Create A Farmhouse Kitchen Island From A Table: DIY

When designing our Farmhouse kitchen, one of the things on our wishlist was a huge island we could use daily. We wanted a piece that looked like furniture and was wide enough to use for entertaining and food prep. Our old house had a massive three-metre island which invariably doubled as a bar and sideboard when guests came over. We wanted that again in the farmhouse, but this time in a more rustic country version.

The farmhouse kitchen is a long, open plan space that includes our living area. After we installed the kitchen, we decided to hold off on the island for a while in order to see if we liked using a table in place of an island.

If I’m honest, we don’t use the table a lot. Okay, we barely use it at all. The table is too low for food prep and when we sit there to eat the sunlight from the west is blinding. At dinner time, we tend to sit in the living area if it’s just us two and when we entertain larger groups of guests, it’s usually on the verandah.

The decision to not have an island was never conclusive. Mr GGF and I always said we’d live with the table for a while and see what we thought. Well, now we think an island is a way forward for us.

How We Decided On Our Kitchen Island Style

After deciding we wanted to install an island there were a number of things to consider.

Firstly, the look. Obviously, we have an authentic vintage farmhouse. I wanted the island to be an extension of our kitchen, a piece that looked like it belonged in our eclectic living area. It had to be rustic and functional but still look stylish and definitely NOT homemade! While I love DIY, I do not like my DIY to look that way. My search began on Pinterest. I discovered kitchen islands that were made from repurposed furniture. A chest of drawers seemed to be common for repurposing and while I like the look, I was unsure we could make the island look professional as opposed to a chest of drawers with a butcherblock top. Also, we needed something longer to looked like it’s integrated into the kitchen.

Cost is also a factor in our choice. With the renovation of the farmhouse continuing, we didn’t want to spend a fortune on buying materials or an entire island. The current Coronavirus shut down also played a major part in the design we chose. It had to be simple, easy to construct and able to be made using mostly what we had at home.

After an exhaustive search, I came across this picture of Liz Marie Galvan’s kitchen island. Instantly, the idea came to me, to change our farmhouse table into an island by adding castors and a single shelf for storage.

How We Made the Kitchen Island From a Table

Once the decision was made to install the island (don’t ask what we’ve done with the dining table!) the first thing we did was bring the table back inside and put it up on bricks for a few days to see if we liked having the island there. I didn’t want to commit to anything until we were sure.

Mr GGF then added pieces of timber inside the legs to form the frame. We nailed thin slats of pine lengthways along the frame to form the shelf. I bought casters for each leg and we screwed these on. I would have liked a chunkier caster but the feet of the table are narrow, and this dictated the style and size. The last job was to paint the island in a mix of White Linen Chalked by Rustoleum and a sample pot of Dulux China White to knock the white back a little.

It’s been a week now since we finished the island, and I have to say, though the dining table looked pretty, I prefer the island. I’ve ordered stools so that when guests come we still have an informal eating spot.

What do you think of our island? I’d love to hear your comments.