BUILDING AN ISLAND, THE NOVICE WAY!

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter.  We were invited to a cousin's for Easter dinner with their family.  It was a lot of fun mainly because my cousin has adorable grandchildren who are so very entertaining to watch and be around.   We had a lovely meal and a fun time spent with them all.

The rest of our weekend was devoted to finally getting around to building our kitchen island.  This was quite a project for such novices as Gary and I.  I wasn't entirely sure if we would have either the tools or the know-how to get it done... but get it done, we did!

We started with a used 2 drawer, 2 door kitchen cabinet we purchased at a second hand shop.  It was a sturdy well made cabinet, but the sides and the back were unfinished - suitable for using as kitchen cabinets against a wall and surrounded by other cabinets, but not suitable for an island.  There were a bunch of large holes cut in the back and the sides as well, so these needed to be dealt with pronto!

After much discussion we decided to cover the back and the two sides with Melamine... so we bought a sheet and and marked it out...  A special thank you to Jason from the Co-op Building Center for the excellent instructions on the right way to cut Melamine!

INVALUABLE INFORMATION!

Gary is stronger, and I am straighter - so he held, and I cut the pieces with my little Jig Saw!

Then it was time to attach the Melamine.  This was much more difficult that the cutting, let me tell you... But we got it all on - eventually!

Next we fastened the new island top we had custom made, and it fit perfectly....

Some finishing touches  and we were done and ready to sit and eat our first meal on our new island!

It was a great meal too - Swiss Steak, Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus!  Yummy!

Am I happy with the finished project?

Oh Yeah - I LOve it!

We still have to get some corner moldings for the island, but those are not available here, so we will have to wait until we go into the city.  And then there is the floor.  It's going to cost a lot to replace it - it is huge, so for now, we will keep the funky vintage floor...

PROJECT COMPLETE...WHAT'S NEXT?