120lbs gained

Before; my well loved, family made plank counters , with the dreaded gaps {dreaded only by me because only I clean the spills} , it was time for them to go , armed with some IKEA brackets , an IKEA butcher block bought for a steal , and two packages of v-groove and some pine strips of wood , this makeover cost out of pocket a mere $45.00 , $30.00 for v-groove and $15.00 for the pine strips , the other things I have long had around the house . My lovely plank counters have successfully be replaced , I am happy say my old counter top now has a new home in my work room and it looks so nice down there , its a happy switch .

Here is my new/old oak butcher block counter top , purchased from IKEA in the AS IS dept for $50.00 about a year ago , it weighs about 120 pounds , solid as a rock , couldn't beat that price.

My husband and I brought this upstairs from my basement work room yesterday for me to make it into our new island counter top.

Although I love our antiqued dark plank counter top and its warm patina , the gaps were making me bonkers , spills crumbs and dust made their way right on into my cupboards , one can only dust pans for so long.

I took simple pine strips the same depth as the slab and framed the whole slab to add length to the counter to make it long enough for my generous kitchen island which seats 4.

I re clad the entire island with v-groove, which is knotty pine boards the v-groove refers to the v cut between the boards when you connect the tongue and groove of the planks , 2 1/2 inches wide are the boards , wider than bead board a little less busy .

I sanded the corners smooth to remove the sharp corners and edges. I then stained the edge with American walnut stain , water based stain , then gave the butcher block a light staining with the same color , followed by a good rubbed on coat of paste wax, I use Minwax natural paste wax , just rub on the entire surface let dry for about 20 minutes and buff with a clean lint free cloth , think Karate Kid wax on wax off... its a good arm work out , my arms sure are tired today after all the painting , staining and waxing .

We sure love our new solid counter , of course I am babying it now , but soon it will be used and enjoyed by all .