we're reading that
it has some natural anitbaterial properties - ecoli just hates copper....

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Minnikin, I have been waiting five years to get to put copper sheeting on my counter tops. I think it would be beautiful. It isn't that expensive either. I called a sheet metal place and asked about it. The only thing he told me is that one has to be very careful or it will get the wrinkles, kinks or whatever you want to call it in it and then the sheeting can break into. But that is still my plan one of these days.

I saw a lady on a remodeling program take three pieces of construction grade pine and glue them together (held with clamps until the glue dried). She then put it on her counter top. It was beautiful. She put several coats of poly on it. I think she said she did the whole counter top for less than $30.00. The boards were two inches thick but I don't remember the width or length.

jan

Copper would be pretty...but I'm not sure I'd like fighting off the 'green' that would like to appear but mostly I've been hearing and reading about people who get too much copper in their diet and have copper toxicity....but I don't know about all that except for what I've heard...maybe it's nothing. Thanks though!

You can use clear spray shellac on copper to keep the green away. But then you have to re-do the shellac periodically--it is alcohol soluble, and water sitting on it can leave temporary rings.

The green might add to the look though.

HomeExpo, which is Home Depots chi-chi brother, has all kinds of high end countertops, and I believe copper is one of them. You might try emailing with them to find out what maintenance is required of copper--then go with a local sheet metal shop instead of paying HomeExpo's yuppie prices.

Did you know you can pay upwards of $400 for a bathroom lavatory faucet? In brushed nickel, mind you, not plated in gold or anything.

I used the same blue slate as I used to cover my fireplace. It is all the irregular pieces after sizing the pieces for the fireplace. I set the pieces into the top with cement around it holding it in place. I had enough to cover the counter and make a small 3x3 area at the front and back doors of the cabin. It was going to be tossed and I took it to serve a good purpose. What I like is you can shape the slate. If you dont want a broken glass look then just use a chipping hammer and make the shapes regular etc.

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Hmmm... Heres a couple pics i came across of what looks like a pretty simple setup for tiling...i think i have these same tiles lying in the basement collecting dust!




granite tile

another