Add an island

Need more counterspace and storage in your kitchen? Then build this project.

Expand your workspace and show off your woodworking skills by building our attractive Kitchen Island Project. The piece, which measures 3 x 4 feet, provides extra counterspace, two storage drawers for utensils, and a large shelf below for pots and pans.

You can make the island 36 inches high, which is standard kitchen countertop height. Or you could reduce the height slightly to 34 1/2 inches, which is more convenient for chopping vegetables or rolling out a piecrust. Casters, attached to the legs, allow it to be moved easily.

Construction follows traditional woodworking techniques, using mortise-and-tenon joints for extra strength. The tapered legs measure a sturdy 2 3/4 inches square at the top. The drawers are made from 1/2-inch-thick plywood and use simple box joints. A jig, detailed in the step-by-step instructions, helps cut the joints. The only power tool needed is a table saw, but a jointer, planer, and router would be helpful.

The top is a ready-made 1 1/2-- inch-thick piece of maple butcher block that measures 36 x 48 inches. You can order one through a homeimprovement store. Costs will vary, but it should be less than $200.

Paint the piece to coordinate with your kitchen cabinets, or give it a contrasting finish. The easy-to-do distressed finish shown here is described in the plans.

Detailed plans and step-by-step instructions for building our Kitchen Island Project are available for $4. To order send a self-addressed, stamped (with two first-class, letter-- rate stamps), business-size envelope to Kitchen Island Project, PO. Box 523, Birmingham, AL 35201. Enclose a check for $4 payable to Southern Living Projects. Allow six to eight weeks for delivery.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Oct 2002
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