I Was An Island

I read A LOT of home design and DIY blogs. A LOT. So even though it isn't really my usual focus, I couldn't help but share this project we just completed for our kitchen.

We took a $30 Goodwill dresser and turned it into a kitchen island. All it took was paint, an on-sale piece of Ikea butcher block and various hooks, etc. Oh yeah, and a lot of elbow grease. We picked this dresser because it was $30, in good condition, had solid wood construction (dovetail joints woo!),  and it was counter top height.

We relied heavily on these furniture refinishing instructions via Young House Love. We started by sanding off multiple layers of green, white and (in some places) red paint. In our family, I'm the Queen of Tedious Projects such as sanding (also pulling weeds).

Here's me after several hours. Don't worry, this is posed, because most of the time I was wearing a big ugly respirator... but I don't want pictures of that on the internet.

Then Kevin removed the drawers and took out the middle wood piece thing (technical term) to make a big open space to store small appliances.

Next we cleaned it up primed and painted. We chose Behr's Yellow Brick Road. We loved the cheery color and it really brings out the warm tones of the butcher block. The counter top is Ikea's Numerar butcher block in Oak. For some reason the size we needed was marked down from $89 to $49. No idea why but we were pinching ourselves!

The butcher block was a little too big, so Kevin bravely sliced off about two inches from the long size. He expertly sanded it and you would never know! It's attached to the top of the dresser with L-brackets that came with the counter. Here's a picture of me looking cold getting ready for the big cut:

We also purchased hooks for one side and a hanging bucket for the other side for our herbs and spices which had hitherto been living in a cardboard box in the dining room (not AT ALL convenient).

We put a clear plastic non-slip mat in the bottom of the big storage area to protect it. I sewed a curtain so I don't have to look at the appliances underneath. The fabric is Chipper Storm Twill I bought online from Warehouse Fabrics. We used grommets and little hooks to hang it.

In the end, we are absolutely giddy about it! The extra storage and food prep space was sorely needed. I'd put a picture of our whole kitchen in here... but it's noooot quite ready for a close-up!

I'd also like to mention that we were inspired by this beautiful dresser/island I found on Pinterest via Apartment Therapy. The lovely baked goods pictured are Chocolate Chip Brioche Pretzels from the AMAZING Smitten Kitchen cookbook.