15 Beautiful Kitchen Island Ideas to Revolutionize Your Kitchen
A kitchen island is a highly practical item, a simple solution to transform the style of any home. It's an item of furniture that comes in so many forms and potentially the clincher in getting you the kitchen of your dreams. From a kitchen island with stools to a cart, from rustic to extremely modern, from fairly major DIY to much simpler projects: have a look through all of these exciting projects and see which could be perfect for your home.
Make Your Own Island with 2x4s
This cute kitchen island was easy and pretty inexpensive to make. Hometalker Sabine Schmidt started the whole thing off with 2x4s and made pocket holes into them before putting it all together. She then painted and stained it before adding a couple of faux drawers to top off the look nicely. The result is a great-looking storage space in the kitchen. Get tutorial here
Use Plywood and Lumber for a New Look
What if you need to update a tired kitchen island rather than creating a new one from scratch? Hometalker Shaunna @ Tempting Thyme decided to do this and got a fantastic new look at the end of it. She wrapped her old laminate unit in birch plywood and trimmed it out with 2x4s. After that, she used taupe and black paint and then stained the wood. Get tutorial here
Add a Shelf for Better Organization
Most kitchen island ideas are great for making better use of your space. This project from Hometalker Katie & Jon (Sew Woodsy) is especially good, as they added a shelf to give some extra storage. It took just 30 minutes to cut some hardwood plywood to size and then fit it to their island. The storage space it adds increases the utility of their island. Get tutorial here
Start with a Console Table
This project lets you turn a simple console table into a neat kitchen island. Hometalker Dezinefun bought the table from a thrift store, adding paint and stain to make it a lot more attractive. She cleaned it and used gel stain on the top. After this, she added two coats of chalk paint before covering the island in gloss. Super simple, super stylish. Get tutorial here
Take a Dresser and Convert It
What if you want to create a kitchen island with stools or chairs? You might need to use a bigger piece, such as the dresser that Hometalker Hooked On Pinterest decided to convert in this way. She took out some drawers and sanded the dresser. Her final steps included painting it and gluing on a laminate top to raise the height of the island. Get tutorial here
Get a Kitchen Island Cart
Adding a kitchen island cart to your home could prove to be a very smart move. Hometalker Redoux Interiors did this by taking an old bookshelf and making it into a stunning and moveable addition to their kitchen. She cut it in half and added a plywood bottom and casters. Her next steps were to screw wood planks to the top and sand them, before painting it. Get tutorial here
Liven Up a Builder-Grade Island
Are you bored of having a plain old builder-grade kitchen island? If so, this fairly simple yet clever project from Hometalker Lost and Found could be exactly what you need to banish the builder-grade. They removed the countertop and added a wider butcher-block counter first of all. By adding some wood trim they customized the island before painting it. Get tutorial here
Add Legs to a Kitchen Island
The idea of adding legs to your kitchen island might sound a little... unusual. Yet, this image from Hometalker Ashley Rader {Giddy Uncycled} shows us how big a difference it can make when done well. She painted the old oak cabinets on the island using chalk paint. It was then a question of measuring where the legs and trim go for the neatest effect. Get tutorial here
Break Up Monotony Using Chalk Paint
This is another great project that uses chalk paint to completely transform a kitchen island into something new. Hometalker CC decided that it was time to update an old kitchen dominated by oak. To do this, they added some trim before painting, distressing, and sealing with lacquer. The final touch was to finish with glaze and then add new corbels. Get tutorial here
Get a Country-Style Kitchen Island
Country style and kitchens are synonymous and a kitchen island is the perfect way to achieve that. Hometalker Ene19230's terrific project turns a plain console into a gorgeous kitchen island cart. They painted the island oyster white and added beaded board panels as inserts. Three coats of paint were used, followed by an acrylic top coat to protect. Get tutorial here
Use an Old Desk
Even an old desk can be the starting point for exciting new kitchen island ideas. The project pictured comes from Down to Earth Holly, who cleverly turned the desk upside down and added casters to it. She fixed the drawers and used pine 2x6s for the top. After that, she added a shelf to complete this attractively distressed, useful piece of kitchen furniture. Get tutorial here
Add Feet for More Height
If you want to use a kitchen island with stools or chairs you will want it to be the perfect height. This project from Hometalker GullyCreekCottage shows us how it can be done using ball feet. She converted a dresser into a kitchen island and took off the bottom trim in order to add feet. This led to a great island that doubles up as a breakfast bar. Get tutorial here
Customize a Kitchen Island Cart
The subject of this pretty project started off as a plain kitchen island cart. The image above from Hometalker Carole shows how she made it into something a lot more interesting with a few nice touches. She painted it, added a rail, and re-finished the top with food-grade mineral oil for butcher's blocks. The effect is much more exciting than the original. Get tutorial here
Replace the Old Island
This project started out because of an old, double-decker kitchen island that needed replacing. Hometalker At Charlotte´s House did a fabulous job of putting a far better island in its place. They removed the old island and added new base units. The addition of a new top and shelves on either side add to the appeal of this classy piece of furniture. Get tutorial here
Take an Old Dresser and Make It Better
Even a tired dresser that has clearly seen better days can be brought back to life with the right kitchen island ideas. Rob & Courtney M from the Hometalk Team came up with a brilliant project to do this. The materials used include a palm sander with fine grit sandpaper, paint, a drill, and paint brushes. The addition of shelves makes it perfect for the kitchen. Get tutorial here
