You just never know where you will find the next great thing! Tag sales, garage and yard sales, flea markets and sometimes the side of the road can be the most unlikely places you will find just what you are looking for, albeit not as recognizable in its current form as you imagine. Maybe you are looking for a particular object and maybe you are just looking at interesting things, but when you stumble upon something that is out of the ordinary you need to take advantage of the moment.
Recently, while shopping at the monthly Estate Sale I like to frequent and, after a quick pass through, a second tour landed me at this old carpenters work bench. When my client found me, she noted that she too had looked at this same item. It is a bit low for a typical kitchen cart or island, but when you are vertically challenged as many are, it is nearly perfect. My client has been looking at kitchen carts on-line as well as checking out new carts in trendy shops around town, but nothing really hit the spot until we pondered this old work bench. Just imagine the history that this piece might tell if it could.
Under the books on the shelf below the top, is a hinged box used to store small tools. It is a perfect spot for little used, but necessary serving pieces. These pieces tend to take up valuable space inside cabinets and make preparation a challenge
when you have to unload half a cabinet to get to the piece you need. With those items off the valuable shelf space, everything is easier.
The bench’s surface area is the perfect size for an additional work space for chopping vegetables or mixing a batch of cookies, it is the perfect height for a small stool and rolling out a pie crust while standing. Of course, no food is placed on top of the table without a cutting board or some protective surface for cutting raw foods. Good sanitation demands care. However, there are no worries about putting a glass on top that may sweat or a bottle of wine that may stain a nicer countertop.
A piece such as this is great in a vintage house, but it would also fit in a more modern kitchen as a useful accent piece to add warmth and a sense of history-- a nice change from the stark, utilitarian look.
We have considered adding a couple of inches to its height by adding casters, but so far the piece suits the needs of the cook; the taller cook can use the other surfaces in the kitchen. The bench has found a new and unexpected use in this vintage kitchen; a perfect compliment to the two cooks that can now work happily in unison.
Old Work Bench
Working Kitchen Bench