Mini-Makeover: Kitchen Island Replacement
So “mini-makeover” is probably not the best choice of words, since this wasn’t an inexpensive project. But in comparison to a full-blown kitchen remodel, it’s downright frugal. Construction here in Napa is expensive. It’s always been so - we are after all, in the North Bay Area not far from San Francisco and Silicon Valley, but then we had the massive and devastating Tubbs fire here in back in October 2017 where so many lost their homes and everything they had. The subsequent demand for rebuilding did nothing to alleviate construction costs.
The estimates I’ve had for a full kitchen remodel have each been north of 100k. (Both before and after the Tubbs fire.) Nope, I didn’t add on a zero there. For a price of a full single-family home in many parts of the country, I would get a remodeled kitchen here in Napa. As a result, my kitchen is still in its’ “vintage” state.
However, my house was suddenly going to be part of the Napa County Landmarks Historical Society’s annual holiday home tour. Last minute they had to switch locations from “up valley” (as we say around here in the Napa Valley) in St. Helena to downtown Napa. They were literally knocking on doors in my neighborhood canvassing potential homes for the tour, otherwise they’d have to cancel and lose out on their major annual fundraiser.
So honestly I wasn’t thrilled about putting my home on the tour. It’s not “house-tour ready” in my opinion - meaning not enough of the house has been remodeled. Parts of it are lovely, but there’s definitely “the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
I don’t have a “dream-kitchen” redone with stone surfaces and white cabinetry with trendy open-shelves to house my houseplants, but it is a large, cheerful, sunny, south-facing room. I wanted to help out the historical society, and I knew it would be a fun challenge.
Since not showing my kitchen on the tour wouldn’t be an option, I wanted to get the most bang for the buck to improve its’ appearance in a short amount of time. The white elephant in the middle of the room though, literally, was the old 1960s-era kitchen island with cream-colored plastic surfacing and a very old range with baked on grease in the middle. I got a new range some years back, but I’d never demo-ed the old island with the old range, thinking it might happen during some future total kitchen remodel.
Contractors were so fast I missed taking a pic before the island was demo-ed, (rookie blogger move) so this was the best “before” island shot I could find taken back when family and a friend were fixing my freezer for me. (It helps to have contractors and engineers for friends and fam!)
With the house tour approaching though, I decided it needed to go. Before getting out the sledgehammer though, I needed to source an island within my budget to replace it with. First, the dimensions had to be right. My kitchen can only handle a small island, and I’ve alternatively drawn kitchen plans with a peninsula rather than an island. Both work. With so many home decor websites catering to smaller spaces though, finding an island the right size wasn’t very difficult. Some sites will conveniently allow you to search according to size categories, making the hunt a lot faster.
After the dimension requirements were met, then on to the more fun part of finding one I like, which after years of plastic surfacing, was about materials more than anything, (stone surface please) along with the other practical consideration of storage. My kitchen only has a few built in cabinets; most things are housed on metal shelving units either behind curtains or not, and the old island did have a few grubby drawers, so those drawers needed to be compensated for in some way.
Initially I thought I should go with one that looked built-in with drawers, so lots of storage. Plus it had rather traditional brown-stained wood sides and drawers that would go well with my kitchen table. It had a black granite top, which I like, although I prefer honed (non-shiny) black granite. The black granite would contrast with the cream-colored plastic surfacing on the rest of the countertops. It had a price tag of almost $1,000 though.
Then I came across one I really liked from the get-go, but it had the draw-back of not having any storage other than a low metal shelf. The Castille Prep Table from Joss & Main - it has the look of a french pastry-prep table - a dark industrial steel frame and low shelf with a marble top. Simple and open, I loved the aesthetic. Plus the dimensions were perfect - a bit smaller than my original island, which tended to crowd things a bit. The price was right at $570 and with a cyber-Monday coupon bringing it down to just over $500 all together.
