My husband and I are full swing into our kitchen renovation. If anyone has been following along or looks at my older posts, after exploring several options we went with knocking down the wall completely and installing a cabinet island with seating. Thanks to everyone who offered advice to help us get there! The cabinets are in place and now we need to figure out what we are doing for a countertop. Here's what it looks like so far:

For the countertop, we love the wood look, and we are going to do it ourselves because, honestly, we are already over budget and just cannot afford $3k or more to have something custom built. We ended up having to hire a contractor to handle the plumbing, electrical, rebuild/repair work, etc. so that hurt. But we did all the demo ourselves. That was fun. Anyway, we are looking at 2 DIY options for our 10' x 37" wood island countertop (width is flexible - we can go as narrow as 36" or up to 40")....

Option #1. Buy pre-fabbed butcher block. PRO: already planed, tight, and smooth CON: I cannot find any that are both the length and width we need (unless anyone has any ideas/sources?) Again, we are trying to NOT go custom so we are stuck buying off the shelf. I can find 10' x 25" OR 6' x 36, 39, or 40," but not 10' x 36, 39, or 40".

To make this option work we would have to buy two slabs and then join the long sides to make it the width we need. Buying wider, but short panels and joining them on the short side is not an option for us - the seam would be too visible. At least when joining on the long side the seam would run parallel to the lines created by the glued pieces already there.

Option #2. Buy 2x6 boards and join them together to create a wide plank countertop. PRO: I like this look the best. CON: I can only find rough lumber and so far I can't find a big box store, nor even a lumber yard that is willing or able to run the pieces through a jointer and planer. We are not going to spend $1000+ to buy this equipment for just this one project, and after an exhaustive search I can't find any companies that either rent the equipment (Home Depot will rent a hand planer but not the machine where you run the boards through), nor any that offer this type of service. Finished boards from the big box stores are not long enough.

To make this option work we could select the straightest lumber we can find, then rip the ends with a table saw and maybe use a hand planer, then sand it really really well. We'll end up with a rustic, imperfect countertop, which I would LOVE but only if we don't have to pour on gallons of polyurethane to make it functional for a family with kids. The whole reason we want wood counters is to keep it natural with mineral oil for a matte finish. Would that be good enough for planks that might have minor gaps or not be completely smooth?

Which option would you go with? Are there any considerations I haven't mentioned here? Whether we go with #1 or 2, we would of course use a biscuit joiner, glue, and pocket screws to get either the butcher block panels or 2x6s to fit together as tightly as possible. Any insights from those who have done either or both of these types of projects would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!