Cork Countertops

Cork, our favorite material for floors, is now made in thick slabs -- perfect for countertops. We're eyeing these for our own kitchen and think they'd be the perfect compliment to the honey-colored pecan cabinets.

Cork is heat and moisture resistant, lightweight, and easy to handle and refinish.

The countertops retail for around $25 a square foot plus installation. They're available at Ecohome Improvement in the Bay Area. If you're interested, you can even download a ballpark estimate form [PDF] to get a sense of what they'd cost for your kitchen.

Not in the Bay Area? Let us know if you've spotted these in a store near you and we'll update this post with the information.

Comments (6)

Well, the price is right, but is it formaldehyde free? How does it stand up to wear and tear, heat, stains, vinegar, red wine, etc?

posted by SFGail on February 19th 2008 at 8:53am
view SFGail's profile

wish this was available near me so I could take a look at it. i would think it would handle heat wekk, kind of like a giant trivet. altough i do worry about stains, do cork floors stain easily?

posted by vertigo on February 19th 2008 at 9:31am
view vertigo's profile

How easy is it to disinfect cork? Does it resist microbes like it does moisture and heat?

~Q

posted by hishtafel on February 19th 2008 at 9:58am
view hishtafel's profile

Whoa, no way! I've been stuck on a green/inexpensive-ish countertop solution and would love for cork to be the answer! I know it's water-resistant, but really, how well would it stand up to the near-constant wet of a kitchen counter? Hmmm...

posted by tinychoices on February 19th 2008 at 5:16pm
view tinychoices's profile

most cork materials, including the cork countertop, are formaldehyde free. Countertop material has been tested for stains including red wine, mustard, most other staining foods and basic cleaners and can be cleaned with a damp cloth. It is heat resistant for pans from the oven and such since it is really a thick, dense trivet. It is naturally bacteria resistant, even untreated for e-coli, salmonella and mold. It is in my kitchen and treated with mineral oil then a beeswax surface and water will bead right up and those are completely edible treatments!

posted by klininger on February 22nd 2008 at 6:45am
view klininger's profile

Does anyone know if these are avaiable in the Dallas, Tx area? I have been googling them, and most of the hits are just articles about them and know manufacturer identified. Frustrating as hell!

posted by txlegalpro on August 9th 2008 at 9:52am
view txlegalpro's profile