Who doesn’t want more storage or prep space in their kitchen? My mom had an underutilized breakfast nook that we decided to turn into an extension of her kitchen by building a DIY kitchen island!
This DIY kitchen island has tons of hidden storage, with 4 drawers and 6 doors. One side features large drawers perfect for storing kitchen utensils, spices, and Tupperware. It also has a deep cabinet space to help storage countertop appliances.
The back side features even more storage and cabinet space. This side is great for smaller appliances and cookbooks.
One of the sides also offers a cute display shelf that is great for showing off your favorite cookbooks or cutting boards.
Alright, let’s dive in and start DIYing!
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How to Build a Kitchen Island with Tons of Storage
Recommended Tools:
- Miter Saw (we use this blade with ours)
- Circular saw (we love using cutting guides with ours)
- Kreg Jig (not sure which to get? Check out which Kreg Jig to get)
- Drill
- Random Orbital Sander
- Brad Nailer
- Clamps
- Measuring Tape (new to DIY? Be sure to check out this post with measuring tips)
- Safety Equipment
Shopping List:
- (2) ¾” x 4’ x 8’ plywood (we used red oak)
- (3) ½” x 4’ x 8’ plywood (we used maples for the drawer boxes and red oak for the rest, but we recommend just getting red oak. We had scrap wood available, so we didn’t have to buy all of the sheets, but if you used maple for the drawer boxes, you would technically need 4 sheets. It’s much more efficient to just use red oak for all of it.)
- (7) 1x2x8s (we used red oak)
- (4) 2x2x3s (we used red oak)
- (4) ¼”x2x4s (we used red oak)
- (16) ¼”x3x4s (we used red oak)
- 3 sets of 1 ¼” overlay concealed hinges
- 3 sets of ⅝” overlay convealed hinges
- Shelf pins
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- (6) Figure 8 fasteners
- (4) 18” side mount ball-bearing drawer slides
- Pulls/knobs for doors and drawers – we got 10 of these
- Wood glue (this is our favorite type and it’s great for outdoor projects)
- Wood filler (we use this one, but be sure to check out our wood filler experiment to decide which might be best for your project)
- Sandpaper (120, 180, and 220 grit)
- 5/8” brad nails
- 1” Kreg screws
- 1 ¼” Kreg screws (since we used oak, we used the hardwood screws)
- 39” x 6’ butcher block
- (2) 3/16-in x 3-ft Plain Cold rolled steel Weldable Solid Round Rod
Dimensions
The final dimensions of this DIY kitchen island are 72” L x 39” D x 36” H.
The complete (and optimized) cut list is available in the printable plans.
Though we will show all of the pocket holes (aside from the drawer boxes) in the first step, we always recommend cutting your pieces as you work through your project rather than cutting everything up front.
This will allow you to adjust the dimensions accordingly if your wood isn’t the exact size as in our plans or if there are small miscuts along the way.
STEP 1: DRILL POCKET HOLES
Using the 3⁄4” settings, drill pocket holes in the following boards:
- (2) on one end of one of the support legs
- (2) on both ends of the vertical face frames
- (2) on both ends of the horizontal face frames
- (2) on both ends of the drawer dividers
- (2) on both ends of the shelf stretchers
- (2) on both end of the bottom support
- (2) on both ends of the cookbook shelf
- All around bottom – spaced 1-2″ from the ends and then every 6-8″
- Along both of the 29″ sides and along one 32″ side of the side panels and middle divider
Using the 1/2″ settings, drill pocket holes in the following boards:
- Along both of the 29″ sides and along one long side of the middle divider side 1 + 2 panels
STEP 2: ASSEMBLE THE FRONT AND BACK FRAMES
Using glue and 1 1/4″ Kreg screws, assemble the front and back frames. They will be identical at this point. We started by securing a vertical frame piece between 2 horizontal frame pieces. Then we secured that to the middle leg, making sure all the boards were flush at the top.
We used the middle support leg as a spacer for the middle leg.
STEP 3: ATTACH THE LEGS
Attach one of the frames you built in step 2 to the outside legs using glue and 1 1/4″ Kreg screws. The back of the frame (the side with the pocket holes) should be flush with the back of the leg. The top of the leg should be flush with the top of the frame.
Repeat with the last two legs and the second frame.
STEP 4: ATTACH THE SIDE STRETCHERS
Using glue and 1 1/4″ Kreg screws, secure the side stretchers to the legs. The side stretchers should be flush with the outside of the legs.
One side will have a stretcher that is flush with the top and 4″ from the bottom of the leg.
The other side will just have one stretcher that is 4″ from the bottom of the leg.
After securing it to the first set of legs, secure the side stretchers to the second set of legs.
Note: We placed the frame that we were screwing into flat on the table for this step. If you do it this way, you can place a scrap piece of wood under the middle of the frame so that it doesn’t cave into the table. The structure will be very sturdy soon, but it’s not at this particular step. We also slid the middle divider and one of the side panels between the frames at this stage to help give everything more support while we attached the side stretchers.
STEP 5: INSTALL THE SIDE PANELS
Using glue and 1 1/4″ screws, secure the side panels. The side that had two side stretchers should be flush with the inside of the leg and touching the back of the top side stretcher.
On the side that did not have a side stretcher on top, the side panel will be flush with the inside of the vertical frame board. This will give us space for the cookbook/cutting board storage on one side.
Both side panels should be flush on top.
STEP 6: INSTALL THE MIDDLE DIVIDER
Using glue and 1 1/4″ Kreg screws, secure the middle panel to the middle legs. The panel should be flush with the top and flush on one side of the middle leg.
The side that it should be flush with is the same side that the cookbook/cutting board storage is going.
When looking at the structure, you’ll see two cubbies. The side panel and the middle panel should both be flush on one of the cubbies. The other cubby will have a face frame that sticks out on both sides.
Having both of the sides flush will make installing the drawer stack easier.
STEP 7: INSTALL THE BOTTOM
Using glue and 1 1/4″ Kreg screws, secure the bottom to the rest of the structure. The bottom should be flush with the top of the bottom horizontal face frame and should have a 3/4′ indent from the bottom of the face frame.
STEP 8: INSTALL THE MIDDLE SUPPORT
Make the middle leg 1 1/2″ thick by gluing together both of the 4″ 1x2s. Make sure that the pocket holes are visible. If you have a scrap 2×2, you can use that instead.
Using glue and 1 1/4″ Kreg screws, secure the middle support to the bottom of the structure. Then secure the middle leg to the middle support using glue and 1 1/4″ Kreg screws.
STEP 9: INSTALL THE DRAWER DIVIDERS
Before you install the drawer dividers, think through if you want the drawer stack on the right or the left side and then install the dividers accordingly.
Install the drawer dividers using glue and 1 1/4″ Kreg screws. We like to use to scrap wood as spacers to keep the drawer dividers square and in place without measuring.
STEP 10: INSTALL MIDDLE SIDE DIVIDERS
Install the side dividers using glue and 1″ Kreg screws. Again, I like to cut a scrap piece of wood to act as a spacer to help me keep the dividers straight and at the depth I want.
STEP 11: SHELVES
The shelves are simple to make. Cut your plywood to size and then iron-on edge banding to the front of the shelf for a more finished look. We opted for our shelves to not go all the way to the front of the cabinet, but you can make them the full depth of the cabinet if you prefer.
We used our adjustable shelf pin jig to quickly add holes for shelf pins to the front and back of the plywood sides.
You can place your shelves wherever you see fit. We wanted our shelves close to the middle, so we added holes for the adjustable shelf pins approximately 7-17″ from the bottom of the cabinet. I always tend to overdo it on the shelf pin holes since they are quick to make and there’s nothing worse than wishing you had just one more height option!
If you do not have an adjustable shelf pin jig or you want stationary shelves, you can make your shelves the exact width of the opening (rather than 1/4″ smaller) and then use pocket holes on the bottom to secure them to the cabinet.
STEP 12: BUILD + INSTALL DRAWERS
Build and install the drawer boxes using the tutorial from this post, or any other method that you prefer.
If you plan to make a lot of drawers in the future, check out our DIY Doors + Drawers Guide. This 104 page guide goes through all of the ins and outs of building and installing DIY doors and drawers. It gets several building and installation options for each so that you can find what method works best for you. It also includes our custom sizing calculators, so you never have to do your own math to build doors or drawers again.
