Ever since we moved into this house, we’ve always talked about adding more base cabinets in the one corner of the kitchen. It’s a bunch of wasted space, and having extra storage is always nice. There’s a light in the corner, so we figure the previous owners had a pub table there to make the most of the space. We would rather have the storage. Right now for a tiny bit of storage we have a microwave cart from when I lived in an apartment that holds place mats, linens, cutting boards and a couple small appliances. The corner is not sexy one bit.
A project we’d like to take on in another year or two [after the wedding for sure] is to reface the cabinet doors. While the color of the cabinets isn’t my favorite, the cabinets themselves are in great shape. We don’t care for the door style and feels like it dates the open kitchen. So we figured that we would install some extra cabinetry at the same time we do the doors.
Well, while we were at Crate and Barrel we ran across the Belmont kitchen island. We pretty much decided right then and there that we’d much rather have this kind of storage, rather than adding more cabinets. We like that it’s portable, has a large area for storage of pots and pans, and has a couple drawers for linens and place mats. The top also has an expandable/collapsable leaf. So if we ever wanted to move it for prepping food and/or extra seating, we could.
The only main downside to this specific island is that it retails for $500. One of the reasons we thought doing an island vs cabinets is the cost saving factor. While $500 for an island is much cheaper than new cabinets, we aren’t wanting to spend that much. We were hoping more for the $300 range. The kitchen wall is just over 5 feet long, and the Belmont is right at 44 inches, which would fill the space nicely and leave a bit of extra room for the trash can on the side. So, the hunt is on. I would prefer to have a white island because it keeps the kitchen looking brighter, and I think it might be kind of difficult to find an island that matches the color of wood we have. I’m not opposed to doing wood, but with tan/neutral colored walls, I think it will be too much of the same color family.
So on my first hunt, I found this island at Target and while it’s the right price [$250], it is only 36 inches long and wouldn’t fill the space properly.
Then this island, also from Target, and at 52.5 inches long it would fill the space much better. I’m sure the price tag on this one is double of the other island from Target, but because it’s currently out of stock the price isn’t show. However, there are two big things I really don’t care for on this island. It’s on wheels, and that the bottom is divided up into three sections, rather than one or even two sections. Because we have two nice sets of pots and pans, we need the more open space underneath.
I am quickly realizing that $500 for the size of island we’re looking for is pretty standard, and that most have several smaller compartments for storage, rather than one or two larger areas. So maybe we will end up with the original one we saw at Crate and Barrel. Who knows, but I’m going to continue searching.
Update: We found an island! Shortly after I posted this I actually came across one that is the perfect length, and price. We plan on ordering it tonight 🙂
—m.