New hardware on the kitchen island
We edited or repurposed the island because the riginal island was high, uncomfortable, and only had a tiny 7″ countertop for where the kids could eat. It had white drywall on one side filled with scuff marks. And blocked the view in-and-out of the kitchen, and to boot, NO ONE EVER SAT THERE!
The kitchen island suffers from a long and sordid past. It suffered the most from my lack of vision. So brace yourself for many surprisingly ugly iterations of our kitchen island photos before our DIY Ikea butcher block countertops were installed. (Embarrassing pictures ahead). I admit to being in a DIY learning curve – but if nothing else, it will make you understand that we all have to start somewhere when it comes to enhancing our DIY skills!
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- Before: The original junk collector in 2012
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- Before: The unfortunate paint and wallpaper incident (what was I thinking?)
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- Before: but this is “after” my first attempt at painting cabinets
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- 3 years later…
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- Corbels + beadboard added on island
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- Island, today and it’s still not totally finished
DIY Ikea Butcher Block Countertops
So in this post I’ll share how we leveled the island back in 2012. Our first “reveal” looked something like this:
My initial budget for a new island and full kitchen remodel was $1500. So here is what we accomplished.
Back then I was on an extreme budget, I seriously wanted to redo my entire kitchen for, ahem, *less than $1,500* (don’t laugh). But in the world of kitchen remodeling, I realized that no licensed contractor shared my vision nor would they discuss any creative workaround to help me accomplish my goal. So DIY it is! To save money, we only replaced the island countertops and left the rest. So off to Ikea we went (130 miles one way) to purchase two of Numerar Walnut Butcher Block countertops.
At the time we leveled the island, this is what we started with. 
Our goal was to make the island level and extend it so we had more leg room.
Very shallow overhang…only 7″ of legroom!!
Demolition Process:
As far as the demolition, I of course have no photos of that process. But to explain what we did…first we shut off the power completely to the island. Then used mallets to pound (upwards) on the island countertop to remove it. Then just hammered away the drywall. The studs were cut down using a tool called Sawz-All until it was completely level. We then had to patch and repair the drywall that was attached to the island.
We made a template out of cardboard, and tested the legroom with our tiny chair…15″ overhang. Much better!
And…after the demolition, our view into the family room definitely improved…
Our trip to Pittsburgh Ikea (130 miles one way) produced two very nice walnut countertops. A single countertop unfortunately was not wide enough to cover our island, so we had to buy two to splice together. (Island width was 45″x80″ for more legroom and a 15″ overhang).
Biscuit cutter, essential tool for adjoining the two countertops.
Ready for wood glue, and…biscuits!
Clamp it, wait 24 hours.
Once it was glued, we placed the template back on top and traced the shape, then cut using a jigsaw. View from the loft…
Added corbels from Architectural Depot:
Materials Purchased:
Two 96” x 25” Ikea butcher block countertops.
From Lowe’s we purchased Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations paint kit, electrical supplies for adding outlets.
Cardboard from JoAnn Fabrics (large enough to make a template).
Best Tutorial: How to Install a Butcher Block-Countertop (from This Old House)
We ended up replacing these chairs with new ones from World Market.
Pamela says
Everything is turning out beautifully! LOVE your corbels. I am trying to find some for our counter that sticks out. It does not stick out as far as your though.
Jeanette says
Thank you for visiting my blog, I’m anxious to see your final reveal but your kitchen progress is A-mazing. I will keep your blog closeby if I ever decide to tackle mine with chalk paint. The corbels are from Architectural Depot online and come in all shapes and sizes.
Monica Parkhurst says
Your kitchen is beautiful! We have a 16 y/o house with a useless high counter above our sink that separates our kitchen from the eat-in area and family room. We are planning to get butcher block countertops from floor & decor and create something similar to yours. We will have to join a couple of the counters also. My question is, how difficult was it to cut off the upper counter and did you re-wire the outlets? I will have to move at least some of the electricity because the switch to my garbage disposal is right where those outlet are. I can’t seem to find many people out in blog land that have done this. Thanks for any help and advice you can offer.
Monica
Mark says
Monica,
The upper counter was fairly simple to remove once I purchased a reciprocating saw. That makes the cutting very simple. Even without one though the removal is not too tricky. I did rewire the outlets and mounted them behind false drawer fronts on the ends of the island. I would be happy to help you navigate through as you go.
Mark