Island Furniture Look

In my kitchen post, I mentioned that I wanted to do something to the island to make it look more like a piece of furniture.

 I looked a furniture pieces around my house to get inspiration.

That’s actually a crate for my dogs. Reminds me I never did a post on that.

Then I saw a Fixer Upper episode that showed the side of a bathroom cabinet that was simple and different.

Source: Season 4 Fixer Upper

There was a piece of trim that ran just below the drawer and above the cabinet door.

Source: Season 4 Fixer Upper

 

But because I couldn’t carry the trim onto the side with the drawers and doors, I had to end the trim in a creative way.

before

I really liked how my trim carpenter finished pieces in my house.

I thought it looked easy and I had it figured out. And my method worked if I was using a plain piece of wood that had no detail in it. But because I was trying to keep the detail matching, it made the problem harder to solve.

I spent days practicing on inexpensive wood (scraps from the babygate project.) I at first thought that I only had to do one special angle on the piece I was trying to fit in, but that wasn't the answer.

I also practiced mitering corners. I had built a desk for my monitors at work and my miter job was horrible!

Then I built myself a new desk because I needed one, but to also practice before the big show.

My corners had significantly improved. And I really like my desk. I can lift the monitors and stand or if I am sitting, it forces me to have better posture. Clears a lot off of my desk.

I tackled the baseboard first. It was easy. I cut pieces slightly larger than the measurements I knew I needed and then held the pieces up to the island and marked the exact measurement. This was a great method.

Next up came finishing the end of the baseboard.

I have labeled this piece for reference. I made a 25 degree cut on the long piece of the baseboard. Then the small insert has a 20 degree cut and a 45 degree cut.

It makes it so you don’t have a blunt stop to your trim piece.

Next up came the trim for the “chair-rail.” This was harder. The wood piece was so small.

When the cut was finished, the piece would fly off and sometimes would fly right back into the blade and “commit suicide” and be chopped in half. And because of the detail, you have to move your blade painfully slow. Otherwise, your straight cut is good, but you chip off the detail.

I used wood glue and my new nail gun to fasten the pieces to the island. I love my new gun!

Then I taped off the pieces and painted. I taped off exactly because I did not have any leftover paint from the cabinet maker and had to get new paint. Even though you give exact names and numbers, paint does not always match. And this paint is not an exact match. I am now glad I taped the way I did.

Once I pulled the tape off and the paint was dry, I was happy. I am so glad I practiced. I didn’t want it to look like a DIY project, and it doesn’t. It looks like a nice piece of furniture.

I also added a chair-rail piece to the other side of the cabinet that had an exposed end.

I like it a lot there, too.

It adds a finishing detail. The work I did is so subtle, and it won’t grab the attention it deserves, but it’s just a little more character I am slowly adding. You don’t know it’s missing until it’s there.