From the moment I first saw our rental house kitchen, I thought the island counter-top should be extended to make an eating surface. There was plenty of room for a walkway on the other side as well as an extension. Kent is usually a good sport about all my crazy ideas but he said NO WAY are we going to buy a remnant of marble for a rental. Now before you go taking sides, let me explain that I wanted to make sure that I love marble, since that’s what I’m planning when/if we remodel our kitchen in Mystic. I thought spending the $500 or so would be way worth it to enjoy now and also to know for sure whether we wanted to invest in it for a whole kitchen. But Kent said absolutely no, so I dropped the issue. But, then I saw this image on a blog:
The blogger was discussing the various parts of the kitchen and she said that the bar the stools are tucked under was FREESTANDING. And – bam! – I told Kent that we could have a freestanding bar next to our island. He loved the idea and decided to begin the project that very day. =) Now, I still think the whole thing would be better covered in marble, but I am beyond thrilled with what I have now.
Here are a few pics to give you an idea of the area where we now have the freestanding bar in the kitchen. It’s between the island and a half-wall to the living room
As you can see, every square inch of this island gets used on Pizza Fridays. We are so happy to have a bit more counter space =)
We used to eat every single meal in the dining room. Now we eat in there once or twice a week at the most. In general Kent and I regret the casualization of our culture and we like things formal. So, eating in the dining room wasn’t a big deal. But, now that we have the option to feed the littles in the kitchen, it is soooooo much better. I now keep Everett’s highchair in the kitchen next to the refrigerator (which is so much more convenient for his food, supplements, bibs, etc.).
Kent spent about $40 on lumber which he attached using the Kreg Jig (which he loves – he used it for my built-in desk in the Schooling Room too) and metal brackets (to attach the top to the legs).
I caulked, painted, and waxed. And, viola!
