Our kitchen island

In our kitchen, I went back and forth (over and over!!) on what I wanted in our kitchen, and I finally decided we needed some worn wood in it somewhere to add warmth and carry over the rustic feeling from the rest of our house into the kitchen.  I originally planned to do wood perimeter cabinets but then fell in love with a slab of black soapstone, so I liked the idea of the lighter-painted perimeter cabinets with the dark soapstone top and then a darker wood island with a white marble top.  Here you can see our mid-stage kitchen:



Our island is around 8 feet long & can sit four of us...  (Even though you only see 3 chairs above)

Our builders got the kitchen island fucntional and we've been doing this for a while:



This island is a WORKHORSE!! Oh my gosh, it's a beast.  I love it.  It holds our trash, recycling, junk drawer, pasta/rice/randoms, a little bar drawer, kids' snacks, my vases & mason jars, and then paper goods like paper towels/ plates/cups.  We've had parties where we've loaded it up with food/ drinks.  (And even beer pong I must admit ;)  For Christmas, it seemed like our entire extended family fit around it easily.  It's one of the most practical pieces I've ever had and I've never had anything like this in a kitchen of my own before.  It might be my favorite thing in my house...  And it's not even pretty yet.

{Reality: My dog is "vacuuming" up our crumbs.  Get it giiiirl.}

BUT... our reclaimed oak arrived this week!!!  It was an amazingly generous gift from David Ellison at the Lorimer Workshop who we often team up with for cour clients' projects.  David & his team are true craftspeople and everything that arrives from them is so much more beautiful than any photos could show.  Our clients are always over the moon with their Lorimer pieces and we were no less blown away when our reclaimed wood arrived:

(Don't mind the helicoptor ;)

The color was exactly what I'd asked David for...  It's stained sort of a warm (but still somehow grayish and not too orangey) medium walnut.  I love how it looks with our light white oak floors.
Here's a close-up where you can really see the saw marks: 


Eeeeek!

We are having the wood planks applied horizontally over the entire existing island & drawers similar to this:


 They're all random length, width & depths though, so it will be a bit rougher-looking.

I wanted something special for hardware on the island and on an ebay search Dave, my husband, found prettiest antique apothecary bin pulls:

antique bin pulls
{My computer is being evil and won't let me flip this photo around}

Thy're labeled with what the bins used to hold...

Here's a close-up:



They had the exact number of bin pulls we needed (7) so I'm convinced it was meant to be ;) ;)

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on our island's progress and can't wait to share 'afters' of it!!
Have the best weekend!! 
 


If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

36 comments:

A Perfect Gray said...

i have to admit it. I'm jealous. of the wood and pulls. and everything really.

donna

Laura Lynn said...

Holy crap, it's going to be awesome! I read that sentence wrong and thought you said the island held condoms, not "randoms."

katie gavigan said...

it's going to be gorgeous!! love your vision.

Abby M. Interiors said...

My ideal. I love the direction you're headed and can't wait to see the finished look!

Nancy E. J. said...

Those pulls are amazing!!!

Loretta Fontaine (EcoHappy Blog) said...

Lauren- Wow, wow, wow - what handsome wood! That will be one stunning island - can't wait to see it finished!

Loretta

primjillie said...

I'm always a fan of rustic wood, but I'm in love with those drawer pulls!!!

Diane said...

Hate when computers are evil... mine was evil yesterday and still might be... Love the bin pulls! Your island is going to be a work of art!

Single Stone Studios said...

This is going to be fantastic! Can't wait to see it all done!

Aja said...

Wow, it's going to be awesome! Love those bin pulls! Can't wait to see it all come together.

Heidi said...

Lauren, this is going to be beautiful!

Live Inspired,

Heidi Chamoun
athousandlaughingstarfish.blogspot.com

Heidi said...

Lauren, this is going to be beautiful!

Live Inspired,

Heidi Chamoun
athousandlaughingstarfish.blogspot.com

Milliscent Morgan said...

Cool page! Supposedly I'm looking for the post of interior glass doors. Thanks for having me here.

Dana Frieling said...

Oh my! I'm positive this is going to be the best thing ever!

Naomi@DesignManifest said...

Oh my goodness it is going to be amazing! I'm so curious how your guys will apply the planks onto the drawers. Please show lots of pictures!

Carol@6WilsonBlog.com said...

Oh my good god, that is going to be amazing. And it's great to see you on Instagram (6Wilson).

Anonymous said...

Those bin pulls! My heart is thumping!

Laurie said...

Ok how cool is this!! Can not wait to see it finished. So envy of that hardware.

The enchanted home said...

This is going to be outrageous!! LOOOOVE those bins, they are going to be like crown jewel to your masterpiece!!

Acquired Objects said...

Your bin pulls are fabulous, love them! You're going to love your soapstone we have black soapstone in our kitchen too. I don't oil it but let the beauty of the stone show. It will hone down with use and get the most patina. We love soapstone so much we even used it for the hearth in our kitchen. I'm a tad jealous of the size of your island and can't wait to see the finished results.

Enjoy your weekend!
XXX
Debra~

Unknown said...

Those bin pulls are nothing short of amazing!!! So happy for u all!
xx
Jen

Almamira said...

You've always been my favorite design blogger, never cease to amaze me. This post is proof positive of your talents.

Barbara Matson said...

That is going to be one stunning kitchen island! I can't wait to see it finished!

Kathysue said...

♥♥♥ your orginality and that you always stay true to who you are. The bin pulls are over the top!! what a treasure you found!!
Happy Weekend,
Kathysue

PS thanks for your visit to my blog the other day, always nice to hear from you!xo

jvw home said...

love the direction your kitchen is going into....the reclaimed wood and those pulls! looking fwd to the big reveal....hope you're doing great

Unknown said...

OMG-LOVE EVERYTHING-so exciting...
Finding these pulls is just so serendipitous!

Jessica said...

I seriously can't get over how amazing this all is! I cannot wait to see the final product!

Unknown said...

IN our recent kitchen remodel we also felt the need to incorporate some rough wood to warm things up a bit. I only wish I had your supplier close at hand. It looks like it is going to be such an interesting feature in that kitchen...looking forward to seeing it all done

Diane said...

That hardware collection is magnificent. For obvious reasons we believe the hardware can truly make a room and your choices will certainly do that. With your love of flowers, they are so perfect. Lucky find!

Unknown said...

I haven't read any of the other comments~ so I am sure I am just repeating. Beautiful wood and the pulls are gorgeous.

kayce hughes said...

LOVE the pulls! I am so excited to see more photos.
xokc

Kristi Lynn said...

Jealous of the drawer pulls, huge island, and the wood. This is going to look amazing!

Donna Benedetto said...

Love the mix you have created here, it will be stunning when it is finished and well worth the wait.
Can't wait to see it moving along.
The pulls are fabulous, can't beat Ebay...love that site.
Donna
thebeneblog.com

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LindsB said...

Your whole island is basically the size of my whole kitchen. Can I tell you how jealous I am of your workhorse. And those pulls?!? Dont even get me started on how cool those things are!

A Lifestyle Thing said...

Lauren, the island is looking and sounding like it's amazing!! The pulls are ridiculously cool too. We're having our honed marble installed on Friday and I am so glad to hear your happy thoughts about a supposedly 'bad thing'!

xx