Designing Domesticity: DIY Kitchen Island

We finished our kitchen remodel a little over a year ago, and for the most part we are thrilled with the results. Of course, as with every big project, there are a couple of little things we wished we had done differently, like with light switches and outlets, etc. But there's also one big thing that the Mister and I have been debating all along...

Is there or isn't there room for a kitchen island?

Him = no, me = yes.

Every couple of months I like to place things in the middle of the kitchen to try and help us visualize what it would look like. The response was always the same...no. Not enough room.

I can't tell you what changed, really, but sometime over the last month with all the entertaining and house guests we've had, I decided we had to have an island. This time there was no talking me out of it.

I had my measurements, which were like 20" deep x 32-46" long, and the search was on. Unfortunately, I quickly came to realize that finding something in my price range with these odd measurements was not going to be easy. Time to get creative. DIY, anyone?

Last week, when my parents were here, my Mom and I stumbled across the almost perfect piece at HomeGoods. Of course. It's a Broyhill sofa table in a beautiful shade of distressed cream. Actually, we really couldn't believe our luck. With some simple tweaks, we knew it could be perfect.

First things first, at 30" tall, we needed to add some height to bring it to counter level. After a number of calls, we were directed to a great local lumber and hardware store called Craftwood in Highland Park. {If you live around here and haven't checked it out, please do. You will not be disappointed. Great service and selection of hard to find pieces.}

We immediately settled on these 6.5" tulip bun feet to replace the existing feet on the table. The previous feet were 3", making the new height of the table/island 33.5".
Progress.
{We're still debating about the feet - do we paint or oil them to let the natural beauty of the wood shine through?}

Next, we were thrilled to find that Craftwood carried and had in stock, Boos Bros Butcher Block counters. Do you know how hard these things are to find? Amazing, here they were in our reach. And best yet, the helpful staff at Craftwood offered to custom cut the countertop for an extra charge of $.50 - Bargain.

We used Liquid Nails adhesive to adhere the countertop to the top of the island. As recommended on the liquid nails site, we clamped the counters to the table and let it sit overnight.
The new height is 35".
Oh yeah, baby. So happy.

In the span of on week, I got two of my wish list items...kitchen island and butcher block countertops. Pinch me. I still can't believe it.

And for those of you curious, Mr. DD fell in love with the new island within a short 12 hours of having it in the kitchen. Not that he will admit that :)