I have been pretty on task lately with convincing Matthew to get a bigger kitchen island.  No matter how close-by or casual I get our dining room, the bottom line is that we still need to be able to eat in our kitchen.  We have a toddler sized table and chairs for Wells and Tagg but Matthew and I find ourselves hovering around our current butcher block island eating most of our meals standing up.

I love our current butcher block and the granite top makes it an ideal workspace. I just want a larger surface.  And I'd love to have an open bottom where I can tuck four stools.  I'm not big on the idea of the stools taking up any extra space in the room.  I've yet to find something commercial that fits the bill.  We've talked about building something ourselves and adding a piece of stone to the top.  That way we can ensure the exact dimensions we want.

Have you done something similar?  I know people do this type of transformation all the time.  Did you turn a piece of furniture into an island?  I like the idea of not starting from scratch.

As always I've put together a plan of action.  Traditional elements paired with natural surfaces for texture.  You can see what the current state of the kitchen here or see how it looked right after we closed here.

French Kitchen Island | Nespresso | Round Belly Basket | Branson Glass Vase | Jenny Cutting Board | Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray | Flowers for 2014 Lulie Wallace Calendar | Napolean Backless Barstool | Classic Indoor / Outdoor Lantern | Catamaran Rug | I also love this island and this one too but they're just a bit too small for our space.