Wooden Countertop Selection

We’re just about at year 2 in this house, and I’m excited for the changes ahead! In my 2021 Project List, I shared the mood board for our Laundry Room. If there’s one thing I’ve learned along the way is that progress is slow and doing it yourself is slower.
​

The number one reason for this project was to gain functionality in that space. The layout was terrible, and without doing any major changes, I came up with a plan to maximize the unused spaces just by changing out the countertop material.
​

If we eliminated the laminate and swapped to wood, I could make use of that space both on top of and underneath the countertop by incorporating a hinged design.

There were many things to consider in choosing which type of wood was best for the project, so I’ve put together the list we worked through and hope you find it helpful while you’re deciding which wood to choose as well.
​

What types of wood are good to use for a laundry room countertop?

For us, this was all about durability. If you plan on your countertop getting lots of use, you’ll want to consider a hard wood like maple, hickory, beach, or cherry.

For lighter use projects like ours, we considered ash, soft maple, and oak. Red Oak is ultimately where we landed because I liked its level of durability and the warm color tones looked great in our space.

If you have a sink in your space, you’ll want to be sure to properly seal the wood to protect it from any possible water damage.

How much use will the countertop get?

This is the very first thing you should consider when choosing a countertop. For us, our Laundry Room is essentially only used for folding clothes. However, there would still be times a laundry basket may be sat on it, or heavy detergent bottles while I put them away on the shelves. So that eliminated Pine for us. Pine is a soft wood and even the drop of a laundry basket would dent it.
​

Are wooden countertops expensive?

They’re not the most expensive option out there, but they’re not the cheapest option out there either. I would consider them more of a middle of the road material in terms of cost. This is all relative to what type of wood your purchase and where you purchase it. We bought ours at a local hardwood dealer and paid just under $300 for our 9ft countertop.
​

How lOng Do wooden countertops last?

Everything I’ve read said that wooden countertops lasted anywhere from 10-20 years, depending on use. For us, we don’t have a utility sink in our Laundry Room, so water isn’t an issue, and if we mainly use it for folding clothes, I think it’ll get us to that 20 year mark, no issues.
​

What do you seal laundry room countertops with?

We sealed our wooden countertops with a simple water based polyurethane. We tested a few finish coats on a cut off, and noticed a bit of a color change with the oil based option, so I opted out of that option. If you have a sink in your laundry room, you’ll want to be sure to properly seal the wood with a waterproofing sealer.
​

I’ve been using the countertop for a few weeks now and absolutely love it. We’re installing the hinged part of the countertop tomorrow, and I can’t wait to make use of it!

If you missed it, be sure to check back on our Laundry Room mood board. And then head on over to our 2021 Project List to see what else is coming!