New kitchen addition: The Island

This island idea has been quite the object of contention for a while in the kitchen.  I personally think that the space is fine without having an island.  Terry makes a good point that it is a convenient location for an extra cutting board and making prep for the stove. 

We put the idea on the back-burner for a while (Terry was giving me some time to warm up to the idea), and then last week, he sent me an email with several option of butchers blocks and floating islands that were currently for sale on Craigslist.  The first one that I opened was the one that I thought would work best.  There was one other option that could have worked as a back-up, but it was square, and I liked the look in our kitchen of having one rectangular.  I called the lady who posted the ad, and $50, we have our new island.  The drawer needs to be fixed (the slider part underneath came undone, so the drawer isn't currently stable. 

(Don't mind the junk on the table, I just wanted to get a broad shot so you can see how it fits in)

Terry is talking about re-doing the two shelves on the bottom so that we can stack our cutting boards vertically.  I don't know how all that is done, but of course he does.

View from the dining room into the kitchen.  It does take up quite some space, but it works.

I hate admitting it since it took so long for me to warm up to it, but I think that it fits the space well.  Also for $50 it was a gamble we were willing to take.  Thoughts?