When we remodeled our kitchen we looked at doing a wood top on our island. We thought it would be a nice contrast to the marble countertops in the rest of the kitchen and would add warmth to the room. We figured we were willing to risk a little functionality.

We have now had our Sipo Mahogany top for over two years and we absolutely love it. The island is where we prepare all of our meals and we use the sink constantly. It serves as our kitchen table as well, eating meals at it 6 days a week. It is the homework area, reading the newspaper area, and when we have company over, the main social area. 

The top still looks amazing and has held up wonderfully to prep work, baking, rolling dough, markers, crayons, glue sticks, and our four-year-old wielding silverware. We did not choose to cut directly on the top, instead we ordered a matching cutting board which gives us the freedom to move our cutting area around as needed. 

The top is the first thing people comment on when they walk in the house. It is warm to the touch, welcoming, and fabulous for cooking. With simple maintenance it looks virtually new all of the time. Instead of risking functionality, we gained the best functioning top we could have asked for. We couldn’t be happier with it. 

ANN M. — Huntington Beach 

I was very reluctant when my designer first suggested using wood as a surface on my island. I thought that she was talking about the typical maple butcher block that I had seen in the past. After she educated me on how to properly maintain the wood top and showed me the various wood species available, I trusted her judgment. I agreed to use Iroko and include an undermount sink.

After living with the top for several months I found that the maintenance was very easy and that the sink was not an issue. When water splashes onto the top, it just beads up on the surface. When I’m finished in the kitchen, I simply wipe it off. For cutting I use a matching Iroko cutting board that has a drip groove to help keep the mess to a minimum.

I went from being very reluctant, to becoming a wood advocate. I liked my island so much that I purchased an oiled kitchen table as well. After a complete remodel of my house, the majority of the compliments that I receive, are on my two Spekva pieces. 

SCOTT W. — Newport Beach

We wanted to add an island in our kitchen, but did not have a lot of space. We decided on having a custom cart made and ordered a 6 inch thick piece of endgrain Iroko as the work surface. The 6 inch thickness really makes a statement on a relatively small piece of furniture.

We do a lot of entertaining and the Iroko piece is always in the center of the action. Guests continually inquire about the wood species. We use it for all of our chopping and cutting and thus it really gets a lot of use. The knife marks are minimal, however we lightly sanded the surface after the first year to renew its beauty. The sanding was surprisingly easy to do, and after re-applying the oil the piece really did look brand new again.

We are extremely satisfied with our endgrain top, and feel that it was the only surface that could make the impact that it does in our kitchen.

JEFF & DEAN — Newport Beach