Since the day we moved into our fixer upper over 3 1/2 years ago we have wanted to do a short term remodel of our kitchen, while also having a long term plan for a full remodel. Well, we were finally able to take the first step in our short term remodel plans by moving and refinishing our kitchen island.

We relocated our kitchen island a whopping 14″ or so in order to create more room between our refrigerator wall and the nearest corner. Plus, this brings it closer to aligning with the outside edge of our breakfast bar for a better visual appeal. We would have liked to move it a little farther but the wire for the outlets wouldn’t allow it, and the floor underneath it was unfinished after the 14″ span. So we opted to fight that battle another day.

Moving the island was actually really easy. I started by removing the toe kick to check under the cabinets to see if it was attached to any cleats; luckily there was not. Surprisingly, the only thing holding it in place, other than its own weight, was a few trim nails from the base shoe going into the hardwood floor. So once I removed the base shoe it only took a little muscle to get the island moving.

While we were refinishing it, we decided to add some beadboard and mouldings to make it appear more like a piece of furniture. We opted for solid pine beadboard instead of the MDF version. The MDF version definitely provides a more refined and polished appearance without extra sanding and prep than the solid pine. However, we chose the solid pine in case we decide to distress it at some point in the future. MDF does not take too well to sanding.

Attaching the beadboard was a quick and easy process due to the height of the island. I was able to butt the top of the beadboard to the bottom of the granite, which put the bottom of the headboard at the perfect height for the pre-routed baseboard. A little construction adhesive, a couple of trim nails at the top, a couple of trim nails at the bottom, and each piece went up quick and easy. The only cutting I had to do was on the last piece of each side to rip it down to the appropriate width.

The most noticeable thing we did was obviously the paint. We used Valspar’s cabinet enamel paint, which I would definitely recommend to anyone going through the same process. We applied three coats using a standard paint brush, and the outcome was excellent. The paint went on without any brush marks, and hardened as you would expect from a factory finish. One thing to note with this paint, as you can see in our last gallery picture below, is that when applied directly to the surface without any primer, you can still see the grain and texture of the wood. I’m not certain if another coat or two would hide this, but I’m certain a thick undercoat of primer would definitely help.

All-in-all, we’re extremely happy with how our kitchen island remodel turned out. It’s brought some brightness and freshness to our dark kitchen. Look for phase two, the painting of the rest of our cabinets, coming in the next few months once it is warm enough for us to spray the doors outside.

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