Ikea Kitchen Island Hack

Hello all!

I'm going to start sharing some DIY projects I completed along with the complete tutorials. First off, my Ikea Kitchen Stenstorp Island Hack.

So here's what I started with:

This is a great piece as is - roomy stainless steel lined shelves, solid oak top, and room to pull up two counter-height stools.

And here's how it Looked in my kitchen:




Nice, right? But there was one thing that really bugged me. Anyone walking by the kitchen (which you have to do to get to the rest of the house) could see all the junk I had crammed on the shelves. It actually does not look too bad in this picture. I took this before I really started to fill things up ... I also wanted it to look a little more permanent and custom. So I came up with a plan to hack it:

Not a big change, right? But I think it looks more finished and it hides all the stuff on the shelves. Here's the back view. You can see how much stuff it holds. I use it for my small appliances and dog food.





The hack itself was very simple. I used some of the beadboard That was left over from when we did the walls. I cut it to size and attached it to the existing frame with my nail gun and some liquid nails. To finish it off I added a small piece of molding along the bottom edge. Both the beadboard and the molding fit in between the legs so it looks like it was always meant to be there. Finally I caulked the edges and the nail holes. I also ended up staining the top to match the countertops - See tutorial here.



We use the island all the time. Besides storage, it provides extra prep space, a place to lay out a buffet, and it's my favorite spot to eat breakfast.

Here's the details on everything I used:
Island: Ikea Stenstorp ($ 399)
Counter stools: Ikea Ingolf ($ 59)
Beadboard, molding, liquid nails: Home Depot (under $ 20 total)
Placemats: Simple Pleasures, Charlestown RI ($ 5 each)
Fish plates: Johnson Bros. (Purchased on eBay)
White plates: Pottery Barn (at least 25 years old)
Candle holder: Target from a few years ago
Flatware: Yamazaki Gone Fishin '(available on Amazon and Bed, Bath, & Beyond)

Thanks for stopping by!

The Renovation Report: Coastal Colors & Flooring

After a very long hiatus, I'm back! The renovation on the beach house is almost complete, so I'll start posting pics and tutorials documenting the entire process. I found that while I was actually in the midst of the renovations, I had no time to post about it. Now that things have settled down, I'd like to get back to it.

Just to recap--this was a complete renovation of a 1600 square foot 3 bedroom 2 bathroom vacation home in South County Rhode Island. The house had been built around 1980 and had never (apparently) been updated. It was complete with the original kitchen with disintegrating cabinets and nonworking appliances, chocolate brown bathtub, original wall-to-wall carpeting, and wallpaper--lots and lots of wallpaper. Step one was getting rid of all the carpeting (including the wall-to-wall in one of the bathrooms) and wallpaper. The next step was choosing the new backgrounds: paint and flooring.

For paint colors, I focused on gray-green-blue colors. Because the house has an open plan, I wanted the colors to flow nicely while still defining individual spaces. The trim was painted white throughout. All of the paint is Benjamin Moore.

1 Palladian Blue (Entry & Mudroom) 2 Gray Owl (Kitchen) 3 Horizon (Great Room) 4 Sea Foam (Downstairs Bedroom & Bath) 5 Super White (Trim) 6 Woodlawn Blue (Master Bedroom) 7 Wickham Gray (Upstairs Bath) 8 November Rain (Upstairs Bedroom)

On to flooring. After considering many different options, I decided to go with a laminate flooring throughout (except the bathrooms and the entryway). Keeping the open plan in mind, I wanted continuity with the flooring. It's also a beach house. I didn't want to have to worry about wood floors getting ruined by sand. I wanted my family and friends (and pets) to be able to kick back and live in the house without anything being too precious or delicate.

The flooring I chose is called Reclaimed Chestnut by Bruce Flooring. It's a a very thick laminate (12mm) and my contractor was amazed at how sturdy it was. He said he tried to bang up a piece of it with a hammer and then a screw driver, and there wasn't a scratch. It's now been installed for almost two years and it looks brand new. In terms of appearance, I wanted something with gray tones to go along with the rest of the color scheme. When I saw it all together, I was thrilled! Here's a sneak peek of the kitchen to give you an idea.

I'll be back soon with before and afters of the entire project.