Give Your Kitchen Island A Stainless Steel Look

Alicia W
by Alicia W
9 Materials
$60
1 Day
Medium

We needed a island in our kitchen and I wanted it to have a stainless steel top to match the rest of our appliances but stainless steel is not cheap. I had seen a post here, on Hometalk, that used EZ Faux Decor stainless steel film on a coffee table so I thought I'd give it a try for my kitchen island.

I purchased the EZ stainless steel in 26" x 36". I then went to Lowe's and bought this wood panel for the top of the island. I also purchased:

5 - 1"x 3" x 8' pine boards

2 - 1"x 3" x 6' pine boards

4 - 1"x 4"x 8' pine boards

1 - 1"x 4"x 6' pine board

4 - casters

The panel that I purchased was a little longer than I wanted so I measured, marked and cut 3" off.

To make two shelf assemblies, I cut:


4 - 1"x 4", 20" long

4 - 1"x 4", 30.5" long


I lined two of the 20" pieces on the end and two 30.5" pieces on the sides. I attached the longer boards to the shorter boards using wood glue and 1.25" brad nails.

To make the legs, I cut:


4 - 1"x 3" to a length of 32.75"

4 - 1"x 4" to a length of 32.75"


I attached each 1"x 4" to each 1"x 3" using wood glue and 1.25" brad nails. I made four identical legs.

With one shelf assembly on my work surface, I placed each leg on the outside of the shelf assembly with the 1"x 4" facing the long side. I made sure the legs were flush with the shelf then used wood glue and brads to attach each leg.

I laid the second shelf onto my work surface and lifted the first shelf with the legs attached onto the second shelf.

I placed the legs on the outside of the second shelf, then attached them with wood glue and brads.

For the lower shelf,

A - I measure the width of the shelf and cut:

9 - 1"x 4" boards to a length of 21.5"

B - I used wood glue and brads to attach the boards to the lower shelf

C - I measured between each board to make sure the distance was the same before nailing the boards in place.

For each side, I made a "V".

I used 1"x 3" boards, marking them and cutting to length. I used wood glue and brads to attach.


For the casters, I cut 4, 3.25" x 3.50" foot pads. I screwed the casters to the foot pads and using wood glue and brads, I attached the casters to the bottom of each leg.

For the top, I added wood glue around the top of the frame.

Then I laid the board on top. I measure all sides to make sure it was even all around then attached with 1.25" brads.

To add the stainless steel film, I made sure the top was free of dust.

A - I spread the film out onto the top of the island

B - Peeled the film from the backing, only exposing about 12" at a time

C - I laid the edge off the top (I wanted to wrap it around the board

D - Using a credit card, I smoothed out the film only removing about 12" of the backing at a time.

Once the top was complete, I wrapped the ends of the film over the ends of the board and used a staple gun to attach the film to the underside of the board.

For the corners, I folded the film over to make a triangle (in yellow) as you would when wrapping a gift.

And here is the finished island. I stained mine then sealed it was a coat of wax.


The stainless steel film is water, scratch and heat resistant (up to 240 F); however, you cannot cut directly on it.

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  • Deana Deana on Sep 03, 2019

    Super job!! Congrats!! Love it!

  • Rachael Basye Rachael Basye on Sep 03, 2019

    How has it held up? I’ve thought of doing this but afraid it would scratch off too easily.

  • Mamma Mamma on Sep 18, 2019

    Is this like contact paper in any way?

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