Wood Types For Kitchen Worktops Explained

If you are looking to fit a worktop in your kitchen or work place, you are likely to come across many types of wood species available. Use this guide to educate yourself on each wood type, its properties and origin.

Ash Wood

Ash is one of the most widely available wood species in the UK and also one of the most popular ones. Properties such as strength and durability make Ash a perfect wood for worktops. the wood is also used to create baseball bats, tools and other contraptions which require strength. 


Beech Wood

Sourced from a beech tree, it is extremely strong wood which is used in the construction of flooring, worktops, chairs and other types of furniture. Beech is also used for brewing beer and smoking certain types of cheese. It is a native tree in the south of England as it can grow in a wide range of soil types from acid to basic.

Iroko Wood

Also known as 'African Teak', Iroko is native to Africa and starts its hardwood life as a yellow wood which quickly darkens into a rich brown colour. It is used in a variety of ways from the construction of flooring, worktops and decking to boat-building and even musical instrument construction.

Mahogany Wood

Mahogany is used to describe numerous varieties of dark-coloured hardwood which includes names such as 'West Indian' and 'Cuban mahogany'. The reddish-brown colour wood enjoys a straight grain and is usually free of voids and pockets. It is used in a variety of ways from the construction of flooring, worktops and other types of furniture to musical instrument construction in the shape of drums.

Bamboo Wood

Bamboo is a rapid growing grass and not wood at all, although when treated for domestic use it holds the same properties like other woods used for flooring, worktops and furniture in terms of durability, strength and stability. Its use is considered environmentally-friendly as the tree grows back quicker than most other trees and it requires very limited resources to flourish.

Wenge Wood

Rich dark in colour, Wenge is a type of wood with a distinctive figure and a strong partridge pattern. The wood is considerably heavy and strong which makes it popular for flooring, worktops, staircases and other types of wooden construction which require these properties. Wenge is native to the Republic of Congo and is also used for musical instrument construction in the shape of guitars.

Zebrano Wood

The name Zebrano or Zebrawood comes from the dark stripes on a light background which the wood features. These bear a resemblance to a Zebra hence its name. Its heavy and strong properties together with a rich colour make it extremely popular for the construction of worktops and counter tops.

Oak Wood

Oak is a type of tree which is extremely popular for the construction of many types of wooden structures and furniture. The wood which is abundantly available enjoys very attractive grain markings, great strength and hardness. These properties make oak not only popular for wood construction, but also for ship building and timber frame buildings.

Walnut Wood

Walnut wood originates from walnut tree, a family of over 21 species of trees found from Europe to Japan. Walnut timber is extremely hard, dense and tight-grained, properties which make it a prized flooring and worktops wood.  It starts as a dull brown colour wood, but when air-dried it becomes a rich chocolate-brown colour.