Piano kitchen island pt. 4: design, functionality.
this is part 4 of the piano… here is: part one, two, three, five, six, seven
1. We are going to replace the top of the piano.
I do not want to have to be careful with the original wood surface, so we are going to replace it with a slab of countertop material.
Carrara is my first choice, despite knowing the arguments against it, and despite the commitment involved with spending the next chunk of my life patrolling the island to be sure no one touches anything.
The floor of the piano box is SOLID. (It is built to support the harp which is heavy.) Paul will build a structure internally to make sure that the marble is supported across the entire span.
Removing the wood top will also give us some spare material – no specific plans for it, but always good to have.
2. I keep forgetting to tell you how surprisingly ideal the piano’s height is: 38” tall.
This is slightly taller than a standard countertop height, but I am used to working at a 40” high workspace— I am 6 feet, Paul taller… and when we DIY-ed our original (luxury) custom island, I had Paul jack up the height of the countertop.
I have been testing the piano as a workspace, to see if I want it taller, but it feels good.
3. My goal is to make the piano a truly functional workspace.
That gives us two totally different options:
- sink in the island.
or - storage in the island.
4. Sink in island option.
The space is there, and we could configure the plumbing to be as hidden as possible… what we cannot hide, we could sort of mask (at least on one side,) by using the decorative foot pedal as a guide.
We could not make it totally invisible, but if we used copper tubing and were careful to align everything, we could do a decent job of something vaguely steampunk. Or, at least not horribly unsightly.
Do I think that is the best plan? No. But all along, I have been considering a kitchen design where we move the sink into the island because it would free up the sink wall. Which would give us the option of doing a full wall of cabinets.
All in the pursuit of finding space to install a yet-to-be-discovered-and-may-not-even-exist-magnificent-perfect-size-nine-foot-tall-seven-foot-wide-bookcase-to-repurpose-as-floor-to-ceiling-cabinetry.
If I commit to the sink on the wall and two months from now we find the perfect thing for that space… I might have a nervous breakdown. (Paul says not to worry– while I am in the sanitarium, he will finish the kitchen in peace.)
The thing that finally discouraged me from sink-in-piano was the dishwasher… I cannot come up with any configuration that is not utterly ridiculous.
We played around with the idea of dividing the empty space under the piano, long-ways: building a wall down the center with the spare wood from the piano top we removed. This would allow us to build a back for a dishwasher/cabinet.
I also looked at dishwasher drawers. Maybe one on either side of the sink… At some point I even started to think – maybe we DON’T need a dishwasher?
But while I feel like we could do a good job of camouflaging the back/sides of the dishwasher, I was never satisfied with how we would integrate it in the front.
Plus, Paul kept going on and on about how if we cut a giant chunk out of the bottom of the piano, we end up with an entirely new problem: stability.
Which brings us to this plan.
5. Drawers in island.
Ultimately, I think the best decision is to preserve the furniture-ness as best we can.
The last thing I want is some configuration that is offensive to the dignity of the piano’s appearance, and I’m not too excited about the idea of a faucet sticking up out of my isle of beauty and Carrara marble and shrine to awesomeness.
Also, I have been saying all along that ALL I needed was JUST ONE giant fancy thing… And that when I found it, that GFT would dictate everything else: layout, design, sink placement, range placement, EVERYTHING… So this really is what I have been waiting for; it’s just that hoarder-brain always wants to point out ways to get more GFT’s.
So I think drawers are the best solution… you can see how the marble-supports are going to integrate with a drawer structure.
Paul is on vacation this week and enjoying a relaxing time full of math and building what I have made up in my head… we’ll see if I can do my part to improve his time off even more, by finding something REALLY RIDICULOUS on Craigslist.
I will receive extra credit if it won’t fit in the van and needs to be tied to the roof. And extra, extra credit if it serves no purpose at all. (This would be ideal, and if one of you near Chicago can go get it, you will save me a lot of driving.)
Wish me luck.
May 5, 2015 @ 11:58 am
Why not use the material from the top to make drawer fronts for the open space where the keys were? Same material same patina. Oh and solid top no sink.
May 5, 2015 @ 12:35 pm
I had the same idea about using the top to make drawer fronts, but I think that you could also use the piece that you take off the front. Would it be easier to put drawers on both sides? A drawer that went all the way through would probably be too deep to pull out all the way. Drawers on both sides would allow you to store a lot more.
May 5, 2015 @ 12:31 pm
I was hoping you would leave the top on, it is such a beautiful piece of wood. I put plexiglass or real glass across the top to protect but still show off the beauty of something. Also hinge the drawer front and have Paul build roll out drawers. Then no cutting up that beautiful wood.
May 5, 2015 @ 5:17 pm
Excellent idea! That would keep the piano illusion going, I’m sure Paul could pull it off beautifully.
May 9, 2015 @ 12:08 am
I totally agree, was my thought too. What makes it unique is that its a piano, not a counter top. Anybody can have marble. go for tempered glass and drawers in both long sides… lots of storage lots of prep room.
May 27, 2015 @ 7:51 pm
Yes. Glass on top of original wood is how I would do this. Shame to lose the look of all that beautiful wood.
May 5, 2015 @ 12:46 pm
I just Googled “pianos with marble tops.” Some really beautiful examples of people making them into dining room tables, but no islands. I think it’s going to be beautiful. I vote for no sink in the island ~ it will be a great work space and the expanse of marble so pretty.
