Dee wanted a “chef’s” kitchen island table customized to store her appliances, measuring cups, and mixing bowls. She also wanted to utilize the island as a work surface that would accommodate large cooking projects while still serving as an inviting space where friends and family could gather to chat and eat. Both of us wanted the table to have a rural feel, reflecting and honoring the history of our small horse farm. So, we milled the wood for the legs and skirt surround out of a deadfall cypress tree from our back pasture, and clad the outside-facing sides in original 40-year-old fence board that we had disassembled and stored when we replaced most of the deteriorated fencing after purchasing the farm two and a half years ago. To finish the top off as a sturdy kitchen prep surface, Dee ordered a roll of soft alloy zinc, which we glued to a smooth birch panel and formed around the edges using a rubber mallet. We completed the look by buffing with 120-grit/220-grit, and installing specialty decorative pewter nails, three electrical outlets and undercounter accent lighting--a string of $3 clearance Christmas lights we wired to a dimmer switch.
Dee wanted a “chef’s” kitchen island table customized to store her appliances, measuring cups, and mixing bowls. She also wanted to utilize the island as a work surface that would accommodate large cooking projects while still serving as an inviting space where friends and family could gather to chat and eat. Both of us wanted the table to have a rural feel, reflecting and honoring the history of our small horse farm. So, we milled the wood for the legs and skirt surround out of a deadfall cypress tree from our back pasture, and clad the outside-facing sides in original 40-year-old fence board that we had disassembled and stored when we replaced most of the deteriorated fencing after purchasing the farm two and a half years ago. To finish the top off as a sturdy kitchen prep surface, Dee ordered a roll of soft alloy zinc, which we glued to a smooth birch panel and formed around the edges using a rubber mallet. We completed the look by buffing with 120-grit/220-grit, and installing specialty decorative pewter nails, three electrical outlets and undercounter accent lighting--a string of $3 clearance Christmas lights we wired to a dimmer switch.
