We all have read about similar dilemmas…small kitchens, wishes for that extra counterspace- dare we even dream of having room for an island?   

Well, I came across one of those kitchens…my own!  When I moved to my husband’s house, which was a small camp built in the 40’s on the river, I had to downsize from a 3 bedroom 2 bath house filled with furniture and decor I had been collecting for years.   I really had to think creatively on how to stretch what space I had in this kitchen.

Our kitchen is still a work in progress- a wish list for new cabinet fronts someday, but we did remodel ourselves adding a new back-splash and appliances with as much as we could at the time.   That is definitely another subject for a blog post…so on with the story..

During this whole semi-remodel, I really wanted something that would somehow partition the kitchen from the entry into the house since the mudroom comes right into the kitchen area.

While out on one of my many shopping trips, this time at Pier 1, I was with my hubby (this doesn’t happen too often so fate was in our midst) we spied out of the corner of our eyes, this cabinet with an Asian theme which seemed to be just the right size.  Could this work?  Since it was on sale, and we were afraid it would be gone if we left it there to think about, we bought it and brought it home to try.  It was perfect, I loved it and I love the idea of repurposing an accent cabinet into a kitchen island.  Top Fabricators, the firm making our countertops http://www.countertopsbytopfab.com/had no trouble at all measuring and fitting the countertop onto the top of the cabinet….it fit like a glove!

I also wanted the island to be functional all the way around, so hubby got creative and got some peg board that I painted and we screwed to the back side facing the sink where I now can hang pots and pans at easy reach to the stove.  We also made great use of the ends of the cabinet, adding brass knobs over Chinese coins to hang up the pot lids, allowing for more room in the cabinets for other needs.  My recipe books are kept inside the cabinet and the drawers are perfect for our tools/junk, bottle openers, and cat treats.

Although I didn’t have room for an island to sit at, I’m still very grateful for my island.  It not only didn’t take up much floor space, it gave me an additional surface for food prep, pot storage, and recipe book housing.

I’m so glad we opted to try an accent cabinet and not a standard kitchen cabinet for our kitchen…it’s more of a piece of furniture that greets you at the door and reveals it’s pretty practicalities!

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