18 diy Kitchen island ideas

DIY Butcher Block Kitchen Island « Jen Loves KevSteven and I always talked about having a kitchen island, so we decided to GO FOR IT with the kitchen renovation. Of course the occasional we’ll do it later or maybe in a few years came from our mouths, but we knew it would never happen if we didn’t do it now. Something always comes up, some sort of unexpected expense. LIFE. We decided it was NOW or NEVER… and I *NEVER* wanted to live without my kitchen again. After searching Pinterest for inspiration, we set our sights on designing an island with a farmhouse feel – X frames & shiplap. I drew out the plans and phoned a friend – my Dad! Dad is super talented and extremely handy. I knew that TOGETHER we could make it happen I had to put in a special order at a local lumber yard to get what I needed. (2) 4×6 and (2) 4×5 Cypress (because that’s what they had available) and (2) 4×4 pine. Cabinets stand 34.5 inches tall without the counter, so we planned our X frame to be 34.5 x 34.5. I made things complicated by deciding that I wanted to add some depth to the frame, thus the 4×6, 4×5, and 4×4 measurements. The 4x6s (vertical) and 4x5s (horizontal) would come together for a square frame and then the X in the middle would be 4x4s. Cutting the X was the most terrifying part… those angles (eek!)… That part NEEDED to be flush against the square frame. My dad and I were *THRILLED* when we got our Xs together!!! I absolutely love working with my dad. We are both perfectionists, so it takes us twice the amount of time to do things, but in the end, TOTALLY worth it! Isn’t my dad the best?! Love him! Steven likes to think that we did the easy part. Ha! But seriously, that gem of a man came home from work and used our Kreg Jig to put the Xs together permanently. Bless him!! My rugged man… with his mountain man beard. (I’m waiting to see if he reads my post, LOL!) Once the Xs were put together and painted to match the cabinets, I had the cabinet installer secure them to the island cabinets. He was happy to do it, but I saw the look of concern in his eye when I asked him to mount that ugly piece of plywood to the back. It’s gorgeous, right? LOL! I explained that I was going to cover it up with shiplap. I guess he figured if we were able to make X frames, we could handle some shiplap. 😉 Yep! Been there, done that! Last (faux) shiplap project was our entry way, which I also did with my Dad! I gave him a break for this one since we already worked so hard on the Xs. REAL shiplap is a pretty penny. So we opted (again) to use plywood. I used a big sheet of the thin plywood and had it ripped into 6 inch strips at Lowes. This can be done at home with a table saw, but its worth it for me to have them do it. Once I got home, I used the table saw to cut the pieces to 60 inches, the width of the island cabinets. I used nickels as spacers and a nail gun to secure them to the plywood. Once I completed the back, I cut pieces for the sides. There was enough of a gap between the X Frame and the cabinets to slide the plywood down, space with nickels, and secure with the nail gun. So far so good! And with paint… *SWOON*… LOVE LOVE LOVE it! TODAY… I am blessed to prepare food on this beauty. I’m so grateful that we chose to go for it! Special thanks to my Dad and my husband for helping make it happen and not squashing my crazy ideas! I had a vision, and we did it! Do you like the hood vent? Post coming soon!!! Subscribe to get updates on posts and follow me on Instagram.