Kitchen islands add something special to your home—from additional storage, extra counter space, and a spot to serve meals. Luckily, if your kitchen lacks this feature, you can learn how to build a kitchen island if you have the skills, tools, and experience necessary. Our guide will show you the ins and outs of how to make a custom kitchen island.
Prepping to Build a Kitchen Island
Before starting this project, you’ll need to gather tools, supplies, and materials. First, you’ll want to determine which type of kitchen island fits your space—that will help you decide what kinds of cabinets, finishes, and paneling you ultimately buy. Here’s how to prepare for your kitchen island project:
Design
You’ll want to consider what type of island best suits your kitchen and specific needs, like a floating kitchen island, L-shaped, or U-shaped. Design considerations include:
Prep space
Storage space
Extra room for seating
Decorative shelving
Cabinet doors vs. drawers
Adding appliances
Materials budget
Pre-Measure
Grab a measuring tape and measure at least 42 inches from your kitchen countertop to where you want to place the island. This measurement will give you enough room to walk around your kitchen freely. Once you determine how much room you have, you can decide what cabinets will best fit the allotted space.
Choose Your Cabinets
You can choose from various base cabinets and wall cabinets—with multiple styles of doors, drawers, and pull-out shelves. Many of these kitchen cabinets are pre-made and in stock at most big box hardware stores. Some even come equipped with side panels and are pre-painted. Ultimately, it comes down to your aesthetic, budget, and the store’s stock availability.
Measure the Kitchen
Take a measuring tape and measure your kitchen’s total area from end to end, using length and width measurements. Next, place the measuring tape on the floor and measure from the base of the cabinets to determine the amount of available floor space. As a good rule of thumb, the island’s total area should only take up 10% of the kitchen. So, for example, if your entire kitchen measures 130 square feet, your island should be a maximum of 13 square feet.
Tape the Layout
Give yourself at least 42 inches between the countertops and the island. If you plan to add a breakfast bar overhang, allow at least 44 inches of space. Take painter’s tape, and tape the outline of your kitchen island on the floor.
Assemble the Cabinets
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This step is only necessary if you purchased unassembled cabinets. However, many big-box hardware stores sell pre-assembled cabinet bases. Afterward, you’ll want to place the cabinets in the taped area and lay them out where you want them to go.
Assemble the Base Frame
Start by cutting two-by-fours into five pieces with a table saw—these should match your cabinets' length and width measurements. Next, lay out all the pieces, ensuring they sit flush. Assemble the base frame using wood glue, wood screws, and a nail gun. When finished, place the cabinets on top of the base frame and nail them into the base.
Add the Backing and Sides
Measure your cabinets' length, width, and back height. Cut a piece of plywood with a table saw and attach it to the back of the cabinets with adhesive glue. Clamp the plywood to the back of the cabinets and use wood screws to fasten it. Optionally, add shiplap, beadboard, wainscoting, or a geometric pattern to the back of the plywood base for a decorative effect. Next, glue and drill your side panels with an electric brad nailer.
To ensure the cabinets stay together properly, drill a pilot hole through the cabinet box face frame with a countersink drill bit. Use a 2½-inch wood screw and screwdriver and put the nail from one cabinet to another, holding them together.
Add Trim and Molding
Next, cut the wood trim with a table saw to the height of your base frame and your chosen width. Glue and nail in the trim with a nail gun. At this point, you can also miter the edges of the baseboard molding and add it to the bottom of the cabinet base at the toe kick with a nail gun and 1-inch nail gun brad nails. Put the clamps on the back of the frame and allow it to dry for at least 24 hours. You can fill in nail holes with a wood filler and caulk during the waiting period.
Attach the Countertop
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You don’t need to pre-order a countertop. Instead, you can wait to see your kitchen island’s total measurements before contacting a local kitchen countertop installer. If you’re handy and installing the countertop yourself, use glue and screw in the countertop—use clamps to secure the countertop to dry correctly for 24 hours. To ensure the countertop has extra support, you can add additional framing to the cabinet backing—around six inches of extra framing will stick out from the island—with two-by-four pieces of wood and a nail gun.
Paint the Kitchen Island
You’ll typically want to paint your entire kitchen island once the countertop is installed. Grab your painter’s tape and place it around the island area you’ll be painting. However, some pros like to pre-paint the cabinets, trim, and molding before starting this project to ensure everything is neat and dry. Pick an on-trend paint color for your kitchen island, like off-white, beige, or blue.
Attach Cabinet Hardware
Once the cabinets are fully dry, use a level to draw holes where you plan to install the kitchen cabinet hardware. Then, attach your chosen cabinet hardware by drilling holes and screwing in the handles with a screwdriver.
DIY vs. Hiring a Pro
If you’re handy and have carpentry skills, you can tackle this DIY project for around $500 to $1,500, including the cost of materials. Otherwise, you can expect to pay between $3,000 and $5,000—the price of a typical kitchen island cost. Since this feature is a major functional focal point of your kitchen, it’s best to hire a local kitchen remodeler to build your kitchen island. A remodeling pro will have the skills, tools, and expertise necessary to complete this project safely and efficiently.
Also, custom kitchen islands are usually factored into the total kitchen remodel cost when renovating your kitchen. On average, you can expect a kitchen remodel to run between $14,000 and $40,000. So, building a kitchen island is a considerable saving to the full-renovation alternative.
Frequently Asked Questions
Now is the perfect time to learn if you have ever wondered how to build pantry shelves. Building a kitchen island and constructing pantry shelving requires similar tools, time, and costs. So, why not knock out both projects on the same weekend? Other project ideas include painting your kitchen cabinets and adding a kitchen backsplash.
With the cost of kitchen countertops ranging from $1,900 to $4,300, you’ll want to choose a countertop material that’s durable and cost-effective. Marble countertops will come in on the high-end, whereas corian, quartz, stainless steel, and granite will run in the middle range. Butcher block and laminate are the most budget-friendly—and many DIYers choose to install butcher block on their own because it’s one of the more accessible countertops.
You can take as many liberties as you like during the island design process. Here are some unique ideas that you can add to your kitchen island:
