Kitchen Island

It's done! Well for the most part. We didn't know what we were doing when we started on the counter top; now that we know what we're doing we're going to redo it. For now though, what we have on there works perfectly fine. Neither of us are thrilled with the color of the top and we're going to make it just a couple inches longer.

Here is the before picture. This is what we started with. $15 bucks at the Recycle Store (Habitat for Humanity store); it was an old bathroom cabinet. Sorry for the poor photo quality.

And here is the after! There were no design plans really. Just two brains with the same idea in mind. We had to make adjustments as we went along, but {surprisingly} there were no real issues and no one lost any fingers.

 

 

The counter top is made from three 2x12s. We really wanted to do butcher block, but to buy one the size we wanted...well that exceeded our budget by about $400. We used a FDA approved wood glue to glue the boards together. We kept them clamped for about 48 hours to make sure they were good and dry. The we used wood filler to fill in the cracks; then we sanded it down once it was dry. We put about 5 layers of stain on it and topped it off with Tung Oil.  You can't really tell from the photo but the top is more orange than the floors or our cabinets. Our floors and cabinets have never matched and I find it a little annoying. Obviously I'm not thrilled about adding in a third different color wood.  So we're going to remake this using a different stain and hopefully get it right. Anyone want to guess what the stain on the hardwoods are? I can't figure it out and we're not the original owners...so I have not a clue.

 

We took the base and reinforced the bottom with 2x4s to make sure it was steady and level. Then we cut bead board to size and used wood glue and nails to attach it. Under the counter top is a wine shelf. You can't tell but there are 10 slots for wine/champagne. We used decking posts for the four corners. We kept the cabinet door, only replacing the knob. We threw on some black paint and viola!

 

I will be honest, after 5+ years of a very open kitchen, it's going to take a little time getting used to this in the middle of the madness. But we're very happy with our handy work!

 

Overall I'd estimate we spent about $300 on the whole project. Now to replace the counter tops, sink and add a backsplash. Ha. One day....maybe!