Thursday, April 26, 2012

Nightstands Turned Kitchen Island...Really!


Here it is, the latest project that's eaten my time between life's usual craziness and necessary business...a "new" kitchen island made from our old (circa 1971) nightstands.


Yup, we made this from two nightstands!

Inside I covered a wooden box and the inside of the island in red checked craft paper. The Welding Man installed the old drawer pulls for towel hangers on both sides. I love recycling the hardware from vintage furniture and these work great!We had a BBQ for over 2 dozen people this last weekend (plus a couple of big family dinners for 14 the week before) and this island has turned to be a most excellent addition to our busy kitchen.




Here's our messy kitchen with that big empty space between the sink and the stove. Additional work space is always good, and I wanted a serving bar for our buffet style family dinners.



I saw this photo of a dresser restyled into an island and the wheels in my head started turning....


So last Thanksgiving we put our two nightstands back to back, threw a tablecloth over them and called it good.  The two of them together gave me a lower work surface for hand mixing and bread kneading so I knew they would work with a bit of tweaking. We also figured if I wanted it higher we could put chunky wood bun legs at each corner, but we did not have to. The cost to build a brand new country style island chalked up to about $130 so we decided the nightstands it had to be!



The rainy, cold Oregon spring  made outdoor work uncomfortable/impossible, so we set up in the dining room. I used an old oilcloth tablecloth under the nightstands and painted them blue with a grey wash, after cleaning and sanding them thoroughly.




The Welding man cut MDF (medium density fiberboard)  to fit the top. It passed inspection by our chocolate lab, Molly Brown. She's actually checking for food, lol! The Welding Man also cut shelving for the inside.



For the top surface I wanted something close to the color of the still serviceable linoleum floor. I had already added book pages to the side of a kitchen shelf and since I am all about book page recycling, you know what's coming next. What better way to use a way out of date Betty Crocker paper back cook book?



Here The Welding Man is spreading the Envirotex resin, a two part mix which was really affordable with a 40% off coupon at Michael's.  It takes 72 hours to cure. We poured it on a Tuesday and by Saturday it was totally serviceable. The Envirotex is commonly used for bar tops and wood crafts. We used it way back when on walnut and myrtle wood burl clocks. Hello, 80s! It is water and alcohol proof and cleans up nice and shiny.



Here's another angle taken before we added the drawer pull/towel holders. I like it. I like it alot!



Here you can see how the book pages and the linoleum are totally compatible color wise. Serendipity!



 I LOVE how this came out! The actual cost on this project was less than $40, with the money going to Envirotex and paint. We already had the nightstands, MDF, sand paper and brushes.

Making do with what we've got never looked so good. Now I've just got to get to my other "blue" project, the bargain priced buffet I got for $20. Just as soon as the weather gets nicer so I can work outside, because it's too big to put up on the dining table.

This was an easy project with minimal skills required. You would be surprised how easy projects can be once you break them down to component parts and a step by step "battle plan." Got a project you're holding off on? You can do it!

I'll be linking up to the parties in my sidebar. Come visit and check out the creativity!


49 comments:

  1. Great thinking OUT OF THE BOX!! Love the nightstand idea AND the book page top!
    Blessings, Lorraine

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  2. Great idea and congrats for having the know how to do it!

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  3. This is the most creative idea on what to do with an old dresser in a very long time. Love, love, love it!!

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  4. Wonderful re purpose! And if those nightstands could, I know they would be smiling....love your creativity here!

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  5. A wonderful repurposing and I love the book page top.

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  6. This is so awesome. I would love to do something like this and put photo copies of my mothers handwritten recipes on the top. Love it. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. That's so ingeneous and it looks so great - I love the contrast of the blue against the rest of the kitchen.

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  8. what a great project. I'm pinning this for future reference. I sure miss those Oregon days that made working outside difficult. But I don't miss the oregon gas prices ;)

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  9. very creative idea. I am featuring this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com.

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  10. This is a Great idea! Holy Moly in love with this!!!! A Duh Moment over here- great great job! Now I just gotta find me some Night Stands!! :) Jen

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  11. I love it!! I really love the color blue!! What a great idea using night stands back to back!!

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  12. Great idea! Love the color, too. Isn't it awesome to reuse or up-cycle something you already have?

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  13. Oh my gosh! That is genius! I love the way it turned out and the cook book page top is so cool! Awesome job!

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  14. This is really Awesome. I don't have an island, but I have a huge countertop. I that gets a lot of use for food prep, or the spread for Thanksgiving dinner. Enjoy is even more when it is done.

