My wife has decided to take my first quarter bonus from my night job to build an island in our kitchen. Is this an easy DIY? We are handy with woodwork...but is there more to it than bulding the island and plopping it into them iddle of the kitchen floor? (sans cutting out the tile for it)

 

Will you be running electric or plumbing to the island?

Do you have enough space for an island?

Pictures of your existing kitchen would help.

 

Have you thought about using granite for your counter top? It looks great but is a very expensive proposition.

 

I would imagine that whatever surface his counters are would be utilized on his island. Having a granite island and linoleum counters would look like ass.

 

we thought about grantie and got some quotes for just the pieces, and it'll be almost my whole bonus check...so we are gonna go with wood and stain it ourselves to match the kitchen. I can have pics of the kitchen in a little bit as we are going to settlement soon, but don't have a U an O to move in yet. mrsteve, we definitely have enough space for it, as i would say the kitchen itself (not including counters) is about 17'x21' of open space. We thought we would add a dishwasher to it since we don't have one yet, but if it's too difficult we may just leave it as a nice counter for extra space and informal meals, etc...we are looking to do a 110 degree angle island with the corner pointing away from the kitchen (if that makes sense...)

 

Check IKEA, they got some good prices on custom counters.

 

ikea does have some pretty good prices...not too many attractive choices imho but, def a good place to start! Too bad they don't have anything more heavy duty...

 

Other than informal meals, what would the island be used for? If you plan on using it as mainly a work surface, you could go with a butcher-block top. It wouldn't necessarily need to match the other counters.

As for the island itself, are you planning on building something or buying something and putting it in? How would you "mount" it to the floor? Brackets and concrete nails? Just a couple of things to think about.

 

moeronn, we weren't sure how to fix it to the floor...that's a DIY I'm avidly looking for..lol...but the island will be prmarily a little meal spot, and my wife has expressed interest in hooking up a dishwasher there as the other counters to do not have one...I can do some typical plumbing, but nothing like layig down new groundwork for pipes..and since she is making most of the aesthetic decisions...it is a MUST that it matches the other counters...lol...so we may just do all the counters according to the island...

 

I would think about putting the dishwasher near the sink and "relocating" the cabinet space you lose to the island. The plumbing (water and sewer) and electrical service for the dishwasher should already be under the sink (at least if you have a garbage disposal) and would be a pain to add - especially just for an island addition. If you were doing a complete remodel, it would be different - still difficult, though.

 

that's not a bad idea either....also, we do have a garbage disposal. Is that going to make the dishwasher easier to install?