When I move into a new home I always feel a sense of urgency to transform the space into one that reflects our taste and is more efficient for us to use.  I don’t know why the urgent feeling is there – because really it is almost always better to live in a space for a while to see what you really need.  In the past we’ve wasted money and time doing things too quickly.

I am proud of us, though, with regard to our kitchen.  We both like to cook – and I am now doing a lot of baking – and of course it’s where people gather so we wanted it to be functional and attractive.

We recently decided that our small stainless steel work table wasn’t enough of an island for us.  We needed more storage and more work surface.  We contacted Geoff at Victoria Furniture and together we designed the island at the top of this post.  It’s made of cedar, and the finish and design is the same as the  kitchen cabinets we had made when we first moved in.

There are four sets of doors with full extension pull out shelves inside.  The island is on wheels, which I love since it gives more flexibility when setting up a buffet.  The top is black granite  – different than the mottled black and brown granite on the rest of the counters.  I like it that way.

I can’t tell you how happy I am with out kitchen now.  The look is uncluttered.  The layout is efficient, and I like that I can put away a lot of things that will deteriorate in Mazatlán’s humidity.

Geoff Simons and his partner Juan Carlos Valdez of Victoria Furniture have made me one happy lady.  Maybe I had better go bake something… what do you think?