So I had to write this post to share something I am super excited about. I basically got THE BEST DEAL EVER yesterday. Yeah…EVER!
I have been dreaming of having a kitchen island ever since David and I began planning this project. The original plan was to have Glenn build the island to save money, as the price of buying a kitchen island ,which usually go for $700-$800 for one of a decent size, was completely out of our budget AND out of the question. But ,even building an island takes supplies, and supplies (as we have found out) are NOT cheap these days. Also take into account that we have almost reached the end of our budget and still have more to do.
So I believe it was fate that brought this island to me. Here’s the story. I work for a plastic manufacturer. They recently closed down the on site cafeteria in favor of a cheaper vending type service. Because of this, they had all sorts of kitchen/restaurant style items they no longer needed. They had several kitchen stands and carts that are usually used as prep service tables at restaurants. They had it in a segregated area of the building for an auction that was occurring today. I saw one stand in particular that was just the size I was looking for and stainless steel! I was ridiculously excited and nervous because I knew I did not want to lose out on this piece. So I asked if it would be okay to have the company make me an offer in advance, and I would pay them whatever they wanted. I was thinking they were going to ask for about $50 or so (as they had so many of them AND the thing was plastered with so much grease and food that I am sure it could feed a family of six very well for a year).
They said I could take it out of the building for $15!!!!!!!!
Yeah-my jaw dropped! I got this stainless steel island for less than 20 smackaroos.
Yes, it still has to be totally decontaminated and scrubbed, and I need to polish it up a bit, but what a steal!! No pun intended! (Corny).
The bottom part is not stainless, its galvanized, and looks like it is in rough condition.
So Dave, my lovely boyfriend, who conveniently works at a steel fabricator and gets a nice little employee discount, is going to find something to fix that problem. I think we are either going to measure the bottom half and get a stainless steel cutout that will be placed over the dingy bottom shelf. Or, another option, a galvanized primer stain that would cover up any stains that are unable to be removed by cleaning, or areas where oxidation occurred. I am leaning toward the later-it seems cheaper and easier, and that’s what I’m about yo!
Oh yes, and always the detective, I did some research on these types of kitchen islands. I found It’s actually not a kitchen island, rather it’s referred to as an “economy table” on the website. Using the product number on the bottom leg of the table, I found the product number and entered it into the company’s search engine. Cha Ching! This is what the table looks like brand new.
Picture courtesy of Advance Tabco
It is 24 X 60. And the best part? The original price tag on this baby? $704. Yes, I saved $689.00. And that ladies and gentlemen, is the best deal I have ever gotten!
Hopefully with my cleaning and polishing, along with David’s work on the galvanized bottom shelf, we can restore this thing CLOSE to its original beauty! We are definitely up for the challenge!
Now it’s time for the kitchen project update. As you all know, we are adding some square footage to our kitchen by turning our old 2 season porch into more kitchen/dining space. If you don’t recall what it looked like before. Here is a refresher.
I admit it, it was a charming little porch. But the poor installation job made it uninhabitable 8 months out of the year. Not to mention that the shoddy job that was done in the building of the porch left it being improperly supported, causing the floor to sag and become uneven in some areas. It was not safe and it was not good for the house. It left us no choice but to have proper supports built and to change some things around to make the space more functional in the process. With a house that is only 1100 square feet, you want to take advantage of as much space as possible (all year round 
). I don’t believe the porch was included in the assessment of the home size because it was not living space. So I believe we are adding another 100 square feet or so to our home size with this project. Another thing, we used to have two front doors, which REALLY made me batty, so we wanted that switched around too!
This is me standing in the threshold of the living room looking into the kitchen. See the wall with the clock on it? That is the wall we took down that is shared with the porch.
Work has resumed and this is where we stand now.
The wall between the kitchen and porch has been knocked down
Lots of new insulation has been put into all the walls on what used to be porch space
Drywall has been put up
Please excuse the utter chaos that is our home right now. We are far from done, but getting closer…
We have a back door! YES, that door leads out to our back yard. Finally!
There is still a lot to do, on the outside and the inside.
Today Glenn and Dave are going to drain our heater and remove that as well. (it used to be connected to the wall we knocked down)
Hi Butters! He likes to do random photo bombs. So handsome isn’t he?
We have to mud the walls
Sand the walls after the mud dries
Paint the walls
Move and re-Hang the cabinet
Hang the Shelves
and for the outside
Apply the rest of the house wrap.
Reapply the vinyl
Build a railing for the new back stairs (which are now completed. )
And I think that’s it for the outside.
So there is a lot more to do, but we are getting closer.
More to come…