May 5, 2015 @ 12:53 pm
Victoria,
This project is super! Practically speaking- you will want a 5/8″ thick piece of plywood as a substrate for your beautiful marble top- it needs solid substrate, not just drawer divider supports. (Think about the dancing that will happen on top later, and how sad it would be if your marble cracked.) And I know you never go for anything because it is less difficult, but having drawers on one side only, and making them super long, full extension drawers can work well too.
May 5, 2015 @ 1:05 pm
Carrara marble! Nothing else would be as perfect. I lived with Carrara counter tops for years. Love, love, love them. Seal it and let it Live!
May 5, 2015 @ 1:14 pm
Doesn’t sound like you need encouragement on the carrara front, but I’ll throw in my two cents anyways. I read arguments from both camps on the internet prior to buying, got my sample and dutifully did stain tests – but honestly, my mind was made up to love it before even starting the process. It’s our island countertop (our perimeter is concrete) and is our primary work area. I may juice lemons over the concrete, but otherwise I’m not too terribly careful and try not to prowl around it protectively too much when we have guests. There are definitely etches, some from an obvious cause (like a lemon eating contest between my husband and our nieces and nephews) and others that seems to appear overnight mysteriously, but I think we’re entering the territory where they are starting to meld together. I am definitely the only person who notices them. I wouldn’t have chosen anything else, and it’ll look perfect with the piano.
May 5, 2015 @ 1:19 pm
So interesting. Once you have the GFT of your dreams, you go all practical. This aspect of your personality must be what keeps Paul sane.
May 5, 2015 @ 1:36 pm
Omg, I can’t stop looking at that gorgeous foot pedal! What marvelous plan do you have for it?
Oh, and I think your decision not to put a sink in the island is good.
May 5, 2015 @ 1:48 pm
I’m in Chicago and own a very large SUV…just saying!
May 5, 2015 @ 2:27 pm
The countertop level should be about four inches lower than your elbow when you’re standing at it — inches for a woman of 5’7″, probably about 40 inches for you. Much taller and your arms will flap like wings when you try to work on it and you won’t have good leverage, much lower and your back will notice because you’ll always be bending.
May 5, 2015 @ 2:29 pm
The piano has a beautiful sculptural quality to it. I think you should make it the focal point of the kitchen and leave it as close to the original as you can. Another GFT would fight with this piece, each feeling she deserves to be the most beautiful thing in your life (unaware of what lies in the next room, and all through the house). There must be some Victorian feng shui forces that control the emotional content of a room. You might be creating trouble for yourself if you have too much toomuch. The marble top sounds lovely, and probably would be best left as one smooth uninterrupted surface. Elvis should probably be given complete domain over the floor space under GFT. If nothing else, it will be easier to clean if left open. The foot pedal seems a suitable back piece to a throne from which Elvis can survey the room. Looking forward to seeing the finished room.
May 5, 2015 @ 3:19 pm
Looking at you floor plan (the linked post about the huge cabinet wall dream), why can’t you put the GWOAAC (giant wall of awesome antique cabinet) on the stove/fridge wall? Then put the stove where the fridge is now and leave the dishwasher where you show it on the plan. Then move the sink to the right of the dishwasher to be looking out the window. Then to the right of that, build a partial wall (I can’t see what that room to the right is) to put the fridge against and cover the right side of the fridge with a thin wall just to finish the look so the bare side of the fridge isn’t exposed.
This way you have the GWOAAC AND! the giant piano island.
May 5, 2015 @ 3:28 pm
I meant put the stove where the SINK is shown on the plan.
May 5, 2015 @ 4:01 pm
For cabinets, I’ve been wondering if you’ve seen these? I don’t know a lot about the manufacturer (except that I like their aesthetic enough to have an ebay alert set for them), but there have been a few kind of enormous wall-size units pop up on eBay recently and they look like they are actually fairly modular, so more likely to be configurable to fit your particular wall size.
Plus, organising international freight is even MORE FUN than Craigslist retrieval. Trust me on this.
May 5, 2015 @ 4:11 pm
Fancy has met its match. Carry on, VEB. Keep the dispatches from the front lines coming.
May 5, 2015 @ 4:13 pm
Also, totally jealous of your 6′ statuesque-ness.
May 5, 2015 @ 5:00 pm
This is really going to be amazing. I think you should consider kitchen design once you’ve finished your kitchen. I love what you’re doing with the piano and I know the kitchen is going to be beyond fabulous.
Great job.
Karen
May 5, 2015 @ 5:58 pm
I totally agree with everyone who advised against putting the sink into the piano island. A carrara top would be awesome. Have you considered having the edge of the marble mirror the edge detail from the former piano top? I think that would be perfect. Love your blog and look forward to new posts. Keep up the amazing and brilliant work!
May 5, 2015 @ 6:04 pm
Take a look at this blog. http://fortheloveofahouse.blogspot.com/2011/01/kitchen.html
Somewhere in all that she talks about caring for her marble-topped island, what works for her, what she uses, and the fact that patina happens.
May 5, 2015 @ 6:11 pm
I think you’re right. The most obvious solution is usually the best one in the end when “rigging” something, as we say in Miami. I vote for drawers.
May 5, 2015 @ 7:16 pm
I vote with all the “no sink in the island people!” I just have to say I have Carrara marble countertop and I LOVE them! I have had them five years and I would do it all over again. They are gorgeous and not so hard to maintain. Mine are honed, not polished, which makes it easier to hide any rings, scratches, etc. They look so French country!