A beadboard island…again!

September 16, 2011

Last week we had our kitchen island reinstalled after our water leak and I was so happy to have it back!

The guys doing the work had to pull off all of the beadboard and the corbels in order to get the island up and moved (into my office, which is why progress has stalled in there). But they came back with all the supplies, ready to rebuild the whole thing!

I felt bad, cause usually when they go back to a house to reinstall and island, they reinstall an island and move on. At our house, they had to redo all the “extras” I had done. ;)

I was pretty good – I didn’t hover. (Ahem. Too much.) And they did a great job! The guys bought a different kind of beadboard:

black beadboard

And I actually quite like it! I’ve never seen this one before, but the “board” and “bead” parts are both wider. I like that it’s now a little different than the beadboard backsplash.

They also fixed a couple things that had bugged me about my installation. I didn’t leave enough of an overhang with the butcher block on the cabinet side when I installed it, so I had them move it out a bit:

It always bugged me before -- it’s the little things! (That drive me crazy and then make me happy.)

And when I installed the beadboard around the island I cut out around the outlet, instead of installing the outlet cover over the boards, like I did with the backsplash. So they fixed that for me too:

The whole island needs a light sanding and another coat of paint, but I’m waiting till the flooring is done before I do that.

There was a little mishap with a ring of black paint on the butcher block countertop, but it was a small price to pay after all the hard work they did. And it was time for me to apply another coat of Tung oil on the counter anyway.

Many of you have asked how the butcher block has held up and I must say – I LOVE IT. At first I was obsessed with keeping it perfect, but I’ve long since realized perfect is impossible and wear and tear shows character. (If you keep saying that to yourself it finally sinks in. Realize it or go crazy I say.)

I hope I feel that way about the floors years from now. ;)

There’s a few small scratches here and there, but they aren’t bad at all – overall it still looks beautiful! We leave cups and and liquid on it all the time, and it holds up GREAT.

To take care of the black paint, I had to sand it down a bit:

I went after a few other minor scratches while I was at it. Then I just wiped it down and covered it with another coat of Tung oil:

tung oil on butcher block

You can see how it brings the wood to life – the oil is applied on the left of the wood below:

tung oil on butcher block

It needs to dry for about 12 hours, and then after a sanding with steel wool, you can do another coat. I only did one for now, but the first time I did it (a year ago), I think I did three coats.

It still looks fantastic!:

And now things are getting back to normal in the kitchen. We even got the new fridge yesterday – no more walking to the garage for a piece of cheese! YAHOO! :)

Now the plywood on the floors seems so much more manageable:

    beadboard island

The island houses our trash compactor, so it’s so nice to have that back too. And the island is the hub of our kitchen – I couldn’t believe how much I missed it!

We celebrated it’s return by making cupcakes:

butcher block beadboard island

They were Halloween cupcakes, I admit it. ;)

One baby step at a time…we’re getting the kitchen back! Just in time to tear out all the floors! Ah well…I am not complaining!!

Overall I’m thrilled with my butcher block counters -- they aren’t nearly as much upkeep as I thought they would be. It’s all about treating them after they are installed and knowing they won’t stay perfect!

I’m so letting go of perfect. :)

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Comments

  1. LOVE the butcher counter top....LOVE IT! I've been considering bead board for a backsplash, and now looking at yours, it makes me want it more! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. I'm intrigued! Can you tell us more about the Tung oil finish?? I've never heard of this product. The pictures show it works, but how exactly do you apply it? Paint brush? Sponge? Also, how's the steel wool work on that -- do you scrub hard with it, or just light?

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  3. absolutely LOVE it! I wish our kitchen was big enough for an island...ours is long and narrow. *sniff sniff*

    Nat from
    NatSprat.blogspot.com

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  4. So glad your kitchen is getting back together - it is so hard when the hub of the home is out of comission! And it is so good to hear your take on the butcher block- I have been looking at that...hmmmm....:)

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  5. I love your island. I'm sure you missed it. (I had one in my old house, and boy! do I miss it in this house. We actually use an old farm table in its place, but the height isn't right.)

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  6. Looks great, I love butcher block tops! Good to hear things are back in their place now.

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  7. I looove that beadboard! But what I really want to know is where did you find the chairs at your island? I've been looking for a similar style but not having any luck.

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  8. I'm so glad you got your island back, Sarah--and what a nice little bonus for you that it's even better than ever!

    I love the photo of the Bubs there making cupcakes. Is he four years old now?? Be still my heat. Little boys just melt my heart. Heck, my boys are just about grown men now, and they still melt my heart!

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  9. I love beadboard. Your island looks great. Thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas.

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  10. Your island now looks like a piece of furniture, I LOVE IT!! Love the butcher block counter top too! We did the same thing to our island a few months ago and we couldn't be happier with the results! Martina

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  11. Its beautiful and, remember, it is all the different materials and finishes that happen over the years that give older homes their lovely, eclectic feel. And, isn't that what we are often trying to get?

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  12. Beautiful! Thanks for the tung oil tip. My counters are wearing away from water damage. Will definitely try this. What kind of fridge did you get? Would love to see!

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  13. "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!"

    I think I saw this on Nester's blog, but not 100% sure.

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  14. Happy for you that you are slowly getting your house back. And hooray for fresh cheese. Being Dutch I couldn't live without my Gouda :-)

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  15. I love the fabric you have on your bar chairs. Do you know the designer?

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  16. Love your island!!! Only suggestion I would make is to make sure to move the island to lay flooring under it...yes you love the island now and can't live without it, but what if someday you need to move it a little--or decide to change your kitchen completely you will be thanksful you have those extra 3 sq ft of flooring under there, just a suggestion :) also love the butcher block countertop!!

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  17. I love the butchers block! What is Tung Oil? I don't think we have that in the UK, is a polish/varnish/oil type product? xx

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  18. Love the butcherblock top. Can you tell me where you got your counter stools. I am having the hardest time finding ones I like and yours are pretty perfect.

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  19. I have an island in my kitchen that has bedboard on it and I LOVE the look of your black bedboard. But will it look bad if the bedboard is black and my cabinets are a kind of dark red/brown wood? (It is a huge island that has the sink and dishwasher in it). BTW- I adore your blog! You have helped me so much with my new home!!

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  20. My cabinets are a warm brown with just a hint of red (if that) and our island is black distressed beadboard with butcher block top and we love the look of it! We have used other oils on the top but it doesn't have that lovely deep color and the shine so I am definitely getting some tung oil.

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THANKS so much for reading!