Building a Kitchen Island with a Bench Attached to It

Design

Building a kitchen island with a bench attached to it will increase the counter space, seating and storage capacity of your kitchen. Design a simple square or rectangle island with cabinets underneath on one side and a bench on the other to take advantage of the open floor space that may currently be wasted. Depending on your available space, you may have room for an L-shaped island with a bench on the smaller section of the L for open seating, or attached to the larger section of the L as part of the seating for your kitchen dining table. To determine how large your island can be, measure the open floor space in your kitchen and allow at least 2 feet of walking space around the perimeter of the island and the bench.

Materials

You can build your kitchen island with similar materials to those used on your kitchen cabinets and countertops, or you can design your island and bench as an accent, building them from complementary wood and tile rather than the granite or laminate you may already have. You will need enough 2-by-4-inch wood planks for building the island and bench frame, plywood to enclose the frame and to build the bench seat, and pre-made wooden doors for the cabinet. You will also need at least four anchor brackets to attach your kitchen island to the floor and six L brackets, two for the bench construction and four to attach the bench to the island. A drill and a small drill bit, a screwdriver and wood screws, a level and a measuring tape are the only tools you will need in addition to the saw for cutting the wood. If you plan to tile the countertop, you will also need a sheet of plywood cut to fit the top of your kitchen island, tiles, thinset, grout, a trowel and a grout float. Laminate or granite will fit over the open island frame and require no additional paneling.

Construction

Determine the measurements for the island and cut the 2-by-4-inch planks to outline the frame. For a square island measuring 4 feet square, you will need eight planks measuring 4 feet long for the top and bottom of your square. Measure four more planks for the height of your island, and then build a cube. Enclose three of the sides with a sheet of plywood and add a brace on the front to hold the cabinet doors. Add the bench to the island by attaching four L brackets across the back of the island at the height you prefer for your bench. Attach a sheet of plywood (that is the desired size of your bench seat) to the brackets. Cut two 2-by-4-inch planks to fit as the front legs for your bench and attach them with the remaining L brackets. Stain or paint the kitchen as you like, then add the tile or other countertops.