Here we are! Week 5 of the One Room Challenge. Past the half-way point, but still so much more to do! Can I just say though, this past week, I kicked butt. In less than five days, I built a 5’x4′ center island. Complete with all the trim, paint, hardware, countertop, everything! And I still had time to add trim to the kitchen window. It was a busy week, but it feels so good to have that big furniture piece finished!
Remember what this space looked like before the center island?
A couple weeks ago, I solicited my youngest son and his friend’s help to tear out the banquette and open up this space….
What started out as just a cabinet…
Is now a substantial furniture piece, that I absolutely love!
FULL TUTORIAL ON HOW TO BUILD THIS CENTER ISLAND–COMING THIS SUMMER
When we removed the peninsula/bar, to give more space in the kitchen, I didn’t want to lose this cabinet. It houses a lot of pots and pans and all of our silverware, etc. So, I knew I wanted to incorporate it into the center island. With the cabinet as the base of the island, I then built shelving to finish off the front side facing the kitchen….
Adding some shelving on the side, provides a great spot for decor or coffee table books….
This is perfect, as it faces the seating area, soon to come, in this bay window area. Here’s a rough look of how I envision that space…
Next, it was time to start building the back side….
I went back and forth on whether or not to add built-in shelving on the other side of the center island. But in the end, I decided to close it off…
I’m really happy I did, because I love the look of this slatting carried through from the side to the back of the island….
After contemplating between butcher block or edge-glued boards as the countertop, I finally decided on the edge-glued board…
I wanted to be able to finish it with my own stain choice. I love how the stain turned out! (I did this same stain technique on my coffee table and end table in this post)….
And against that black! Ahhhhhh! It’s so good!!
Switching out my old cabinet fronts with my new shaker cabinet fronts from The Cabinet Door Store finished that modern look I was going for….
Add the black paint and it’s stunning…
But, it’s still not perfect. Hardware is everything! And these Champagne Bronze pulls from Amerock Hardware are truly the icing on the cake….
Still to come, new bar stools. These just aren’t fitting the vibe of the room anymore. 🙂
Can’t you just picture this center island with the new flooring all around it? Because I wanted to get the full-effect, I carried these beautiful, HEAVY Flooret luxury vinyl plank pieces from the dining room to the kitchen. Teddy wanted to make a debut in this post too 🙂 ….
This flooring is going to be gorgeous. I chose the Palka line from Flooret. It’s a warm, light tone with a knotty texture going through it–giving it a true hardwood look….
I’m hoping to start the flooring this week, if all goes as planned. So, in the meantime, this beautiful Loloi Rug from Premium Home Source in front of the island is a great replacement for those dingy white floors, I can’t wait to cover up….
In addition to building the center island, I was also able to upgrade some of the moulding. Over time, I’ve been changing out my builder grade trim for craftsman trim throughout my house. It’s amazing what this simple change will do to a room. It totally changes the look and gives it much more of a modern feel. The baseboards and door trim will have to wait til after the flooring goes in…
But I was able to go ahead and complete the kitchen sink window trim….
My go-to paint for all of my trim is Behr Marquee Ultra Pure White in a Semi-Gloss finish….
I’m actually feeling pretty good about my progress and how far I’ve come with this kitchen renovation. Just for fun, a quick look of how it looked before the makeover began….
How far it has come…
WANT THE FULL TUTORIAL ON HOW TO BUILD THIS CENTER ISLAND?–HERE’S THE LINK!!
With still more to come, that about wraps up week five of the One Room Challenge.
What’s on the agenda for next week?
**New flooring (HOPEFULLY!! 🙂 )
**Newly painted sliding doors
**Walls painted
**New craftsman trim
Can’t wait to share it all with you and how far this kitchen has come! But if you want to catch it all in real time, be sure to hop over to my Instagram stories!
MISSED THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO WEEK 5 HERE THEY ARE!
Until next week,
Happy Building, Friend!!
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SOURCES: (Affiliate Links Included)
LULANI COMMERCIAL GRADE KITCHEN FAUCET
TOOL USED TO INSTALL CABINET HARDWARE
More Great RL Posts:
How to Replace Kitchen Cabinet Doors for a New Look
How to Build a Modern End Table-Pottery Barn Dupe
DIY Square Board and Batten Wall Treatment-Staircase
