How to Make Your Own Kitchen Island

All small kitchens could do with some more cupboard space and another work surface. A kitchen island gives you both of these and makes a stylish accent piece to fill the unused space. Whats best is that you can make your own kitchen island from up-cycled elements without spending much money. Here is a general guide on what to look for, how to bring them together and some ideas and inspiration to get your creative juices running.

Once you’ve built your island, become a master of your kitchen with these kitchen tips and tricks and while you’re at it, free up some space by organising under your kitchen sink.

Making Your Kitchen Island

A kitchen island is basically three things, a base, a work surface and some accessories.

kitchen island 1

Start With The Base

First you need to find a base. If you are looking for an open island which has hanging space for utensils and some shelving, then an old desk is ideal. If you are all about storage space then look for an old kitchen cabinet set or a set of drawers. The only limit is that the height should be an inch or two lower than your kitchen counters, this is usually around 75-85cm (30-34″). If you desk or set of drawers is much lower than this, you could put castor wheels underneath it to raise it a bit and allow it to be mobile.

kitchen island 4

Now Your Need A Counter Top

After you have found your base, you need a counter top. Ideally this should match your kitchen counter, however, you could make a wood surface for chopping or use a concrete or stone top for a more industrial or rustic feel. Importantly, the top shouldn’t be too heavy for your base.

The top is usually attached to the base with silicon caulk as it is easy to apply and stops movement, squeaking and vibration between the base and the surface.

kitchen sland 2

Personalise Your Island With Some Options

Lastly, you can add your options. Options include wheels to make your island mobile for convenience and for cleaning, shelves give your island more storage space, hooks and racks allow space for towels and utensils to be hung up or create a pot rack and save some drawer space.

Now that you know the basics, here are some inspirational ideas for your next DIY project:

kitchen island 3

kitchen island 8

kitchen island 7

kitchen island 5

kitchen island 6

Have you made your own kitchen island from scratch or recycled components? Send us some pictures or leave a comment so that we can include them.

Michael Klements
Michael Klements
Hi, my name is Michael and I started this blog in 2016 to share my DIY journey with you. I love tinkering with electronics, making, fixing, and building - I'm always looking for new projects and exciting DIY ideas. If you do too, grab a cup of coffee and settle in, I'm happy to have you here.

2 COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest posts

Is It Worth Water Cooling A Raspberry Pi 5?

Today we're going to be taking a look at a new water-cooling kit that has been designed for a Raspberry Pi 5. We'll see...

The New Geekom IT13 Mini PC is Awesome with an External GPU

Today we're going to see if we can game on the new Geekom IT13 mini PC. This mini PC is powered by a 13th...

Pi 5 Desktop Case For Pineberry HatDrive!

Today we're going to be assembling a 3D-printed case for the new Raspberry Pi 5 and Pineberry's HatDrive! This is an adaptation of my...

Related posts