How To Make A Kitchen Island: Farmhouse Style
UPGRADE YOUR KITCHEN ISLAND THE EASY WAY ADDING CRAFTSMAN STYLE TRIM FOR CHEAP
Have y’all ever noticed I don’t really share a lot of my kitchen? It’s not because it’s not pretty, it is, I just feel like I haven’t added anything of my own to it. We picked the cabinets & backsplash when we built it but that has really been it. I added diy craftsman style window trim to the windows but those were my only DIYs in the room!
This year I decided I would start making this kitchen a little more my own, starting with building a
Before
Super plain & boring but I had a vision of adding some fun craftsman/farmhouse style trim to really make it pop! When I am adding trim to any project I like to map it out using tape just to get a plan together in my head.
Removing Old Moldings
After I had the
Tip: This trim puller is amazing for easily removing moldings & trim
Adding New Trim
After all the old kitchen island trim was removed I started adding the new thicker trim to box in the front of the island. The baseboards are 1×6 pine boards because I like thick baseboards & I cannot lie ? The top & side pieces are 1×4 pine boards.
Already so much better right?! Ignore the dog food on the floor, Eli is going through a phase where he wants nothing in its proper container… The top & bottom pieces are mitered to attach to the side trim pieces.
The sides gave me some trouble y’all… I had a small piece of trim attached to the front doors & cabinets that needed to stay. So to solve this I added a piece of 1/4″ plywood to each side. This part wasn’t originally apart of my kitchen island plans but it worked out perfectly!
The plywood fits in smoothly with the kitchen island cabinet trim pieces. I simply attached it with wood glue & finishing nails.
One outlet needed to be cut out but my Hart jigsaw made that process a breeze.
This outlet extender box is the simplest way to extend the outlet so it still sits flush on the kitchen island cabinets.
The kitchen island sides also got trim all around the sides. The baseboard is a 1×6 & the top is a 1×4, but in order to work around the outlet without relocating it I had to make both side pieces a 1×2. Remember we want this to be an easy
When I was originally thinking up kitchen island ideas, I thought I wanted to add a feature to the front & both sides. But after I mapped the sides out with tape I decided it was too busy looking.
X Detail
Adding an X detail has always been apart of my
I wish I had a magic mathematical method for cutting this detail but I don’t. Basically, I called my dad over & he showed me the no math method. Which is where we hold up the board to the angle & mark it with a pencil. No math involved.
My miter saw wouldn’t cut the angle we needed so instead I used my handy dandy Hart circular saw.
How awesome is this cool feature?! I cant wait to get it primed & painted.
Finishing The Edges
The front of the island needed some TLC because when I added the side molding pieces it didn’t look as smooth when you saw the view from the front. In order to give the kitchen island cabinets a more finished look, I applied edge banding.
This stuff is amazing! I use it to finish rough plywood edges too. It gives it a smooth finished look & all you need to apply is an iron!
Finishing
We are finally to the finishing portion of this kitchen island makeover! I caulked all my seams, filled all the nail holes, & sanded the entire island. The cabinets were sanded with a 150 grit sanding block to get them ready for primer.
Priming is super important for achieving a smooth finish.
Once the primer is completely dry it’s time for my favorite part of this kitchen island project…painting! If you follow us on Instagram you know I was between 4 beautiful dark greys, but y’all voted & Cracked Pepper from Behr won!
The secret to getting the smoothest finish when painting cabinets is to start with a quality brush, then going over the area with a roller. It smooths out the paint so you won’t see any brush strokes!
Behr has one of my favorite cabinet & trim paints. It always has a beautiful finish & is super durable. When you have a toddler you need durable paint! semi-gloss is my go-to finish for cabinet & trim paint.
Y’all, I am so in love with this diy farmhouse kitchen island! it came out exactly like I pictured it in my head. The color really makes it pop & actually makes the island look larger. The original diy kitchen island plans involved X’s on all the sides & I am really happy I decided to just add the main feature to the front!
My next project is going to be how to decorate a kitchen island & I can’t wait to start! What are your favorite ways to decorate a kitchen island?
