Our pine-fired bargain

I haven’t posted in quite awhile. We’re just now getting over the sticker shock we experienced when we first realized that hiring a general contractor was going to put us considerably over our original budget. Since then we’ve been looking closely at everything, trying to see where we can cut costs. It’s been hard. Once you get a vision in your head of the appliance or the type of countertop or the flooring (more about floors later) you want, it’s really difficult to compromise.

The one money-saving choice that we are both happy about, however, is the copper table top that will be attached at bar-height to the end of the island. Originally we got a quote of over $2,000 from the guy who is going to make the copper range hood for us (yes, despite much debate we didn’t compromise on the hood). $2,000 for a 36” table top with no legs?!

To save money, we thought of using granite or some other solid surface. But my wife found a copper table top online for about $500 with delivery. It has a rustic “pine-fired” finish (perhaps there is a significant difference between a finish that was done with a fire fueled by pine rather than by oak or alder?) with a visible mark in the center that looks like a hand print from a worker’s glove. We bought it sight unseen, but as soon as it was delivered and we rested it on our existing island, we loved it. It’s a bold look, but rustic and warm. It may end up being the piece that, years later, we will be most pleased with.