Rick Pues can sit, relax, watch television and cut vegetables all in his living room. No coffee table or other furniture is involved. Pues rolls in a portable cutting block. The 1 1/2-inch-thick hard maple is mounted atop a wheeled cabinet section. He chops, pounds, slices and dices. With the 2-feet-by-2-feet square, there is plenty of space to work. When finished, the piece fits back in line with his kitchen cabinets. The section’s portability offers alternative options to standing at a kitchen counter. Pues can prepare food anywhere its rolling casters will go. No cutting board is required, putting convenience, function and comfort all in one handy package. The creation was not born overnight. Pues, who bought his three-bedroom Bay View bungalow in 1998, jokes that he waited 15 years too long to remodel the kitchen. His patience was rewarded this year. Since January, he has enjoyed cooking and creating in a refurbished, well-appointed kitchen area. Pues is surrounded by new cabinets, new granite countertops, a refinished maple floor, and bright, airy lighting from the ceiling and under-cabinet spaces. Considered another way, those 15 years allowed Pues to devise some unique ideas. A new kitchen pantry built recessed into a wall was one. The portable cabinet section that fits at the end of the built-in cabinets was another. Pues originally wanted an island in his kitchen. Its confines would not cooperate. The room was too small and the traffic could not flow, but he did not give up. Pues hired The Cabinet Maker in Oak Creek to remodel his kitchen. When he saw plans for a new bank of lower cabinets, his idea surfaced. The end cabinet section could be a cart. “It was more than anything being able to have a food preparation area anywhere I wanted it,” Pues said. The wheeled cabinet piece would be a portable island. He could roll it next to the sink, the oven, into the living room, pretty much anywhere. When not in use, it tucked in next to the other kitchen cabinets. Pues originally planned to top the cart with granite, to match his new surrounding countertops. John Phillips, of The Cabinet Maker, had another suggestion: How about a thick, durable butcher block surface? Pues quickly saw the wisdom. The heavy wood was virtually indestructible. He would never need a cutting board. The maple block could be periodically sanded and resealed, then returned to use. In short, the hardwood cutting surface would last a lifetime. “The idea of putting a cutting board on top of the portable cabinet made it much more utilitarian,” Pues said. “You don’t have to put another board on top of it.” The movable piece is still used as a cabinet. Pues stores pots, pans, a food processor and a pizza oven inside. All are used in food preparation. His goal of a one-stop solution was realized. He admits it took a while to get used to not grabbing a separate cutting board. Read More