Turning a kitchen island into a piece of furniture
Ready to give your kitchen island a fresh new look without breaking the bank? We took our builder-grade island and turned it into a custom centerpiece with a few easy steps. Using trim, paint, paneling, and hardware looks completely different. The bookshelves at the end just collected dust, so we took out the shelves and added our freestanding furniture legs, which we had previously purchased 50% off a few months prior.
Please excuse the small photo sizes—this post dates back to 2012. Since then, the kitchen has undergone significant renovations following a water leak. Aside from the backsplash and the island, everything else had to be replaced due to mold damage.
Before
After
Removing the shelves revealed an unexpected surprise—bare cement beneath the floor. A bit of an “oops” moment, to say the least.
Fortunately, we had a generous supply of leftover stone from a previous tile renovation. With a bit of creativity (and a hammer), we broke the pieces into fragments and arranged them into a mosaic. The result is a wonderfully distinctive touch that adds character to the space. of all, my eldest son joined in the process and had an absolute blast helping bring it to life.
We placed wainscoting over the existing cabinet on both ends (front/back) and framed the wainscoting with large shadow boxes, again using the smooth pinewood. We added a very simple small trim inside the boxes.
On the microwave side we added 2 small shadowboxes with small wood trim to give it more of a custom feel. We wrapped ¾ of the island with a tall baseboard and gave the cabinet side some feet to spruce up the look of the island.
The last step, paint! We used the color onxz black.
We are so happy with the end result.
As the years have gone by, I have repainted the island in Benjamin Moore Iron Mountain. You can read all about it here.
I have a tutorial here on how we added legs to the island.
Thanks for stopping by!
Kristin
Where did you get your pendant lights above your kitchen island? I love those.
pendants above island? I’ve looked everywhere for unique pendants, can you share the place you found them? thank you!
I agree–the lights are beautiful. Please let us know where you found them. Thank you!
I love your kitchen counter. Can you tell me the name/brand of it? I assume it is granite.
Kristin, this is perfect!! I just LOVE it. I wish I had room to extend my island but you give me hope for the next house..lol
xoxo
Denyse
Kristen, I think you got this one totally right! I love the extra space underfoot and the added mouldings add detail and style. I think you should do a side by side before and after graphic for people to pin… it is a super improvement!
Your island looks fabulous in black Kristin and the spindle legs make it look sooo much better! I like your mosaic tile solution too – what a great idea!!
Looks beautiful!! We did something similar to ours about a year or so ago. I love that yours houses your microwave.
Wow, I l-o-v-e it! Gorgeous results.
thank you so much
U did a beautiful job! Do you remember which small wood trims u used?