Island Shelving

I installed the shelves and the cabinet interior yesterday and today. I did end up using the 1X6 T&G redwood flooring that came out of the kitchen. It has a slightly rustic look to it because it is not one piece of material, but that’s fine. It goes well with the other pieces in the kitchen that have similar construction. Had I used plywood or some laminate it would have really looked out of place. I put a Roman Ogee on the 4 exposed ends. As it is I think it has a certain elegance to it, albeit a rustic elegance. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.





The space for the shelves ended up being smaller than I thought when I had the design on paper…er…computer screen. I thought it would be closer to 30X30 inches but it ended up being only 18-inches wide and 26-inches high. Being that it was smaller than I thought I decided not to do a center divider, so it is one open space. The bottom shelf is 14-inches tall and the top shelf is 12-inches tall. The space should come in handy.



The little cabinet, on the other hand, will be almost useless for storage. Once the sink, garbage disposal, drain, supply lines and electrical are in there I might be able to squeeze in a can of Comet if I’m lucky. The wood I chose to put in there is very “rustic” but very solid. All 7/8-inch T&G redwood. One things for sure, it will never rot because of moisture. I will paint this area the same glossy dark green like the interior of all the other cabinets.

I’m considering painting the two shelves some shade of green as well. The body of the island will be the same Honied White as the rest of the cabinets in the kitchen. I’m thinking maybe doing the open shelves the same Majolica Green as the walls in the kitchen. Possibly the trim piece just below the counter top as well. Any thoughts?