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  15. Bravo!! LOVE the island, love the color - way to use what you have! And the cookbook pages for the top are just brilliant!! I've gotta feature this right away in the Facebook Artist Talent Album! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Igottacreate/100573240032625?sk=wall

    Thanks so much for linking up at I Gotta Create!
    <3 Christina

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  16. I love this! Last night my husband and I were in our kitchen measuring for a new island - our project will now be halted, until I can find some CUTE furniture to use... I LOVE IT! Would really like for you to share with my readers at www.stringtownhome.blogspot.com! (I just posted my linky party for the week!)

    Blessings!
    -heather

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  17. awesome repurpose!!! Love how your island came out. I made one a couple of years from an old desk, made it tall so I can use it for crafting. Love that you can customize it when you make it yourself.

    gail

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  18. Holy Cow! That turned out fantastic!! Thank you for sharing. Also, thank you for the visit and sweet comment @TheDedicatedHouse. It means the world. Wishing you a grand evening. Toodles, Kathryn

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  19. Oh my goodness! I am just dying over this! I would love for you to link it up at our party.

    http://www.ourdiydiaries.com/2012/04/fab-not-drab-friday.html?showComment=1335843873484#c693542809109699964

    I look forward to reading the rest of your blog.

    New Follower,
    Jen

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  20. I love your creativity and ingenuity - the night-tables-turned-kitchen-island looks great! I love your idea to use the pages from a cookbook for the countertop. It ties in nicely with the kitchen shelf, and the colour works well with your flooring. Wonderful job!

    Kelly

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  21. A-haaa...very clever! Perfectly repurposed :) Laurel

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  22. Fantastic! So clever and awesome. Function and beauty, great job!

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  23. It looks fantastic! Love the blue color! Thanks for your visit and nice comments!

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  24. Thanks for stopping by my blog. You did an amazing job! Have you posted your craft room?

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  25. Ann this is so pretty and creative!! It is just fabulous! I love that color and the cookbook pages on the top!
    I featured you today - http://www.flamingotoes.com/2012/05/crush-of-the-week-think-pink-features-48/

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  26. Wow! I love your redo. I'll definitely be keeping this in mind for when we have a larger kitchen.

    I'd love for you to link up to our Finished Friday party.

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  27. I love your blog, you inspire me to look at everything in a new way. I love that you just make things happen, thank you so much for sharing your neat and wonderful way of looking at the world. From a fellow blue glass junkie, Abby

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  28. I love your nightstands-turned-island bench so much. I pinned it and will refer back to it for the how to with the top. I need exactly this for my kitchen. Now it is time for me to hunt down a couple of old bedside tables.

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  29. This is great! I like how the top turned out, and the whole thing made from nightstands, how clever

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  30. This is a fantastic idea! I love the color that you chose! Megan

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  31. AMAZING! Thanks so much for sharing. You have been featured!

    http://www.thesasselife.com/2012/05/crafty-sasse-wednesday-link-party-36.html

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  32. love it Ann, this is a brilliant idea!
    I'll be featuring you this week @ Inspire Me Fridays!
    Thanks so much for linking up!

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  33. Brilliant!
    I'm so glad you found me, so I could find you.
    I look forward to seeing more!

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  34. Great idea and fantastic job!!! This idea may actually work in my very small kitchen!! Did you put wheels on the nightstands or were wheels already on it? I would definitely want wheels! That shade of blue is nearly identical to the blue I mixed for an accent wall in my living room, wish I had thought about a gray wash over it!! I may try that!!

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  35. Brilliant idea! I love how it came out

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  36. Awesome!! Totally inspired me to do this!!

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  37. I am totally going to do this! Been looking at pinterest for kitchen island ideas and I happen to have a couple of nightstands!!! Brillant.........

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  38. I love this idea! It looks quite a bit lower than cabinet height. Do you like the lower height? I think I would need to find a way to raise the prep surface up a bit.

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    1. Yes I like the lower height. As noted in the text I wanted it lower so I could knead dough and do hand mixing on the lower surface. I am short and this height works just great for me. If I want it higher we can always add feet or even casters.

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    2. Yes I like the lower height. As noted in the text I wanted it lower so I could knead dough and do hand mixing on the lower surface. I am short and this height works just great for me. If I want it higher we can always add feet or even casters.

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  39. Hi, I came here from the "pennies" story! I LOVE this nightstand idea, so cool. The blue is lovely. I'm also picturing it with a white marble top, for pastry. You've made the nightstands look almost vintage/ antique! Agree about height, for bread, rolling pastry etc.

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