The Island is where it’s at!

As soon as I saw this kitchen I knew it needed to torn up and redone. Nothing in it is original to the house, and it has been redone multiple times (ohhh the footprints of multiple owners are here!) and never done WELL. However, that is a financial impossibility at this point so my next idea was to obtain an island, paint cabinets, and fix walls in the hopes that I wouldn’t hate it terribly and could wait and save money to demo years down the line. Also the sink isn’t in the kitchen. Still processing that.

First up, island. I looked on ikea, facebook marketplace, craig’s list, etc trying to find an island. I couldn’t find anything cheaper than a few hundred and those weren’t even the right style for the room. Finally something popped up! It was over an hour away but it was a REALLY big butcher block on top of what looked like cabinets that needed some love for $50. I thought SCORE! We loaded up the kids in the truck and went to get it. DEFINITELY didn’t read the sale ad well enough because it was JUST for the butcher block top and not the cabinet… whoops. Oh well, we drove all the way we were coming home with something!

So now the butcher block needs a dresser. Or cabinet. Yet again, I searched. I checked the ReStore, I checked online, I check yard sales, thrift stores – nothing that fit within the measurements I needed for cheap enough.

The next time I was at my parent’s house, I decided to go see what they had laying around (I grew up garage sale-ing and thrifting with them so they ALWAYS have random stuff!) I found this ugly ass dresser being used as a catch all in the basement and thought. YEP. That’s it. It’s ugly, its the right size, it’s free – let’s see what I can do with it! I like a challenge!

First thing I did was sand the crap out of it! That was easy.

Then I realized that the backing was REALLY thin. Like my kids would be sitting at it, move their feet and probably kick through the back of it. I was contemplating if I should go get some plywood in the back or SOMETHING to bolster it. As I was pondering, I realized that my parents had a random sheet in the garage. I don’t know HOW that worked out so well but there it was! So. my mom, aunt and I cut it down and attached it with tiny nails! Not perfect, but we did it all with stuff we found around the house and garage.

I really want to emphasize here, that if you don’t know what you are doing or what you even need – just start. Just fucking start. You’ll figure it out along the way, and MAYBE even get lucky and scrounge stuff like I was able to! The biggest killer of projects is fear. You’re afraid to start because you don’t know where to start… so you never do. Stuff sits, projects and dreams die. It’s stupid, it’s sad, and it doesn’t need to be that way. JUST DO THE THING YOU BADASS BITCH! You are SO much more capable than you think you are.

ANYWAY! Next up was clean the thing, and bring it over to the house. Once in the new place, I realized I needed to cover up the holes from the old hardware because DUH those terrible things weren’t going back on! Also I needed to fix the bottom because all around the edges the wood was fraying and chipping.

We used some REALLY terrible smelling wood putty then sanded it down. This part was not enjoyable. Then glued whatever pieces still weren’t secure enough with just the putty alone.

Once that was secure we flipped it upright and and I was able to get to painting! Nice and simple coat of primer, followed by two coats of paint! This part was SUPER easy.

Next it was time to glue the butcher block top down! Currently the glue is the only thing holding it down but I DO want to add brackets for added safety.

Then I got to treat that bad boy and that made me SO happy because it was GROSS. My tried and true method for butcher block is to first disinfect, then put sea salt on the wood, then scrub with a half of a lemon until the whole thing is lemony fresh and brighter looking! Once THAT is dried after wiping it clean, then I use a SHIT TON of butcher block conditioner. I liberally drench it. For the first time anyway – once it is initially treated I only do this once a month at most and not nearly to this heavy degree. This is necessary initially to get the wood where it needs to be though if it is brand new or just old and neglected. I wipe it in, then let it sit overnight. In the AM I wipe off any excess and then let it sit another day before putting anything on top. This particular butcher block had a few stains on it which were gone once all this was done!

Then I built some stools (spoiler alert, they’re too big and all 4 won’t fit BOO!) but for now, whatever. Otherwise we put on some new hardware and DONNNEEEE!!!

I also painted the cabinets too, that was a huge pain in the ass! Not fun, do not recommend. End result worth it but… nope. I will totally build another island but no more cabinets.

You can kinda see the original wood grain design if you look from the side!

Now clearly we have not tackled the walls yet (aside from prying off all that old wallpaper) so that is up next! CANNOT WAIT to get started on that! But either way, I am proud of what I did so far. NONE OF IT is perfect, but not bad for me winging it! My hope is to wing enough projects around here that eventually, I will know exactly what I’m doing.

Until next time!