STEP 13: MAKE THE SHAKER DETAIL
For both the doors and drawers, we used the same technique to get the shaker look. Cut the stiles (vertical pieces) to the same height as the door or drawer front.
Secure the stiles to the front of your door/drawer panel using glue. If you don’t want to clamp every piece and wait for the glue to dry, you can add some 5/8″ nails through the 1/4″ stiles to hold them in place.
After the stiles are in place, cut your rails (the horizontal pieces). For the small drawer fronts, we used ¼ x 2 boards. For everything else, we used ¼ x 3 boards.
Secure the rails using glue and optionally nails.
After all of the rails and stiles are installed, apply edge banding to the edges of the doors to cover the plywood edge and give them a seamless look.
STEP 14: INSTALL THE DOORS
To install the doors, you can use the installation method in this post, or any other installation method that works best for you. We share several installation methods in our DIY Doors + Drawers Guide.
Since they are overlay doors and the top is not yet installed, instead of measuring, I like to first install the hinges to my doors and then clamp my doors to the face frame in the spot I want them to be. Then I screw the hinges to the cabinet while the door is clamped in place.
Ideally you would get faceless style hinges for the two doors on the back where the face frame is flush with the side panel, but we were able to make the face frame hinges work, requiring us to get just 2 types of hinges for this project instead of 4.
Since this design has a frame – it’s just flush with the plywood – we lined up the face frame hinges and used a rubber mallet to set the prongs into the plywood. Once flush, we added the screw to secure the hinge as normal.
For the side doors, we did have an issue with them gently rubbing on the leg when you opened and closed them. To fix this, we added two strips of edge banding underneath the hinge to bump it out a little bit. We have more troubleshooting tips like this in the DIY Doors + Drawers Guide.
STEP 15: INSTALL THE DISPLAY SHELF
First, add edge banding to the front of the shelf so that it looks like a solid piece of wood.
Then secure the display shelf with 1 1/4″ Kreg screws and glue. We installed ours 16 1/4″ from the bottom so that we had space for some taller cutting boards on the bottom and still had room for cookbooks on the top. Think through what you want to display here and adjust the shelf accordingly.
Once installed, mark for the 3/16″ rod that will help keep the books or cutting boards in place.
We installed ours 3/8″ from side of the legs and then 1″ above the shelves. If we were to do this again, I might install the bar a little bit higher. We were focused more on the items not falling between the bar and the shelf, but now that we have it built, I wish we placed it slightly higher.
Drill 3/16″ holes that are approximately 3/4″ deep on both sides of the display rack.
Cut your 3/16″ rod to 33”. We used a hacksaw for this. If you want to use a different saw, make sure it has a blade that can cut steel! If you don’t have one, you can also use a 3/16“ wood dowel instead of the steel piece that we used. We used Gold Leaf Rub ‘N Buff to get the color.
Insert the dowel into the holes. You will have to bend it slightly to get in to slide in, but once it’s in, it should straighten back out.
We don’t typically fill pocket holes, but we did fill the ones that were visible on this display shelf. To do that, we used a 3/8″ oak dowel and a flush cut saw.
STEP 16: INSTALL THE TOP
To install the top, we used figure 8 fasteners.
Drill a hole that’s just deep enough for the Figure 8 to sit flush with the top of the structure.
Then, screw the figure 8 to the stretcher using the provided screws. You’ll want to remove the drawers for this step!
Position the butcher block onto the base and then secure the top to the base through the figure 8s. The butcher block should overhang the outside legs by 2″ on each side and front to back.
OUR FINISH
For this project, we finished the outside of the kitchen island with Minwax Water-Based Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner, Minwax Water-Based Solid Stain tinted to Austin Field, and Minwax Polycrylic Max in Satin.
We skipped the stain on the inside of the cabinet and the shelves, but still applied the wood conditioner and polycrylic.
For the inside of the drawer boxes, we opted to use a gloss polycrylic instead. This makes it super easy to wipe down and always gives a very polished and professional look.
For the top, we wanted something food safe, so we skipped the Polycrylic and opted for Minwax Food Grade Wood Oil and Conditioner.
The butcher block that we used came stained, but if you like the color, it’s Minwax Espresso.
There you have it! Now you know how to build your own DIY kitchen island complete with tons of storage! Don’t forget to grab the printable plans for the 3D renderings of each step and an optimized cut list.
