How to: Diy kitchen island

I’ve always wanted an island in my kitchen, I mean who doesnt?! You see them all over instagram, on HGTV, its hard to not want one. But at the end of the day, my house doesn’t have an open floor plan, and tearing down walls isn’t currently in the budget. It may not live in my dream house, but I’m choosing to do things to love my house now. My first project was an island, I dream of baking with my son, and finally having the counter space to do it. But I didn’t want it to be permanent, because my kitchen really isn’t wide enough for an island. So I decided to put it on wheels, I can wheel it in, and out when I need to. The wheels didn’t work out as I was originally thinking, but I’ll explain more on that when you get to the wheel part of this DIY. I’ve had it done for a month now, and I have yet to wheel it out I love it so much. So with that said, lets get into it!

Pick out the cabinets

First things first, pick out the pre-made cabinets you want to use. Using already made cabinets is what makes this project so doable. I purchased my cabinets from Lowe’s and chose a 36 inch cabinet, along with a 15 inch cabinet. I did this because that is what fit my space the best. You can do two 36 inch, they also make 18 inch. Look at whats in stock, and what will fit your kitchen the best. If you choose to build it longer you’ll need to get a longer butcher block as well which is more money, so keep that in mind.

Preparing for the wheels

Skip this step if you dont plan on attaching the island to wheels. The idea was to create a base out of 2×4’s. This way I had somewhere to attach the wheels. You can’t just drill the wheels right into the bottom of the cabinets, the screws will go right through into the cabinet! In order for the 2×4 frame to work, I had to cut out part of the base of the cabinet where they met for the 2×4’s to fit through (see picture for what I mean)

Note: I cut out these spots for the 2×4’s but I did not build the base structure yet! It was easier to cut this out before I screwed the cabinets together. So after I cut out these spots. I connected the cabinets together, then came back to building the base and attaching the wheels.

After the cabinets were attached, I came back to the base structure. I drilled pocket holes in the 3 center pieces and attached them to the long pieces along the front and the back. I then screwed in from the outside into this structure so it was attached to the island. Use screws with a flat head so they sit flush, the screws are getting covered up by side panels and trim so dont worry about seeing them.

Later on when I attached the wheels all 4 corners weren’t level. Which I knew when I made the base for the wheels. To fix this I made shims out of 2×4’s and I put them under the wheels to make all 4 corners the same height. Honestly this took a little trial and error, but I just cut different width shims from a 2×4 and placed that under the wheels until they were all the same level.

Another note: If you don’t put it on wheels, or choose to attach it to the floor, then by code it needs to have one outlet receptacle, so thats something to keep in mind as well.

Attaching the cabinets together

Next, attach the cabinets together. To do this I used wood shims. The reasoning for this, is the face frame on the front isn’t flush with the cabinet box, it sticks out on the sides a little bit. So when they are sitting next to each other theres a space between the cabinets on the back side, if you just went and screwed them together it would make them uneven. So I use the shims in between the gap, and then screwed them together through the shim. I did this on the top and the bottom in a few different places. It’s easiest to add the shims and then use a clamp to hold them so you can screw them together.

After I screwed then together with the shim, I cut off the pieces sticking out with my jigsaw.

Side panels and trim

Next I flipped it over and it was time for the panels and trim. I bought two pre cut cabinet panels from Lowe’s for the sides, and they were the perfect fit. On the back I used hard board. I used this because I already had a panel in my basement. The downside to hardboard, is that it can get damaged if it gets wet. If you’re worried about that. I would get a thin piece of plywood. I have this side facing away from my sink, and I’m really not concerned with it getting wet. I attached the panels with adhesive and my brad nailer.

I put the board up to the back of the island and traced it to see exactly where I needed to cut. I used my jigsaw because I had it on hand. Dont worry too much about it being perfectly straight, all of these edges are getting covered up with trim.

I kept the nails along the outside perimeter where I knew they would be covered up by the trim. For trim I chose this fluted detail for the vertical pieces, and this plain trim for the top and the bottom horizontal pieces. The reason for this was partly because I had left over trim from a previous project, but also I love the fluted detail. This is where you can do whatever you want! Do you want it more farmhouse with X’s on the side? Maybe you want to use bead board to cover it. There are so many options at this step to make it unique to you!

the finishh work is in the details

With all the panels and trim on the next step is to caulk and wood fill. You’re going to wood fill all of the nail holes, and caulk between the panels and the trim. Next choose your paint! and hardware. I chose to paint my island Iron Ore from Sherwin Williams. I used the emerald line because its very durable for something like kitchen cabinets.

Attaching the butcher block

One of the final steps once the cabinet base is all finished, is to attach the butcher block top. I used liquid nails along the perimeter, and placed the butcher block on top. Be sure the counter top is even on all 4 sides, and clamp it down before you screw it in to be sure it doesn’t move. Next drill pilot holes so that the wood doesnt crack, and attach the butcher block using screws. I purchases this butcher block from Home Depot.