Kitchen Island Considerations

If you bake, make candy or prepare meals for large groups, a kitchen island provides the space you need. It can consolidate your cooking surface, exhaust system and prep area, freeing valuable counter space. You can also create a breakfast bar, family information center and overflow dining space for holiday parties.

Take Its Measure

Step 1
Measure your kitchen from wall to wall, including all existing counters, appliances, windows and doors. Draw a floor plan on separate overhead transparencies. Show walls, door and window positions and electrical outlets on the first one. Indicate positions of existing sinks and large appliances on the second one. Show overhead exhaust vents and any hanging racks on the third transparency. Indicate potential positions and shapes of your new kitchen island on subsequent transparencies.

Step 2
Flip back and forth between the various transparencies. Measure the available clearance between your various possible kitchen island shapes and positions and the walls and counters of your existing kitchen. Mark those clearances on your kitchen floor using chalk.

Step 3
Have helpers hold a nylon clothesline between two points along the clearance lines while you walk between your walls and counters and the tape. Note places where bottlenecks will occur and adjust your planned island to relieve them.

Make It Personal

Step 4
Decide whether you want a glass-top, gas or electric cooking surface as part of your new kitchen island. Choose between deep, double stainless steel or porcelain surfaces for your sinks, if you decide to include them. You may even decide to add a dishwasher, garbage disposal or other conveniences, including a built-in computer at one end to create an information center.

Step 5
Build your kitchen island to your desired specifications. Use marine-grade plywood for the sides of your island frame and for the counter underlayment. Although it is more expensive, it will resist water damage, swelling and warping for longer than composite or regular plywood.

Finishing Touches
Step 6
Use marble or granite counter tops if you intend to use your kitchen island for making candy. Marble or granite resist scorching and provide the necessary surface area for tempering chocolate and cooling hard candy. According to Mrs. Sherwood P. Snyder, in The Art of Candymaking Fully Explained, ¡°Most candies must be cooled rapidly, otherwise they will grain, which destroys their texture. Hence the advantages of the marble slab, as it quickly absorbs the heat from the candy.¡±

Step 7

Square, plane, sand and seal all wood before use. This will ensure accurate measurements and consistent dimensions. According to 30-year homebuilder Jeff Ramold, ¡°Wood dimensions are not consistent because humidity affects the boards, causing some to warp. Boards also swell from absorbing moisture. Errors occur during milling when saw blades are not calibrated often enough.¡± Countersink all holes for a smoother final surface. Use clear silicone adhesive along board edges and in between the frame and counter top.

Things You¡¯ll Need

• Transparent film sheets
  
• Transparent film marker
  
• Nylon-clad tape measure
  
• Chalk line
  
• Nylon clothesline
  
• 1/2-inch thick marine-grade plywood
  
• Two-inch by two-inch stock lumber
  
• One-inch by one-inch stock lumber
  
• Two-inch by four-inch stock lumber
  
• S/4 wrought-iron wall brackets
  
• Compound miter saw
  
• Router with industrial table
  
• Coarse through extra-fine sanding belts
  
• Belt sander
  
• Clear acrylic wood sealant
  
• Marble or granite counter top
  
• Electric drill, 1/8-inch diameter bit, countersink bit
  
• 1/4-inch diameter wood screws
  
• Clear silicone tile adhesive

Tips
•    Wood thickness, length and width can vary significantly from one sheet of plywood or length of lumber to the next. Although tile looks great when first installed, it can warp and buckle near sinks or anywhere subject to frequent moisture.

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