However, if I were going to go with this one, I had to think about how I was going to deal with losing the drawers in my old island and take on a new one that didn’t have any. While the other island would have blended better with my existing kitchen table and provided more storage, that table isn’t necessarily my “forever” table. Plus I didn’t feel good in my gut about spending twice as much for something I didn’t like as well, even if it was more practical.
So in the end, I justified the lack of storage based on the fact that I really just liked its’ clean marble and french-industrial steel look and at almost 1/2 the price, I decided I could buy the Carson lidded storage baskets I found at Pier One to keep key items at hand. I also took a good look at what was currently sitting on my steel shelving units as well as a couple cabinets, and decided there was definitely room for improvement in what I was keeping where. So by moving some things around and getting rid of some other items, and by adding storage baskets below, I’ve been able to absorb the loss of the old island drawers just fine.
New Castille Prep Table from Joss & Main with marble top, industrial-style steel frame, and kitchen towel rack.
That actually brings me to a point about having an upcoming event like guests coming to stay or a house-tour. While it can be a lot of work feeling like you need to clean up and get things ready, I also see it as a great opportunity to look at a space with fresh eyes and make improvements.
When faced with a choice of having the island I wanted that was also much less expensive but had no storage, I realized how inefficiently I was using other space in the kitchen. For instance, I had placed cleaning supplies up high when my son was a toddler (he’s almost 14 now…) and placed a “junk drawer” in a prime spot when we initially moved in, just to take care of it quickly.
Now all these years later, I didn’t even think about how inefficient the use of space was until presented with a reason to change it. The cleaning supplies didn’t even need to be in the kitchen, the “junk drawer” contents can go elsewhere as could some other items, freeing up that kitchen-storage real estate.
So I actually really welcome those opportunities to rethink a space using (mostly) what I already have to make an improvement. It doesn’t have to cost much or anything at all to clear things out and re-arrange so it functions and/or looks better for you and your family. I could have done this long ago regardless of the island project, but as is so often the case, I saw and used the space on auto-pilot and didn’t think about how I could make better use of it until I needed to.
Island Demolition
Post-island demo. Apparently there used to be carpet in my kitchen (why??) and someone didn’t bother to remove it all when the old island was installed. (see greenish-yellow square at the back)
Kitchen island and stove/oven waiting to be hauled away.
Prior to demo, the electrical in the island that controlled both a light and ceiling fan were re-routed to the left wall. Island was demo-ed, a new ceiling fan was installed, floor tiles were replaced, and the island was assembled. Total for the labor: $1200.
Handy Carson wicker storage baskets from Pier One. The open slot on top makes for quick access during meal prep for hungry boys (sometimes it’s the little efficiencies that make a difference!)
This new nickel fan replaced a very old and tired white one and works in both modern and vintage settings.
So after having the island installed, I’m really glad I went with my gut of buying the open, marble-topped island. Friends have come over and the consensus has been that the slightly smaller size and open framework really opens up the kitchen and is a big improvement overall. (Not to mention the improvement gained just by getting rid of a weird duplicate cooktop and oven.)
Voila - house-tour ready:
Castille Prep Table from Joss & Main. Here’s new marble and black steel industrial french pastry island installed. Pier 1 carson wicker storage baskets below.
Feedback from docents on the house-tour was that my kitchen was perhaps people’s favorite room because it’s light, bright, and open. I couldn’t believe it when they told me that since it’s definitely not a “Napa Valley” dream kitchen. I know the new island contributed to this impression, and it reinforced to me that trusting my gut instinct serves me well whether its a design decision or a much bigger life decision!
A final note - I decided that I like the island so well, both materials and its’open framework, that if I were to do the full kitchen remodel, I would just keep it instead of having an island built-in. It would look great with the design I have planned and it would be a big cost-savings to not pay for a custom, built-in island. And if I don’t ever redo my kitchen and end up moving, a free-standing island can come with me.