Easy Summer Project: A Kitchen Island!

Consider building a kitchen island if you're looking for a quick and easy summer remodeling project. It's a great addition for any homeowner who simply loves to cook and entertain.. Start on it Saturday morning and finish it by Sunday night. It's a simple project that doesn't take too many tools or materials. Not only that you can construct it in a nice air conditioned kitchen away from the summer heat.

What makes a basic kitchen island? Two 24 inch cabinets, three pieces of 5/16" width bead board, about 16 feet pine beaded board and about 16 feet of both shoe and base molding, and tile or laminate for the island's countertop. You'll also need hardware, caulking , clamps along with miter and circular saws. Everything else you should have in your tool chest. Some people also add towel racks as well and these are easy to attach.

The first step is to remove all the doors and drawers from your cabinets. To make both doors swing out from the center, reverse the swing of the right hand side's door. Measure and mark with a carpenter's pencil (or just a regular pencil if you don't have the other). where the screw and hinge locations will go on the opposite side . You may need an extra set of hands for this. Drill pilot (guide ) holes in these locations while filling up the original holes with putty. Sand smooth. Now use your circular saw and carefully cut off the flanges on both cabinets, Doing this will make them flush when they're positioned side by side. Don't cut into the side panels. Remember to keep one flange cut to cover the cabinet's seam. Apply a generous amount of construction adhesive (you can buy this at any big or little hardware store) to the side of your cabinets where they will be joined. Now push them together. Let the adhesive dry thoroughly. Now attach 1" wood screws into the inside panel of one of the cabinets. Repeat for the other.