Unlike Formica, stainless steel and natural stone worktops, wooden worktops and counters have much warmer tactile properties. Wooden counters feel soft but are in fact very hard-wearing. With so many different types of wood available, you can opt for pale spruce or darker oak or mahogany, all of which have wood’s prime characteristic; its grain.
When designing a bar or café, the grain of the wood can have a dramatic effect. Like stripes on a shirt where horizontal broadens and vertical slims, the orientation of wood grain on a kitchen counter top can also have an effect. With the grain running along the length of a counter will make it look longer and more streamlines, whereas when the grain runs across, can shorten and deepen the counter top.
The warmth of wood has been loved for millennia. Its use in joinery and furniture is a time honoured tradition and our skills in shaping and crafting wood are well honed. Wood is strong, durable and beautiful. In fact its beauty is often replicated in laminated counters and even ceramic floor tiles. Wood doesn’t have so much a ‘wow’ factor, it’s more of an ‘oohh’ factor. It both calms the senses and raises the spirits at the same time and when used extensively on a café, bar or restaurant, has a huge impact on the overall ambiance.
