Chop, Chop…

April 15, 2015

I wanted to share with you the photos of my finished prep table.  I think it’s adorable and pretty crafty (if I do say so myself).  Charming still thinks it’s a bit weird, but he did say, “It’s not as ugly as I thought it’d be.”  So that’s fairly good praise, I think, considering he has been threatening to tote my beloved wash tub to the landfill for almost a decade now.  I think he’s finally realized that wash tub ain’t goin’ anywhere and, since he participated in helping me put it together, he seems to be OK with it residing permanently in our kitchen.

The prep table is thirty-nine inches tall.  The table top is twenty-four inches across.  We came upon the top in Home Depot while we were shopping for some other things.  They sold two sizes.  The eighteen-inch top was too small as the top opening of the tub was eighteen-and-a-half inches across.  So I decided to go with the twenty-four-inch top and be happy with a little overhang.  As it turned out, this works much better as it offers plenty of space for even my largest cutting board and can also function as a table if I add tall bar stools for seating.  (The fact that the Home Depot ready-made table top cost only $6.99 was also a bonus…and much less work for us as well.)

I think I’m actually more in love with the family heirloom wash tub now than when I first laid eyes on it, half-buried by fallen leaves in the wooded mountains where my ancestors resided.  To my way of thinking it just goes to show that no matter how bad an object appears, it can always be improved upon and turned into something wonderful.  I hope this inspires some of you to find a piece of trash and turn it you’re your very own treasure!

This is the "before" photo of my beloved wash tub.

...And this is the "after" photo.  The writing at the
bottom of the tub is Psalms 17:8, which says,
"Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the
shadow of thy wings."  I just love that verse and
it seemed to fit the application perfectly.

A little creative thinking can lead to a fun and
functional design.  (I never even throw a
gum wrapper away without giving some thought
to how I might turn it into something useful.)

Lucky me...my prep table came with built in
towel holders!  (Actually, the tub's handles were
what tipped the odds in favor of turning it
into a prep table.)

As you can tell from most of my recent posts, I've become
quite fond of black and white enamel paint.  (Not because of the fumes,
but because of the high sheen that enamel gives to any object.)
Five coats of the paint and just look at the high gloss on that table top!
It mimics the baking center's vintage enamel top very closely.