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bellsmom

Another retrofit: folding work surface

bellsmom
11 years ago

I wanted to post one image of this for Marcolo, and decided to post more detail here.

When my kitchen was finished, there was no good place to sit for marathon cutting and chopping events like the aftermath of someone gifting me with a bushel of fresh corn.

This is my cheapo solution: it involves

1. Folding leg brackets, like on on a cardtable

2. Two stair spindles, $1 each from Habitat

3. One cabinet side panel, $1 from Habitat (maybe to be replaced by a real chopping block.

4. Two 1 x 1's to form a stabilizer over the front of the sink so the table doesn't slide.

Here are pics of the table, both folded and in working position, and my constant companion, an 80 pound rescue labradoodle that makes me smile 100 times a day:







This is a really easy project, and for me, a perfect solution to sitting surface adjacent to sink and pull out trash.

Hope it is useful to someone.

And Bell and I thank you GWers for all the good ideas we have used over the last two years.

Sandra

Comments (11)

  • deedles
    11 years ago

    What a good idea! What a cute pooch, too! Love Labradoodles.

  • starinasgarden
    11 years ago

    Brilliant! Thank you for posting this.It's such a useful and simple solution.

    As a mom to two rescued St. Poodles, I adore you Labradoodle. What a face

  • marcolo
    11 years ago

    I am waiting for you retrofit your own car elevator.

  • bellsmom
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Deedles and Starinasgarden, thank you for the comment. Starina, I was seriously considering a rescue standard poodle when I found Bell, who really needed a home. She was a discard from a breeding kennel.

    Yes, the folding chopping/cutting table is a simple solution. Works for me.

    Marcolo, Hmmm. Car Elevator. The garage IS in the basement. Hmmm.

  • bellsmom
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    A friend gave me several bags of fresh veggies. I set up the table, pulled out the trash and pulled up my stool, and dug in. It is SO nice to have a place to sit, to reach the sink for rinsing and just scrape leavings off the table into the trash.

    I wish all kitchens, including mine, had room to build in such a station. Barring that, this works.

    But I do need to evaluate whether it is worth while to put a better top on it. I had planned a chopping block, but that would make it heavy. As it is, I just put a chopping block on top--one that lives on the island. And a coat of varnish would be good on the legs. I just rubbed dark stain on them.
    Like Scarlet, I'll think about that tomorrow. Today, this week, actually, it's get ready for a big neighborhood yardsale.

    Happy cooking, guys.

  • oldhousegal
    11 years ago

    Awesome DIY'ing! Thanks for sharing the great idea. I could have used that a couple of years ago, before I remodeled my kitchen. But I might do that for the laundry room....

    With the new island/peninsula, I have a ton of space for all my canning and cooking, and can even sit to do it! And, after cutting 40 pounds of tomatoes, I sure liked being able to sit at the island to work last week!

    Love the photo with your 'helper' Bella! She's adorable, and so hard to believe that is a 'discard'. I'm looking for a discard myself right now!

  • bellsmom
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Oldhousegal,
    A year after the death of our lovely old golden (a rescue, of course), I was looking for a standard poodle rescue when we found Belle. She had many strikes against her--wrong coat (she sheds), wrong size (28'' is way bigger than many people want), wrong personality (she bounces with joy and enthusiasm)--for most adopters. I couldn't forget her, and she eventually came home with us.
    I strongly recommend one particular on-line rescue site. These people provide permanent homes to unadoptable animals, carefully vet their dogs, and provide excellent descriptions. I didn't get Belle from them (she came from KY Lab Rescue), but I can't resist putting Carolina Poodle Rescue's link here. I have no affiliation with them, of course.

    Sandra

    Here is a link that might be useful: Excellent Poodle/Doodle rescue site

  • lalithar
    11 years ago

    Bells mom- this is so clever! I think I am going to use this in my galley to get a sit down work surface near the the prep sink. Kind of a temp peninsula.. Way cool! You should market this! Seriously..

  • sedonamazer
    11 years ago

    Here is a picture of my updated kitchen. It was a 16 by 12 foot 80s white formica kitchen that needed a full remodel. It also had 5 doors! We took down a wall, removed a door, reduced the size of another door, removed the soffits and added 4 feet to the length of the kitchen. I desperately wanted an island, but the kitchen was too narrow. We put an Anderson bay window in to let in more light. The countertops are fusion glass under the window but the rest is granite. My favorite features are TWO dishwashers, not going with a sink under the window, my Thermador steam/convection oven and my Thermador induction cooktop. Backsplash is bluestone and glass. The chairs are Stickley. I'll try to post more pictures.

  • bellsmom
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Lalitha
    Thanks. Don't think I'm gonna go into mass production, but I do think the idea is useful enough that I would like folks here to know about it.
    This one is pretty crude, but I didn't want to spend much on it until I knew if I would actually use it. I do use it, so I will probably somewhere along in my projects finish the legs better and replace the plywood top with something more durable and prettier.
    I am really pleased that you think you might adapt the idea to your kitchen.
    Sandra

  • bellsmom
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Sedonamazer
    I posted a thread for you. I think you meant to post your beautiful kitchen in a separate thread.

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