What do bowling and cooking have in common?

True, they are both loud and noisy.
And they both include throwing large, heavy objects.
And the deft handling of knives.
And pungent odors.
And unattractive rental shoes.

But there's something more.

Oh yes! It's my new island top!

 

Haven't I mentioned that my husband is a visionary?

When we moved here I found that with the large kitchen and limited countertop, an island was very helpful. So at first we used a piece of furniture that used to be in our dining room and topped it with an oiled 2' x 4' piece of birch plywood. That sufficed for some time. And then we got a lead on picking up fancy KitchenMaid cabinets at rock bottom prices. So we went to a crazy warehouse sale and picked out bases to use as an island. We came home, put them in the kitchen and I again topped them with that piece of birch board. Completely functional. I loved my new cabinets and the board, though it sometimes tended to want to slide around a bit, worked out ok. But the island was still evolving and we had talked many times about butcher block style wooden countertops. That's when my outside-the-box thinking husband saw an add on Craigslist for bowling lane sections. With some clever remodelling he made me a fantastic island top! Solid maple strips create a beautiful and functional workspace.

 

There's even an overhang so one can sit and enjoy a snack, write a recipe or just visit.

 

 

Such pretty woodgrain and colors

And so much workspace!

 

So I christened the island with something sweet for my guy!

Cooking just got even more fun. And I don't actually throw things or wear rented shoes to make cookies.

Though I might get a bit noisy from time to time.