Our Own Island (Kitchen Island That Is)!

So once the cabinets had been installed in our Young Victorian, it was time to finish the kitchen island. This was a huge step in the kitchen renovation as there had been no island previously. We had a large open space and a desperate need for more storage given our decision to forego upper cabinets. You can read a previous post on the decisions surrounding the island and cabinets here, if you’d like to catch up!

Big Space Needs A Big Island

The original owners of the house had utilized an antique retail counter as their island. The piece, however, had been sold during an estate sale prior to the house being put up for sale. So we were left with a space that screamed “island” and “big island” at that!

With the base cabinets installed, the tasks still remaining included: building the wood countertop, a prep sink installation, a lift-shelf for the stand mixer cabinet, and structure to support a built-in butcher block. All of these tasks were completely on the shoulders of my extremely talented husband! Thanks honey for being so multifaceted!

Designing Around What You Like

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We like rustic, we like old stuff, and we like what we like regardless of the style. And I think that’s why I love our home so much. And it’s why I love my kitchen island too! We wanted a lot of white in the kitchen so we knew we would need some warmth added to the design. And because we also love the natural beauty of wood, we decided to use it for the island countertop! It was also not lost on us that a DIY wood countertop would save us a huge amount of money! It would also look a little distressed and aged which would give us something, like our wood flooring, that would look older than what it really was. Something with character!

Butcher Block Gets A Home

Along with the countertop, Warren gave the island even more life with the addition of a permanent home for our big heavy butcher block. This butcher block is a beast and was previously a stand-alone piece with it’s own (very short) legs. Warren had gotten it from a neighbor who lived next door to his parents before we even met and so it had been with us for years. It was always a challenge to find someplace to put it in our previous kitchens but now it would take-up permanent residence in the kitchen island! Right on the end, across from the fridge, and right next to the prep sink. A perfect location!

Doing The Heavy Lifting

The other cool little feature of our island is that our super heavy stand mixer has a home too. Gone are the days of having it sit on the counter or having to lift it out of a storage cabinet when we want to use it. Now, the mixer has it’s own cabinet with a lift! Up and out when I need it, down and in when I don’t!

This Kitchen Is Getting Real

Warren got the job done and we then had a huge, highly efficient island in our oh-so-near-to-being-done kitchen! No more plastic-covered plywood for a counter and all the storage we could ever need for our daily-use kitchen stuff!

You can read about the configuration of the island cabinets and drawers in that first post I referenced above. We had so much flexibility in the design of the island, we’ve never missed having upper cabinets and not a single regret with the design; everything has a home!

I think we’ll head back into the foyer next time and talk stairs! Stay tuned!

Blessings,
{Shelley}