I ended my last kitchen remodel update by saying, “we still have some little things to do in the room (build an island on wheels to rest beneath the matching pot rack, add shelves to the rear of the washer/dryer cabinet door to hold various sundries, and put a flat screen TV above the fridge), but that’s all cosmetic work.” Well, now the cosmetic work is done:

I gave myself the arbitrary deadline of before football season to finish the work. It seems I barely beat the bell, considering that the college football season kicks off tonight.

My wife surprised me with a new TV for the kitchen — just in time for football:

And about a month ago, I managed to build this organizer for the inside of the washer/dryer closet door. It holds the detergent, paper towels, cat food, etc…

I had to go through countless boards at the store until I found enough pieces that were perfectly straight. I was afraid that even the slightest warpage would cause the door to come out of square. I also used some scrap plywood to add a shelf above the washer/dryer units. Since the space is over three feet deep, it’ll hold a considerable amount of stuff.

And I’m pleased to say I finally finished the movable island:

No store I visited (and I visited them all) carried no-mortise hinges in an oil-rubbed bronze finish, so I had to order them online. It took a couple of weeks for them to arrive, and I installed the cabinet doors last night. It holds all of our large pots as well as some heavy appliances:

It’s really working out great. I’ve walked into the kitchen a couple of times to find my wife rolling out dough on the island while sitting on a stool and watching TV. As a matter of fact, I used it just the other night to bread some veal.

With all the pots and pans out of the cabinets, we finally got around to organizing them. I hate having cords dangling all over the pace, so I installed our electric can opener beneath a shelf inside the cabinet. I also used some scrap wood to make a bin for our garlic, shallots and onions:

Enough about the little stuff. Here’s how the finished room looks:

It’s great to have everything done, but I must admit that I feel a little useless.

On to the next project, I guess…