*Here is my first post of my first (now abandoned) blog, Crafty Geordi. I wrote this back in September of 2010. I thought I would dig this post up today because I rearranged my kitchen (again!) and brought this cute island out from the wall, back into the kitchen island place of honor.*
We have all had items in our possession that needed to go into the trash. Many of us put these items into the trash where they go. Then there others.
My boyfriend, the cute, kind, generous man that he is, is a pack rat in a bad way. He hates to throw things away that might have some life left. Yay me! He would laugh when I spent time "shopping" in his backyard. But, I have scored some cool things that did indeed have some life left in them. These items just needed some major resuscitation. One of these items was an old tool cart that had a rotted shelf on top and an air compressor on top. It was an eyesore and I begged him to get rid of it. I am so glad he didn't! When I moved into my new house, I decided that I needed to add a small kitchen island. I looked at plans to build my own and I shopped for cheap stock kitchen cabinets. Then, I remembered the old eyesore! I snagged it and transformed it into something really great that gets so much use now.
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| Old tool shelf |
I peeled off as much loose paint as I could, then I sanded the cart using a fine sandpaper for metal surfaces. After sanding and carefully wiping the cart clean, I stalked the paint aisle of my local Home Depot. I chose a spray primer for metal and a beautiful Rustoleum spray color called Antique Bronze. Because this cart has large surface areas on the sides, I ended up spraying several coats so I could get good coverage with minimal mottling. I got some pine boards and cut them to fit the shelves. And, voila, my new kitchen island!
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| Upcycled kitchen island |
Although I am using this cart as it is now, I think the pine boards look like they need something. I am thinking of maybe tiling the shelves in these great glass tiles.
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| Mosaic glass tiles |
As my boyfriend became more organized in his home I found it easier to score cool stuff! In later posts, I will show how I turned an old bunk bed ladder into a cool pot rack. BTW, that cute little dog in the picture is our dog, Sandy. She is a real ham and I am sure you will hear more about her :-).
So there you have it! I didn't cover it in the tiles, although that may come later. I did cover the top shelf in the same vinyl sticky backed tiles as are on the floor. I did it to make the top easier to clean. I had this cart parked against the wall with the microwave on top of it. In all honesty I couldn't stand having it parked at the wall, I do prefer having it out where I can access both sides of the shelf. It makes a great catch-all for small appliances and things. Dont'cha love my vintage thermoses and coffee percolator pot? I sure do!!!
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| Upcycled kitchen island |
How about this bowl of persimmons? These were given to us by a friend who has a tree. Persimmons are my absolute favorite fruit! And how about this carved wooden bowl? A thrift store score from a few years ago.
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| Upcycled kitchen island |
I love using the cart handle. My vintage juicer hangs from it now. Also a clipboard with recipes and cans for recycling. I hate the cans. Hardly good decor. But it is an out of the way parking space for these cans until they go into the garage.......
Here is a better shot of that cool coffee percolator pot. And my 20 year old bread maker. Those things last forever!
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| Upcycled kitchen island |
I was thinking of putting a curtain on each side of the shelves. To protect from copious amounts of animal hair dust. What do you think? Some country charm or leave as is?
