Creating... an Island of Opportunity (Literally!)

Anyone else have a wish list of what they would like in a house? And if you tell me no, I'll know you're lying! LOL We all have that list of things we wish our homes had, or that we would like to have "someday" in the next house, or when we renovate.
One of the items that has always been on my dream list is a kitchen island. Whenever we looked at those fancy contest houses, or flipped through magazines, islands were one of those things I was always pointing out to my hubby.
Our last home had a tiny galley kitchen. If we had put an island in there we would have had to remove the rest of the kitchen first. I don't think so!
Our new home, however, has a beautiful huge kitchen that came with a big open space. Michael immediately started planning all the ways we could put in an island. I wasn't so sure. I was afraid that an island would crowd our kitchen, making all our nice airy space disappear. He also noticed how our kitchen was huge, but because our pantry was so deep, as were all our big corner cupboards, I was actually wishing for more accessible space, especially drawers. Then my darling hubby came up with the perfect solution. He gave me an island for Christmas.

Isn't it cute? This little darling sits in the middle of our kitchen providing lots of extra drawer space and a great extra little counter to work on. I must admit, I wasn't sold on the idea, even on Christmas morning when I opened it. However, later in the day, I noticed that even though we had tons of counter space, we all gathered around our tiny island to prep dinner for the table. Since then, I have come to wonder how I ever lived without it! And that was just the surface and the top drawer! The other two drawers only got loaded yesterday!

Now to show you the planning and prep Michael (who is usually a December 24th shopper) put into this island, and how easily you could do one without breaking the bank!
First Michael visited a demolitions place and bought a used cabinet set (one with drawers obviously). Other places you could get them are Craigslist, Freecycle, talking to renovations contractors, or by asking around your friends and neighbours.
Next he got a melamine board and melamine strips from Home Depot and used them to enclose the back. He measured and cut the board to fit the back, then used the strips to cover the wood that still showed along the sides at the back.
For the top he attached a small kitchen countertop. We are lucky enough to have a friend who works at a cabinet shop and was able to match it pretty close to our kitchen counters, and to make it for Michael. Michael then just drilled it into the spots provided on the cabinet. Other options for a top would include using a large wood cutting board and attaching that, or cutting an old countertop to size and covering it with melamine like for the sides.
Now I have a lovely island in the middle of my floor, and it can even be shifted to clean under it! LOL

Michael says he has other home ideas up his sleeve. I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next!

Creating a Kitchen that Works

We have been here over three months and I have been amazed at how quickly we have gotten the house in order. It looks amazing.
However, the one room that has continued to be a challenge is the kitchen. Compared to our last one it is HUGE, plus Michael made me an island for Christmas - more on that tomorrow.
Yet in spite of all this space my kitchen was in continual chaos and I couldn't fit everything in.
Today a friend came over and we started pulling the cupboards apart and rearranging them in a way that made more sense.
It was AMAZING how much room we actually had! In fact we had so much room that the crockpot and rice cooker are both off the counter. My new 18 quart roaster has its own designated cupboard. Amanda's Easybake oven even got its own shelf in a cupboard!
After we got the dish and cookware organized we tackled the pantries. By the time we were done they looked fabulous, items were grouped in a way that made sense, and there is even an empty shelf. Oh, and that empty shelf is AFTER making another entire shelf into a chocolate shelf (because it only contains the chocolate chips and the leftover Christmas chocolate!)
Thank the Lord for a roomy and organized kitchen. We are blessed to have space and blessed to have organization!
Now my next mission will be to make my organized kitchen into a beautiful kitchen!