Joe's kitchen was originally a very dark, closed-in four walled, three doored distaster. We had taken a major wall out of the sunroom, so it now opens into the living room as one big room. The sunroom used to freeze in the winter and be over 100 degrees in the summer. It now keeps the living area bright and cozy. The kitchen wall bordered the dining room, making it a cave with no windows. Taking out the two inside walls allowed us to open the area up a lot. We took out the door behind where the refrigerator now is.

Joe was very sceptical when Don and I started laying 2x4's on the floor to get a feel for the design of the island. I tried to do some plans, but could not find a design that "fit" the space. By just laying out the 2x4's we were able to decide to do a 4 wing bottom and a 3 wing top. It made for some interesting tile layout issues, but building it was a snap. We put the carcass together, then the lower top; tiled that and then added the upper top and tiled that. Joe wanted the shelving area for keys and phones and such, I decided to add the wine rack afterwards, the shelving area looked kind of "minimal".

All in all, I think it came out pretty nice. Many thanks to Don and Denise for all their help and support!!!

The bare carcass of the island	Don, Denise and Joe. Don the master teaching us to tile.
Finished lower level tile. The back area is not tiled so the electrical work can go in.	Time jump forward to edges finished and used drawers installed, siding on and shelving unit in.
The top level has been installed and tiled, but not grouted. Joe used square stock for strength under the upper level.	Same view as left photo, but cabinet door done, oak edge trim installed and a nice sunset in the sunroom windows.
You can see where we took out the kitchen walls at the ceiling. Good view of total kitchen now.	Drawer fronts installed and cutting board installed. We used T&G cedar from kitchen walls for the siding and drawers.
Wine rack and can lights installed.	Same view from the front.