New Kitchen Island

I am so excited to share our new island with you.  We ordered it three weeks ago and yesterday, Scott and one of my generous pitching dads (with a truck) picked it up for me and delivered it into my kitchen and straight into my heart.

Ok, let me first remind you of our kitchen.  It had a very open center and I had tried to use a kiddie table to usefully fill the space, but really that offered surprisingly little storage options...

...although it was nice for dancing...

Now...with the island...

I should have taken a pre-picture so I could flip back and forth like my friend Dana used to do to show off her new HDTV.  (She would pick the same channel and say, "See?  HD...No HD...HD...No HD..."  Until I agreed with her that it was well worth the extra expense.)  We don't have HDTV ourselves, as our TV set is ancient, BUT STILL WORKS!  Which allows us to buy other things...like our beautiful new island!!

I found the bar stools for a steal.  They're used, but we ruin almost everything anyway in this house, so I didn't want to spend a lot of money.  Last night, the girls sat at the "high table" for about an hour and colored and played.  

Elizabeth was interviewing Rachel on her favorite color and games and what she wants for Christmas.  I have no idea where she gets this, but we all get interviewed about once a day.

On the other side of the bar is storage...lovely, glorious storage with this handy dandy lock bar that Rachel can't seem to figure out yet and just rocks the doors back and forth with all her might.  (Well worth the price of good construction!)

Ahhh...this is happiness to me.  Everything that had previously been stored on the counter top or on the wire rack in the dining room found a home.  I was even able to fit my Dutch oven and cutting boards down here too.  The wire rack is now going to retire to some closet to hold diapers...since nothing really says fancy like having wire racks in your dining room with a George Foreman on top. 

So far, we've had breakfast and lunch at the "high table" and it's actually been a great time for us to talk and not have the TV on or be distracted.  At lunch, we had a conversation about rhyming words and what a bank was.  It makes me realize how much I've taken to going rogue during mealtimes to get my things done or check Facebook or email or sort laundry...all while they watch TV.  In one day, it's been a lesson learned for me.

Ok, now to answer "why white?"  I want to paint our cabinets white.  Slowly but surely, my husband is coming around to the idea.  But right now, our kitchen is just a lot of wood for my taste.  Here...I'll show you again.

So I want to do white cabinets with black pulls and (eventually) copper colored counter tops.  Basically, copying It's A Wannabe Decorator's Life.  We don't have a ton of light in the kitchen and I just  think this will make such a difference.  

I also love TomiAnnie's kitchen renovation over at Just What I {Squeeze} In.  How cute are all those little plates on top?  *sigh*  I wish I was crafty!

When are we going to do this?  WHO KNOWS??!!  Considering my difficulty bending over and the fact that I'm now working both days of the weekend with lessons, it may not be for a while, but the dream remains there...and I'm glad the island will too!  

Do you have any dream kitchens on the top of your list?  Mine are bookmarked and memorized.  And one day, if I ever figure out Pinterest, I'll take advantage of that as well.

Have a great one and stay warm!!