Thursday, January 27, 2011

Rotate it, Rebuild it and a Roomy Kitchen is Created!

We had a lovely island, but it was too crowded in our kitchen!  The island was pushed into the kitchen too far for my taste.  I'm guessing it's because the prior owners wanted a big table in this area too.  We have a dining room, so didn't need another big table in here.   If the refrigerator door or dishwasher door was open, there was no way anyone was getting by them!  I've been told that a good distance between counters is 39".  Well, the before distance was about 28"--unacceptable! 

Over the holidays when our son was home from college, he and my husband picked up the island and rotated it 90 degrees.  OMG, it was so much better already!  I finally had room to walk around it in the kitchen!  So even though we were just 'trying it out' and my husband had every intention of rotating it back to where it was until he could build a new one, I was having none of that!  Yes, when I had to get in the drawers, they were on the opposite side of the dishwasher, but that extra room was heavenly and it was only for a couple of weeks.  Here is a picture of the old island turned the new way.


A couple of weeks ago my husband built a new base.  We decided to try our best to re-use the granite top as granite tops can get expen$ive!  Luckily it all worked out!  He also re-used a lot of the beadboard and the feet.  We now have gained an extra drawer and a pull out for the recycle bin.  We also have an area for stools.  By rotating it, we gained 14" on each side of the island!





We also added some new pendant lights, so now it's a great place to read my morning paper.
We were very lucky that the floors were finished under everything, so we didn't have to worry about refinishing them again.

Thanks for visiting!

Pam



I am linking to :

 Debbiedoo's Newbie Party

Susan's Metamorphosis Monday Party

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Pink Postcard's Transformations and Treasures Party

65 comments:

  1. How lucky you got to reuse the granite! It looks beautiful! Your husband did a great job!

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  2. Beautiful!! He does such a nice job! Does this mean you have to do more cooking? ; )

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  3. WOW!
    This turned out great!!

    Welcome to blog land!
    I just became a follower!
    Would love it if you would like to follow me!

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  4. Looks FABULOUS Pam! I love it! Now invite me over for a glass of wine, so I can sit at your island in person! ;) j/k

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  5. Hello,

    It looks great. Love the way your husband added the legs to the island. It looks beautiful that way. Thank you for leaving a comment. I added your blog to my inspirational blog roll.
    Take care.
    Claudia

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  6. Wow, what a transformation. I love the legs added to it. Great job. Thanks so much for coming by. Would love for you to share any makeovers at my weekly party.

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  7. Pam, it looks great. Joel is a great handy man as well, but he's never home with time enough to "finish" the projects he starts. Our house has come along way, but does need lots more work. Can't wait to see more of your home improvements. You should put the ones of your landscaping project on here.

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  8. Hi Pam...this is fantastic! I see your other link did not go through...I will fix that for you. Enjoy the party, and thank you !!~

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  9. Luv it! I have the same frustration with my island. I have got to see if I can move it.

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  10. OMG!!! This is so wonderful to see! My husband and I are in the midst of the same kind of tranformation in our kitchen and like you, we'll be doing it all ourselves so this is just delightful to see!
    Thank you so much for sharing!,
    Terry

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  11. It looks wonderful. Great job!

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  12. Great idea. You are so lucky the floor was finished under it all. Now your kitchen looks bigger and with a better use of space.

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  13. Such a great idea, love your island. The chairs
    are super for sit down meal !
    Hugs,
    Kammy

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  14. Looks great! You have a beautiful kitchen. :) I am stopping by from Debbie's.

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  15. Hi Pam nice to meet you, thanks for coming over love your kitchen, I soon will be re-doing mine.long hard work...
    Pattie

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  16. Hi Pam ,I would love an island just like yours!I popped over from Debbies Newbies partay ,I am your newest follower!
    ~Sharon~

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  17. Oh, I wish I had an island...hopefully soon! Great job!!!
    Cindy

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  18. Looks great! I love those chunky legs on the island! I bet you are glad to have the extra room:)

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  19. What a great fix to rotate it, I love the new island! I am visiting from Debbiedoos, I am your newest follower and wishing you tons of luck!

    Carol

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  20. Beautiful! What a change! Thanks for the visit...I'll be your newest follower in just a minute!Can't wait to browse!
    Angela

    http://amcinnisartworks.blogspot.com

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  21. Rotating the island was a smart idea and the redo really is smart looking. So nice to reuse the granite.

    Welcome of blogland and I am your newest follower!

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  22. Beautiful!! Love all of your posts so far. I always need inspiration when it comes to home re-dos so I'm following now, too! You'll go far quickly in blog land! :)

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  23. Looks great, I am jealous. My island has my cooktop in it. I am a new follower and am also visiting from Debbiedoos.

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  24. I just love the way your island turned out, especially love those bin pulls! Following back!
    Blessings,
    Janet

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  25. This looks fabulous!! I love your island its gorgeous!! Awesome job. I am a new follower of yours found you from Debbies linky party. I am a newbie too come check me out if you get a chance.

    noplacelikehomeally.blogspot.com

    ~Allyson~

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  26. Love your kitchen and also the island is gorgeous! I'm a newbie too and your newest follower, stop by when you can!

    Rondell

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  27. Hi, Pam! I covet your kitchen. IT looks elegant and classy. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  28. Hey fellow newbie! Great blog...isn't this fun visiting each other and getting know each other!

