Island Sweat

Boy, it seems like I haven’t posted in a week. I’ve really been getting a lot accomplished, though. First off, as for the design, I’ve decided to go with Design Idea Number 3, “Open shelving on both sides with a common back in the center”. Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on this. Everyone made good points and if I could I’d incorporate all the ideas, except the garbage can idea. John made a good point about why that is not a good idea. At any rate, Number 3 won out for simplicities sake and because I think it will be the most useful and flexible desing in years to come.

Now on to the work at hand.

I finished stripping all the fir bevel board pieces but I think I might need more. The shelves will need sides and backs. I think I have enough for everything except for the common back so I may just go with flat stock for that. Otherwise I would have to do enough for both sides of the back so it would look right. The bevel is only on one side of the board. If I only strip enough for one shelf back the other side will be flat wood. Not the end of the world, but if you’re going to do something you might as well do it right. Right? We’ll see if I feel this way in a week.

Butt Nekid!


I also got the brackets painted. I decided to use spray paint so I wouldn’t have brush strokes on the metal. There is something that is just not right about visible paint brush strokes on metal objects. The big problem with spray paint is that you have a limited pallet to chose from. Green and off-white is the color scheme for the kitchen. The woodwork on the island will be the same off-white as the rest of the woodwork in the kitchen. Naturally then, the cast iron brackets should be some shade of green. I’ve notice that lighter colors tend to show detail better because the subtle shadows are more visible on a light background than on a dark background.

With this in mind I decided I wanted a light green color on the brackets. Unfortunately, as I said before, spray paints come in a limited pallet. I chose the lightest color green I could find with out slipping in to Day-Glo. It’s not my first choice but I think it will work.

Bracketmania


I also made good progress on the frame of the island. I made the bottom and the top. Because the island will be 64X36 I will need to do most of the assembly in the kitchen. If I put it together first it would never fit through all the doors.

The Queen Anne feet I chose proved to be difficult to work with. Had I simply chose to build this as a box on the floor it would have been much easier. However, I think the end results will be worth the effort. I like the idea of a kitchen island, and in my case it is very practical. Still, the term “Kitchen Island” screams 1990s not 1890s. The Queen Anne feet on the island will make it look more like a piece of furniture than a “Kitchen Island”.

I won’t bore you with all the details of how or why the feet caused problems. Just try and imagine a large work space with plumbing and electrical, stuck in the middle of a kitchen all propped atop 4 delicate little Queen Anne legs. Just writing that sentence I can picture the thing crashing to the ground. There were other issues with the bevel board siding and the cantilevered counter. To be honest, I’m sure tackling little problems like these is the sort of thing “The Pros” go through everyday, so it’s not that big of a deal. It’ll work. I hope.

Here’s what I’ve got done. It doesn’t look like much now, but this represents many hours of work.

Island Base – Lap Joints Aplenty






Island Top – Yet More Lap Joints