From Vintage Dresser to Kitchen Island

IN OUR KITCHEN, counter space is a precious commodity. We make most all of our meals at home, usually from scratch. My husband likes to cook, whereas I enjoy baking. What we needed was another work station...

We knew before revamping our kitchen that a new floor plan was not in the budget, so this left the option of an island. There was just one little problem: we felt that because of the way the room was arranged, it wouldn't leave enough room for one. Which brought us back to the option of changing the room's footprint, which wasn't an option.

What to do? The answer came when I realized we were going to have to think outside the box a little. We didn't have a place for a work station in the middle of the kitchen, but we did have a long stretch of wall on one side of the room.

If we relocated the little breakfast table that was there, we could easily fit a nice long "island". I could imagine a pot rack above it, with open shelves on the wall for storing plates and cups and such.


With that idea in mind, I began designing an island, but was also keeping my eye out for a cabinet or other piece of furniture that I could cover with butcher block and convert to an island. Then I saw something here that solved the entire dilemma: a talented blogger that used a small dresser as an island (a "real" one!), decorated so cute, and with a small cutting board on top. I had thought to use a dresser for a buffet, but not as an island! This was perfect! SO, to make this already long story shorter, I found the right dresser on Craigslist~ a unique vintage piece with loads of character!


Height was a concern~ unless it was near counter height, it wouldn't be as comfortable to use. My husband saved the day by suggesting elevating the dresser with furniture feet, and made me a very happy woman by doing this for me! I chose bun feet, because it fit the style of the piece the best.



Off to IKEA I went~ my sister was kind enough to make the trek with me. In fact, she drove! I chose a 1-1/2 inch solid oak slab of butcher block, along with some stain and oil to treat it with.



I didn't end up needing the stain, however. It was already as dark as I wanted, so I simply oiled the wood. David cut it to fit and screwed it on, and sanded the cut sides to match the others.



I was determined to make it look less like a dresser, and more like an island. Even if it couldn't be an island in the conventional sense, it was the only island I was going to have, and I wanted it to look the part. So out came the bead board, which I added to both sides. I used trim on the top, back and bottoms of the sides to give it a more finished look. Using vinyl spackeling helped to fill all holes and gaps in the woodwork.


(before)


I was negligent and forgot to take a picture before we added the bun feet and butcher block. So you'll just have to imagine what it looked like without those! ;) BUT here is a picture of it after just putting on both the feet and butcher block:


(before)

I took off the old handles and knobs, and used wood putty to fill in ALL the holes where they had been. I drilled new holes for my new handles, glass ones to match the glass knobs on our kitchen cabinets. Changing the places for knobs and handles was a new thing for me, and considering I was doing it at one in the morning, I'm just thankful I was successful! :)



Out came the primer and the paint. I tried three different colors before choosing the creamy white on the walls above the bead board, which is a brighter shade of white. I wanted a little contrast since it would be pushed up right against the wall.

I am happy to have this extra space, although I think I will need to trim down my decorations on it a little so I have room to bake! ;)

Do you think I put enough pictures on this post?









We are linking this to the following parties:
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Just a Girl
My Romantic Home
Perfectly Imperfect
Under the Table and Dreaming
I Heart Nap Time
Coastal Charm
Between Naps On The Porch
Domestically Speaking
The Shabby Chic Cottage

Shabby Nest
Tatertots & Jello
Funky Junky Interiors

Thank you so much for coming by! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Jenni