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A solid oak island topped with a 78-inch-long slab of Agaria marble and tricked out with a hidden garbage bin and counter stool seating now sits at the heart of Emily Henderson’s client’s kitchen. It looks as custom as it sounds, but the catch is, it’s actually not. The piece is a brand-new offering from Crate & Barrel, which just launched its first-ever home renovation collection. The line features ready-made kitchen islands ranging from a $999 French country–inspired piece to Henderson’s $4,999 pick, but also encompasses bathroom vanities, medicine cabinets, hardware, and lighting fixtures.
“So many people come to us saying, ‘We don’t need to demo our entire cabinetry runs, we just want to update them to make them look better,’” says Henderson, “and in many cases that goes with the island.” In her latest client’s case, there was no previously existing island—just a dining table. But with two young boys in the house, they needed their setup to work a little harder, both from a dining and storage perspective.
Henderson focused on low-lift changes she could make in their six-week time frame, including replacing some of the upper cabinets with floating shelves, painting the cabinetry, swapping out the lighting, and covering the ceiling in paneling. Then they ordered Crate’s aforementioned Terra island.
Terra 78″ Marble Top and Natural Oak Wood Kitchen Island with Storage, Crate & Barrel ($4,999)
“It has the most beautiful stone on top, which we were very floored by because you think, it’s coming off a truck from a retailer,” says Henderson. “I didn’t expect it to be as big.” There was no assembly required on her part—the delivery people placed it in the space for them and scooted it around until it was exactly where they wanted it. The only items that call for hiring a professional are the bathroom vanities (a plumber will have to set up the water connection with the sink). “But other than that, it’s assembled and ready to go,” notes Crate & Barrel senior vice president and head of design Sebastian Brauer.
