The Transformation!

We decided to create a kitchen island from one of my childhood memories: my mom's dresser.  Here are the details of our first project adventure! 

This was my mom's dresser.  Cue sentimental music: It was one of my earliest childhood memories.  It was always white, and I remember annoying Mom by flipping the handles and asking where the keys were to it (note the ornamental key holes).  This dresser was sitting in our spare bedroom and was basically used as a place to pile junk.  One day I was cruising Pintrest (I just loves me some Pintrest!!) and found the idea to convert a dresser into a kitchen island !  I have been wanting to add an island to my kitchen, so I decided that this was the perfect way to keep a memory and make it beautiful and functional!  

Because of my childhood memories, I decided to keep the dresser white and to keep the original hardware.

Front 

side

Ugly back

So the transition began!  Of course the dresser was only ornate on three sides.  As a dresser, the back side sat against a wall, so it was UGLY.  What to do?  Most ideas I found used painted bead board to cover the ugly back.  I considered this until one day I was browsing through our local antique emporium and found some old tin ceiling tiles.  PERFECT !  They were old and rusty, and the paint was peeling off of them, but they were so cool!  I bought one for $10 and headed home to strip it down and fix it up!  

I "Googled" how to remove paint from old ceiling tiles and learned that the best way is to use oven cleaner.  It took awhile, but we finally got most of the old paint off.  Then I bought a can of Rustoleum Universal spray paint (it's the paint & primer in one) in hammered copper and spray painted the tile.   

After that, my "Handy Hubby"  cut the tile down with tin snips (It was 9 inches too wide, so he cut it down 4 1/2 inches on each side in order to make it look like a continuous pattern), attached it to the back side of the dresser, and framed around it with trim.  I painted the legs white to match the dresser.

Ceiling tile while stripping paint

Attached and framed to dresser

Ceiling tile with 1 layer of paint

The dresser is the perfect counter height.   I have a fairly long, narrow kitchen, so we decided to make our center island big enough to replace our kitchen table, which seems to be the main gathering place when the kids come home or when we have company.  We knew we still needed somewhere to sit and converse, so we decided to make the top 6'long x 3'wide.  

We priced pre-made counter tops that would just attach to the dresser, but since we are both tight wads, we decided to go a different route!  Lowe's has hardwood covered plywood for around $50 per sheet.  We chose the sheet we wanted and had them cut it to the dimensions we needed.  Then we bought oak corner edging (there is one that fits perfectly on the edge of the plywood), 2 wood butcher block legs, some Dutch oil for staining the table, hardware (screws, brackets, etc), wood glue, and some polyurethane then headed home to get to work. 

Okay, honestly: I use the word "we" quite loosely from here on out.  My "Handy Hubby" did most of it.  I was just around to help paint and for moral support.  First, the "Handy Hubby" attached the edging to the table using glue and screws.  After the glue dried, we sanded then stained the table top with Dutch oil (we used golden oak).  It took 2 applications, and we lightly sanded between each application.  After ample drying time (follow the directions on the cans!), we applied 3 coats of polyurethane, sanding between each coat.  We painted the butcher block legs white.  Then the "Handy Hubby" cut them down to the correct height and prepared them to attach to the table.  

Finally, we were ready to put it together!  The "Handy Hubby" removed the existing top from the dresser then used chair braces and screws to attach the top to the dresser.  Then he attached the butcher block legs to the outside corners of the island for extra support.

I'm thrilled with my new kitchen island!  It is beautiful and unique, plus it holds sentimental value for me. 

P.S. The white tile things you see are trivets I made from inexpensive floor tiles and felt pads.  They will be perfect for holding hot items!  

Table top after one layer of Dutch Oil

     

"Back" all put together

"Front" all put together.  I just love my new kitchen island!