New countertop fad?

[CrealCritter]

I have a guy coming over this weekend to buy live edge lumber to make 2" deep pour epoxy river cast countertops. This is the first I've heard of such a thing, but I have to admit it is pretty darn cool.

Here's some internet picture examples.

Apparently you can do table tops also.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

There's a guy who sells that stuff at a local weekend flea market. It is WAY BEYOND COOL. A lot of his work has river stone embedded in it. His wood is not divided like that one you show. He uses the natural voids in the wood to make the river bed, then lines it with the stone, and pours the epoxy/resin (what ever the stuff is) in over the entire surface.

 

[wyoDreamer]

That is very pretty dramatic! Way too busy for my tastes, but I think it is pretty. Nice statement piece for a hall table or coffee table maybe.

I love the live edge boards and those oak burls. A friend had a bar top in his basement made of live edge walnut planks and it was gorgeous.

 

[thistlebloom]

That's beautiful. Looks like a Google Earth photo.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

I have a friend who's dad made burl bowls. Impossible to look at one of his creations without picking it up and just enjoying the texture and sight of it.

 

[Britesea]

I had some rock hound friends that did something similar, only they used a clear epoxy and embedded a lot of the beautiful stones they had found over the years. It was gorgeous- I remember they even had a few opals in there that would catch the light and just.... wow....

 

[baymule]

That is beautiful. I would love that as a kitchen counter top, but how would it hold up to use?

 

[CrealCritter]

That is beautiful. I would love that as a kitchen counter top, but how would it hold up to use?

Well I know next to nothing about this topic. But the casting is epoxy, so I would say longevity is very good to excellent. I'm more familiar with bartop finish which is also epoxy. Bartop finish holds up in a bar setting, which sees way more use than a kitchen counter in a home.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

I bet it would hold up well to common kitchen stains, but would not hold up well to the occasional ding from a misdirected knife. All the more reason to keep plenty of cutting boards handy.

 

[Beekissed]

My son is so wanting to do something like this....talks about it all the time!