Ideas for DIY Kitchen Islands

Islands are a common feature in homes, but not all kitchens have them. Kitchen islands offer extra counter space for preparing food, eating meals and doing other tasks. Some islands also have cabinets or shelves for added storage. If your kitchen doesn’t have an island, you can build your own. Whether you’re interested in constructing a large island or a small and simple one, keep the following ideas in mind.

Rustic Kitchen Island

If your home has a rustic or farmhouse design, your kitchen island should match the rest of your interior. You can build a kitchen island out of wood and give it a barn door design. Use wood with a more natural look rather than wood with a polished look. To add more visual appeal to your kitchen island, consider using a slab of metal for the top. The combination of wood and metal creates a rustic look that adds charm to your kitchen.

Decorative Woodwork

Kitchen islands don’t need to have a simple, streamlined design. You can use decorative pieces of wood to give your kitchen island some creative flair. Make your kitchen island out of decorative molding, wood columns, barn wood and other interesting pieces of wood. You can mix and match these different pieces of wood, and paint them white or another color that complements the rest of your kitchen’s design.

Trash Storage Island

A kitchen island provides a great place to hide your trash can. When you build your kitchen island, include an area with a door that opens at the top. You can place your trash can inside this area, then open the door at the top to throw garbage in it. Having a kitchen island with trash storage frees up space in your kitchen while also keeping your trash can out of sight. This design can also come in handy when you use your kitchen island for chopping vegetables and doing other meal prep tasks.

Desk or Bookcase Island

When building a DIY kitchen island, you don’t have to start from scratch. Consider repurposing an old desk or bookcase that you don’t use anymore. You can paint or refinish an old desk and add a piece of wood on the top of it to make your island as long as you want. If you have an old bookcase, you can paint or refinish it, add a top and use the shelves for storage. For a more open design, you can remove the back of the bookcase before turning it into an island. This allows you to reach items from either side as needed.