my new $50 countertop

With the help of my sweet brother, my new butcher block counter top is cut to size and installed.

I knew that I wanted butcher block on my island area, but as I started to research custom butcher block counter tops, I found them to be pricier (about the same as you'd pay for granite) than I thought they were worth. If you want butcher block, Ikea is definitely the place to go! My piece of "Lagan" solid birch butcher block was only $39 at Ikea. Can you believe it? I was so excited!
After getting it home and taking it out of the box, I realized that I was going to stain it. On a scrap piece of the butcher block, I tested out a few different colors. The stain went on super blotchy.

I then realized that I was going to have to pre-treat the wood with Minwax Wood Conditioner. It worked magic!
After using the wood conditioner, I tested out three other colors on another piece of scrap wood. The stain went on a lot smoother with the help of the wood conditioner. Because I didn't want the color of the butcher block to interfere with my wall color I went with a medium-light Minwax stain color called "Puritan Pine."

After the butcher block was installed, stained, and sealed, I realized that it was lacking some detail, so I did what I always do...added mouldings.

I found a "stain grade" moulding at Home Depot that worked perfectly. After the mouldings were cut and nailed in place, I stained it to match the butcher block. It matches perfectly! It is always amazing what you can do with a few dollars of mouldings and some creative thinking.

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Thanks for reading!!!