Pale and delicate looking, beech timber offers any home an element of wistful beauty that feels like the seaside with its natural light colours and slightly golden hues. Clients in the UK can bring a light and playful element to their kitchens with a beech worktop favoured by none other than the Great British Bake-off itself.
Why Beech?
Strong origins
Don’t be fooled by this pretty blonde timber, it grows on challenging mountain slopes throughout Europe and as such has had to develop the kind of strength that keeps it up on those windy mountain sides. This makes it the strongest contender for oak which offers a slightly richer more golden hue that is not to everyone’s taste which is where beech worktops shine bringing a light but sturdy element into the home.
Pale, unique, and pretty
No two beech trees anywhere in Europe are the same, and no piece of wood collected from any beech is like any other which means that the collected staves of wood that make up a beech worktop produce a surface that is wholly unique in its appearance with the paleness of this pretty timber. Each beech tree is affected by the environment around it depending on which mountain slopes it’s harvested from, causing marks and growth fluctuations that affect its appearance, but the pale blonde remains the same, reminiscent of the seaside and pale sands. A personal element will be added over time as each beech work surface will collect more stories as is oiled, burned, and shows the marks of use over the years, it will develop a character reminiscent that ie unique to each home.
Matching – any light and bright colour and surface, any colour or texture can go with beech from white walls to bevelled glossy tiles, clients choosing a beech worktop can easily match it to their bright and feminine style.
Timeless – pale colours are the biggest choice for many homes as people seek to bring elements of bright decor in to stand out against the paleness of beech, it never goes out of style and will still be fashionable and functional for generations to come making retro axppliances particularly noticeable.
Functionality
Putting that potential for quirky design aside, there has to be a strong element of functionality that comes into play. There is a reason that bakers in Bake-Off use Beech worktops as their first choice when it comes to cooking and this is for a number of reasons;
Durable – timber has been tested over centuries as one of the most durable surfaces for any home and even butchers blocks are made from wood, beech is known to be as durable as oak but more readily available to those on a budget.
Hygienic – wood in general including beech has is naturally antimicrobial and hygienic which is another reason that is is the prime choice of cooks all over the world, it is easy to clean and all the maintenance needed is an oiling every 6 months to stop cracks that could cause food to collect and rot.