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  29. What a great idea! It makes your kitchen look bigger with all that extra space. I am sure you are loving it! Great job!

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  30. Pam, your blog is very interesting. One would think you had been doing it for years. I am also new to Blog World.
    The new island (and it's rotation) is terrific.

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  31. Your new island is beautiful! I love to move things around to see if they fit better! Visiting from Debbiedoos

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  32. What a difference just to turn something. We flipped our dining/living rooms... love the difference.

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  33. Your island looks great, and it makes much more sense moving it ninety degrees. VERY NICE result! I am linking over from Debbie's blog party. Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting! I appreciate it so much! I am a new follower.

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  34. Hi Pam! It's so nice to meet you and wow! I love your pretty kitchen. The turn around made such a difference! I love the redo of your island too. It's great. How wonderful to have such a handy hubby!
    Thanks for popping by.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  35. Perfect! That is one of the best stories...everything was fine underneath and you could reuse the granite. Love it!

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  36. That's so ingenious and it looks great, too. Kitchen improvements are dear to my heart. Hope you'll stop by too, and see our fabrics. Jane

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  37. Love the new island. Actually loved the old one too. My kitchen is too small for an island, so I covet anyones island :) My ex-husband was very handy like your husband. He was a carpenter and could make anything, which came in so handy when you needed something custom made. It really spoils you, but I have learned to do a lot of my own carpentry since I've been divorced for 21 years. I'm surprisingly good at it, but not even close to how good he was. So nice to meet you and you have a very lovely kitchen with beautiful floors. Welcome to blogland - it's a wonderful place.
    Cindy

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  38. Great project. I, too, have a portable island that is a bit too large for my kitchen. I have tried it in every possible position and found that it works best for our space being turned at an angle. I love that it's portable. Your who redo on your island turned out beautifully. I'm a new follower because I love DIY projects.

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  39. Hi Pam! I like the island much better they way you have repositioned it. You did a great job on the additions you made ~ looks great! I am your newest follower. Stop by and visit me sometime.

    Love,
    Susan and Bentley
    xxoo

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  40. Wow, Girl, what a difference! You are not afraid of trying out different things, are you?
    The new island looks amazing!

    I am having a giveaway, so stop by sometime this week if you can. :-)

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  41. Wow that is a beautiful piece. I would keep a handy man like that too. My hubby is just learning but he is a keeper too. Hope you have a great day.

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  42. what a great way to have an eat in kitchen without taking up your space! i love the changes you made to the island...great job!!

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  43. I love your kitchen! it is so beautiful and the island turned out great! Good job, you and your husband! :)

    Theresa

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  44. Ahhh....brilliant to rotate it to function better!

    Hugs/on my way to Italy,
    Lana

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  45. OMGoodness that looks awesome!..love your kitchen...the new bar is incredible.
    I am new follower too.Visiting from DebbieDoos.
    ~Jo
    LazyonLoblolly-hope you can drop by.

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  46. WOW! What a great idea! Glad it all worked out! It looks beautiful and roomie!
    http://pampereddaughterthriftywife.blogspot.com/

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  47. Great idea to rotate the island, and to "renovate" the island to add the new drawers and legs. It looks great! And I'm sure you're enjoying the extra space that you have in your kitchen now :-)

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  48. What an awesome idea !!!! I found you through BNOTP and you can bet I'll be back to peruse the old posts and get ideas !!!


    Thanks for sharing,
    gena

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  49. This is fabulous! The new layout makes so much more sense. Your kitchen is gorgeous.
    Finding you via Debbie's Newbie party. I'm your newest follower and would be delighted to have you follow me back!
    Have a great day!
    Tammy

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  50. Absolutely beautiful! What a great idea! Where did you get your fabulous hardware for the island??

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  51. Wow, what a simple yet totally stunning idea and transformation! Well done, I love it too!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha.

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  52. looks great, love that island and noticeably more space.

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  53. wow, that is really amazing what rotating the island does for the space in there!! Ours needs to be tweaked as well, but it's built in and kind of a U shape- I don't think any amount of brawn will help us rotate it! ;) It's going to have to be redone, but later.
    Thanks for sharing this at Transformations and Treasures!

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  54. Holy Cow!! Thank you for the wonderful idea! I too have an lovely island that is huge and I love it but it's placement is so not my taste. It is turns my kitchen into more of a galley style...which is not what I want. I am going to look into getting my island turned. this is such a great idea!!! Thanks a ton! PS I look forward to following your blog. :)

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  55. You have a beautiful kitchen. Your husband did a great job!

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  56. I just came across your blog. You have a beautiful kitchen and the island looks perfect. Great job!
    http://decoratingwcents.blogspot.com/

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  57. Hi Pam,

    I love how your island turned out. All the changes really did make a huge difference!!! WOW!

    I want an island in my kitchen in the worst way. lol

    Dee

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  58. Good move! Your island is gorgeous!! So glad you were able to reuse some of the parts of the old island. Enjoy our new space!

    Sharon
    mrshinesclass.wordpress.com

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  59. What a great idea! And I love the new base with the space for the stools - what a nice spot for a cup of coffee and blog reading!

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  60. Pam, this is brilliant! And how lucky for you to have such a handy husband! I love the island - the size, the finishes, everything! Just wish mine was as big!

    Thanks for linking up to my first Room Evolution party! Looking forward to seeing more!

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment.