It’s such an honor to be trusted with a sentimental piece of furniture. This cabinet was build as a tool bench at Briggs and Stratton in Wauwatosa WI. Watch as I transformed this tool bench into a kitchen island.
Briggs and Stratton builds engines for lawnmowers, presser washers, generators and many other small engines. They sell their engines to over 100 countries across the globe.
My clients father worked at Briggs and Stratton and built this cabinet. Unfortunately he has since passed, by restoring this tool cabinet this is one of the small ways she is keeping him with her.
The Cabinet Before
Just a basic cabinet with drawers inside. Functional castors on the bottom. It is a good sturdy cabinet. Of course it isn’t perfect, it was made to hold tools. The imperfections are the beauty of the piece anyway, so we will keep them.
The Plan
We discussed painting, removing the cabinet door panels, replacing the top with butcher block, adding new castors and towel holders. This is a great plan, but sometimes the process takes a little time, to execute.
The Butcher Block Top
I ordered a top from John Boos and Company. I was impressed with the ease of ordering. There are many options, sizes, wood species, thickness and style. It did take three weeks to make and then time to ship it, but I knew that up front so I did plan for it. It did take a little longer than I expected however with COVID-19 the mailing and shipping has been a little delayed in my area.
Once I received the top I was so impressed! They have great packaging, the quality is beautiful too. They had a great sheet inside with care instructions which I was able to pass along to my client.
The edges where a little sharp so I did go through and sand them down, it didn’t take much. Once cleaned up I used butcher block oil to treat it. It was already treated but because of the moving, and sanding I did I treated it again.
PS: I was not paid by John Boos to say any of this. I want to share good quality products with you and my honest review of them.
The Finished Island
I am so thrilled with the kitchen island results, it is perfect! Wonderful off white, chicken wire, butcher block, and piping towel holder all flows together perfectly.
I made the pipe towel holders by just going to Home Depot and figuring out what I needed. However if you don’t want to do that you can just buy them on Amazon pre-made here.
Thanks for following along hope you enjoyed this kitchen island makeover as much as I do.
Many Blessings,
Tara Lou
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