Solid wood countertops - who has experience with them?

Hello everyone, I couldn't really find anything about it using the search function (if the search function is acting up again, please link the thread and close this one here again) We are thinking about buying a solid oak worktop and wanted to ask if anyone has experience with it or with solid wood worktops in general (preferably long-term). We are aware that the worktop needs to be oiled several times at the beginning until it is saturated and afterwards only occasionally. Lots of water, hot pots/pans, cutting on it are taboo. If it looks too encrusted, however, you can sand it down once and oil it again, and then you practically have a new worktop. What still worries us is the area around the sink because of the moisture. For the dishwasher, there are those vapor barriers so that nothing rots there when you open it while it's still warm. We're also not exactly the tidiest when cooking...

I don’t know any household where the countertops don’t look “rustic.” Imprints and discolorations are unavoidable with normal kitchen use. If you don’t want that, it will only cause you stress and lead to arguments like “Who put their cup on the countertop again?” “Oh no, the sauce splattered,” “Not the watering can on the good countertop,” “Don’t wipe with the wet cloth,” “Oh no, the candle dripped.”

Since wood is a living material, it doesn't really bother us. We are both equally messy and neither of us is a clean freak. Rustic-looking is fine as long as it doesn't cross the line into disgusting. Do you know how they dealt with the sinks there, or were they just installed and then you just have to be careful?

You have to oil the sink at least once a year. Otherwise, everything has basically been said. What is important is good wood quality without holes or edges where water can stand.

Since wood is a living material, it doesn't really bother us. We are both equally messy and neither of us is a clean freak. Rustic looking is fine as long as it doesn't cross the line into disgusting.

That would be a dealbreaker for me if I were her. Real wood, especially open-pored, requires discipline in my opinion. Otherwise, it could become gnarly.

Do you know how the sinks were handled there, or were they just installed and you just have to be careful?

They are installed like with any other countertop. It can even be flush-mounted.