The renovation continues! After knocking out the wall separating the kitchen and living room, the plan was to add a custom kitchen island to marry the two spaces. Custom kitchen islands can be cost prohibitive during kitchen renovations, so I decided to get creative and build my own on a budget of about $500.
Here’s what you will need to tackle this project, from materials, to tools and supplies. Please note that prices may vary depending on where you live and what the current supply chain situation is like. I did manage to build this for about $500 with prices how they were at the time.
MATERIALS:
- 2×4’s for framing
- 3/4″ plywood for cabinet box, sides and countertop
- 1/4″ plywood backing for cabinets
- 2 sets of kitchen cabinets
- Finishing Trim for underneath countertop
- 1×4’s for Baseboards
- 1×3’s for countertop edge
- 1×2’s for bookshelf and face frames
- Wood Screws
- Kreg jig pocket hole screws
- Garbage cabinet pullout hardware
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TOOLS:
- Drill & Driver
- Table Saw
- Miter Saw
- Kreg Jig
- Paint Sprayer
- Brad Nailer
- Jigsaw
- Caulk Gun
- Orbital Sander
- Putty Knife
- Speed Square
- Tape Measure
SUPPLIES:
- Wood Glue
- Henry Feather Finish
- Concrete Sealer
- Primer
- Cabinet Paint (Semi Gloss)
- Paintable Caulk
- 220 grit Sandpaper
- 5 gallon bucket
- Paint brush
- Paint roller
- Wood filler
STEP 1: Base Frame
After I came up with the design, we taped the outline on the floor to make sure the dimensions were how we wanted. The L shaped box represents the overhang of the countertop where there will be space for seating. The rectangular shape is the actual footprint of the cabinetry.
I started by building a base for the island out of 2×4’s. This would get screwed into the floor joists and then everything would get built from the ground up. The base not only sets the footprint and secures it to the floor, but also provides space to add baseboards to make it look built in and finished.
STEP 2: Cabinet Prep
I found a pair of upper kitchen cabinets from the ReStore for $100 which was cheaper than I could build them myself and would save a lot of time and effort. If you have old cabinets to reuse, or can find some cheap at a thrift store or ReStore, I say go for it! If they’re in good condition (preferably solid wood), you can paint them or sand and stain them however you like.
I took the doors off and all of the hardware and painted them with primer. They didn’t require any sanding because the surface wasn’t too glossy, but depending on the material you’re using, they may need a light sand before priming.
STEP 3: Cabinet Install
After the cabinet carcasses were primed, I attached them to the base frame with long wood screws. I then build additional framing to go between the two cabinets since I wanted the footprint of the island to be bigger than just the two cabinets back to back. Your dimensions may be different depending on the desired size of your island.
I also added 1/4″ plywood backing to the cabinets because these particular uppers and doors on both sides.
I built a frame to go on top of the cabinets that would support the countertop. This frame extended over the base frame but doesn’t extend to the overhang over the countertop. The countertop will extend over the frame to create an L shaped overhang. We wanted seating on the dining room side and the living room side of the island, the other two sides would be for kitchen workspace and the walkway.
STEP 4: Garbage Pullout Cabinet and Cookbook Shelves
Because of the size of the island we wanted, there was additional space to extend on the walkway side of the island where I built a custom cabinet for hidden pullout garbage cans and open shelving for cookbooks or other kitchen items. I built two boxes, one for the shelving unit and one for the garbage pullout cabinet out of 3/4″ plywood and attached the boxes to the base frame and to the cabinets. I trimmed out the bookshelves with 1×2’s on both sides to match the existing cabinets and trimmed out the door of the garbage pullout to match as well.
STEP 5: Countertop
To make the countertop extra sturdy and get the desired countertop height, I laminated two sheets of 3/4″ plywood together with wood glue and screws. Once it was dry, I attached the countertop to the frame on top of the cabinets with long wood screws.
STEP 6: Trim and Paint
I trimmed out the bottom of the island with baseboards and trimmed out underneath the countertop where the frame was exposed. I did not install the baseboards until after the new flooring was in but if you’re building this on top of existing flooring, the baseboards can go in at any time. I nailed everything in with the brad nailer and filled the holes with putty to prep it for paint. I painted the doors separately and used the paint sprayer to paint everything. I also added a side panel on the dining room side with a cutout for electrical outlets. We had our electricitan move the wiring from an outlet that was in the wall that we removed and rewire it to be in the island.
STEP 7: Concrete Feather Finish
After painting, I skim coated the countertop with concrete feather finish. Wet sanded in between coats with a sponge and did about 3 coats of concrete total. Then sanded smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I have a full tutorial on YouTube for a concrete table that I made the same way in case you want more details on this process. You can find that video HERE and the blog post for the table HERE and build plans for that HERE.
STEP 8: Concrete Sealer
The last step is sealing the concrete. I used a food safe, waterproof concrete sealer that not only protects the finish, but gives it a nice polished look. You absolutely need to seal it otherwise it will not last. You’ll notice that when you get water on the unsealed concrete, it changes color. Once it’s sealed, the water will bead up on the surface and not be able to penetrate it. This is very important! Especially if you’re going to be using it for any kind of food prep. I used THIS sealer but I’ve used other products in the past as well. Just make sure it is a food safe and waterproof concrete sealer!
We saved thousands of dollars by building our own custom kitchen island and it turned out amazing! People who come over can’t believe that I built it myself and they think it looks like a poured concrete slab. The nice part is the countertop can be removed and replaced if at any point we want to upgrade to stone in the future. But we love the look of the concrete and the open concept of the living room and kitchen. The island is the perfect separation that brings the two spaces together in a way that’s ideal for entertaining guests. Here is a picture of the space before we took out the wall and removed the carpet and flooring and popcorn ceilings. If you missed any of that, you can check out the previous blog posts.
The island is a perfect workspace for the kitchen, adding extra counter space, and doubles as an eating area with seating for 5 people comfortably. The pullout garbage cabinet is a great way to hide trash cans yet keep them easily accessible. Not to mention all the extra cabinet space underneath and the bookshelves too!
This project is definitely doable for intermediate woodworkers and DIYers and just takes a bit of planning and a couple weeks of work, but if you’re looking to save money without sacrificing functionality of your space, this is a great option!
I will be putting build plans together and a full YouTube video for this too, please let me know if you’re interested in either of those things so I can let you know as soon as they’re available. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel HERE!
Next week, we’re tackling the old fireplace! Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it. You won’t believe what we find when we take out the old wood burner!
Until next time, happy DIY-ing!
-Selene Builds Things
