The Big Island 30 in. Kitchen Island

I have had this island for a year now. I chose this particular model because it has the doors on both sides for easy access and I like the dimensions of the top. I decorate cakes and cookies for a living and this gives ample area to roll out large batches of dough or assemble/decorate a large wedding cake. The other models may have had the same overall surface area but they were wider and not as deep. This model is wide enough without sacrificing depth. Who cares if an island is wide if it's not deep enough to roll a pie crust? The islands that have a leaf extension can only hold so much weight on the leaf. So even though those models can have comparable surface area with the leaf up, not all of that is completely sturdy. There's tons of storage inside. I use it to hold all of my huge, bulky, hard-to-store items, like a huge electric griddle, crock-pots, big bowls, etc. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 just because I had no idea how much effort it took to maintain a butcher block (to stay attractive that is)! Maybe that's just the nature of butcher block. I've never had it before. You cant leave glasses with condensation, wet food prep such as rinsed veggies, etc. for an extended amount of time. It leaves a white mark where the wet area was. Mind you, this doesn't happen if those wet items are removed somewhat quickly. I will say that those white marks do fade away after an oiling or two (any stains like dye can be removed by slightly sanding with extra-fine grit sandpaper or one of those green scrubber pads). That leads me to my other gripe about the maintenance: this island top needs to be "oiled" frequently to keep it from drying out and cracking. The manufacturer recommends their own product (which does not come with this purchase by the way). If I remember right, it was going to cost $15 plus s/h. But the directions do say that mineral oil is an acceptable substitute. The mineral oil is cheap and readily available so that's what I use (you can find it in most any store by the laxitives). It takes only a couple minutes to rub the oil in with a cloth. It does make the finish look very beautiful and shows off the woodgrain. The bad thing is, although the oil is absorbed somewhat quickly, it leaves a slightly oily residue for a few hours so don't set any important papers on it or lean against it with good clothes til that residue is gone. I usually oil it right before I go to bed so it can soak in of a night. I have medium to dark-colored oak cabinets in my kitchen so I was worried about the wood of this island looking too blonde/light. But the wood darkens with oiling and normal use. It matches perfectly now. When I first received the island, I can't say that it was packed very well. I was surprised to see there was no padding between pieces. But there wasn't a whole lot of free space for the pieces to "float around" either. The "fake" drawer front had a split in the wood (it looked like a manufacturing flaw rather than damage from shipping). I called the company and a new drawer front was sent within a week. Other than that, I have had no problems. I was worried about sturdiness and attractiveness when I saw the appearance of the wood- it didn't appear to be very thick and the woodgrain wasn't obvious. But once assembled and oiled, it becomes more beautiful with time. I am surprised how sturdy it is actually. I have family over a lot and the toddlers seem to want to use the side bars (towel racks) as a jungle gym/chin bar. I am amazed they havent broken yet as those kiddos have thrown their whole weight and hung on them. Although this particular model doesn't have an extended bar leaf, we have put 2 bar stools on one side and there's just enough of a lip on the edge that we can sit and eat at it of a morning. My daughter and visitors like to sit in the bar stools and talk to me while I prepare meals. When no one is sitting on that side, I do like the advantage of having a set of doors on that side as well so I don't have to dig around inside to find something. Everything is accessible..there is no "climbing" in a cave to find that one piece you need that always seems to be shoved in the very back : ) I am very hard on my island (I bake and cook alot) but it holds up very well. If I had my choice and money didn't matter, I would choose a granite-top but granite with this large of a surface would cost an arm and a leg. But for the money and the amount of storage and surface area, you can't beat this particular island. I definitely recommend it.

We ordered this Island and was shipped on time. The pieces were all in two boxes. The directions were easy and simple. The finished product once finished was everything I expected. The drawer is high and deep. The cabinet inside holds so many appliances and you can get to the back of the cabinet from the other side. I would order Catskill products again.

The packaging was not good and we had to ask for replacements for two damaged pieces. In addition, there were some screws missing. Replacement parts were sent to us immediately. Two of us put the island together in 2-3 hours. I sanded, stained and added polyurethane to the cabinet (not the butcher block) and am happy with the result. For us it is a useful piece.

My husband was able to put this cart together without help in a couple hours with no bad words. We can fit all of our pots and pans underneath and the drawer accommodates all of our utensils. It is the perfect size for our kitchen and matches our maple cabinets quite well. The top is very handy for all of our baking/cooking needs. It is sturdy and well-made. Even my award-winning furniture-designing brother-in-law was impressed. Moreover, the price cannot be beat. Our kitchen looks so much better now without the clutter of pans on top of cabinets.

This is a well made, attractive, and useful kitchen island. Having doors that open on both sides make it easy to access items stored on it's large interior shelves. We did have some initial issues with the product when we first opened the boxes, but believe those were shipping issues, and not product or manufacturer related. The manufacturer was always quick to respond and rectify any issues that were brought to their attention.

Very stable for forceful chopping, kneading and pounding, but also easy to move when needed. Downside is that the surface is a bit rough. Still needs some sanding and treatment with mineral oil.

I would have given this product an excellent, but, it was an absolute nightmare to assemble. None of the boards or pieces were labeled. Trying to compare a 2 dimensional drawing to 3 dimensional pieces was impossible. I assembled it 4 times and disassembled it 3 times before I got it right. I think it’s right.

This is a very solid cabinet. The wheels are solid and moves around very easily even when the cabinet is loaded with a heavy mixer and all my baking racks and pans/dishes.

I've only had this on the floor two weeks so I don't know more then that, but I love the look of it and how much it holds. I had my carpenter put it together and he did fine. The only thing I wondered about was that he said the drawer would only open from one side. So I have to go around each time I need a tool. Other then that it's a great buy and very sturdy and the butcher block top is a bonus. Just seems to need oiling which I have been doing with the butcher block oil from Home Depot. I also used the polish on the rest of the cabinet. Wonderful stuff.

While the instructions *do* take a little effort to decipher, our household absolutely loves this addition to our kitchen and are pleased with its appearance, sturdiness, and convenience. Note: we did find assembly was a two-person job. Some parts of the assembly would be extremely difficult (at best) without an extra body to brace or steady things.