Upcycled kitchen island

I shared the story behind our kitchen island way back in March, with a promise that I’d post some pics of it when it was finished. I’m finally fulfilling that promise, even if it has taken me eight months. We managed to get a first coat of Annie Sloan chalk paint in English Yellow onto the base of the vintage school science bench not long after we’d bought it (I couldn’t live with the nasty orangey tones for long), but it  needed a second coat and that didn’t happen until a couple of weeks ago. I’m as efficient as ever.
I found the chalk paint pretty easy to use, and I loved not needing to sand down the surface before painting it. We’d probably be wise to wax the painted surface now it’s finished, but I love the colour so much that I’m nervous of doing anything that might change it. I’d like to find some bright oilcloth to line that bottom shelf, so I’m keeping my eyes out for the perfect design. We only have one bar stool at the moment (a bargain buy from a friend), which I’ve topped with a basic Ikea seat pad which I covered with Ikea Fredrika fabric and pompom trim from Buttonbag.
There’s a handy drawer in the unit in which I stash our saucepan lids (we normally have a stack of saucepans sat on the base of the unit). I said in my original post that I thought I should oil the worktop. I still think I probably should, but I doubt I actually will. I adore its distressed finish and I just don’t think the unit would feel the same if it didn’t have that battered surface.

I definitely reckon that this lab bench is our best-ever eBay purchase – it really has transformed the kitchen, both in appearance, and in how we use the space.