Unique Items in the House

We built our home ourselves so everything is pretty custom. We did standard measurements and all that but all the decor and placement of shelves, cabinets, doors and such are custom to what we wanted.  It's also our first home so I wanted to take my time filling up the home with unique decor and furniture. Most of the furniture we have in the house is furniture we already had but there were spaces in the house that we didn't have the right item to fill it with. I didn't want to buy just anything; I wanted to find pieces that were meaningful to me...pieces that generate conversation and the desire to be innovative.

Our living room, dining room, and kitchen are totally open concept. My kitchen cabinets are along the corner wall so it leaves a wide open space that is really nice. However, I had it in my mind that I wanted a refurbished kitchen island with a place to sit at while the other is cooking or to have breakfast at. If you've ever looked online for a unique piece of furniture like the one I'm describing, you know how expensive they are. The inexpensive pieces are...well...unimpressive. Not that they aren't good in the right space but I wanted something different. Over time, my desired piece came together.

The first piece of the puzzle: My brother moved and didn't want to take a lot of furniture so he gave me this antique buffet (that's kind of a northern term for a dresser with cabinets beside of the drawers). It's the perfect size and has the perfect amount of storage for my Christmas china and cutting boards. The only problem with it was the delicate, antique wood top. It was terrible for anything wet or anything that held heat.

Second piece of the puzzle: I have a lot of group meetings at my house and the top was annihilated within a couple weeks. I soon realized I would need a counter top that held heat. I found granite would be the best option and my mother-in-law surprised me with the gift of being able to pick out the remnant I wanted for a combination birthday and Christmas present. I had so much fun in the process and was beyond pleased with the outcome. The company we went to picked up the buffet so they could size the counter top, cut the granite, delivered the buffet and counter top when it was done, and cleaned it to its shining glory. They recommended us to by a granite sealer to prevent staining and for it to keep its shine, which we did right away. We thoroughly enjoyed our improved piece but soon found we would really love to be able to pull our stools up to the back side of it and eat and chat together.

My mother-in-law and step father-in-law really pulled out all the stops on this one. It's the piece de resistance, the finishing touch, the cat's meow. They had this dead tree in their yard that they let dry out, took it up to a place to slices trees into table tops and such, brought it back to their house, sanded it, stained it, sanded it because they hated it, stained it again, and varnished the shine into it until it was perfect. They presented it to me on Christmas day and I was speechless. It's the most beautiful thing I've seen. They attached it with galvanized pipe and it looks FANTASTIC. Our stools fit perfectly under it and it is literally a dream come true for me. It was worth the wait and I'm glad I took my time deciding what I really wanted. It accomplishes everything I hoped for and generates more conversation and ideas than I could have imagined.

I'm telling you this to encourage you to not be influenced by some non existent timeline. Take your time, research your options, and figure out what will best suit your lifestyle. Trust me. It'll be worth it.