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Monday, February 13, 2012

Kitchen Island Board and Batten How-to

After I painted our kitchen cabinets I felt like our island was looking a bit boring. I had all the quarter round trim for the floor cut, painted, ready to install but I couldn't do it. I knew I wouldn't be happy with it just as it was. It needed more character.
 

I was debating between bead board and board and batten. I love bead board, but I was leaning a little more toward board and batten. That said, I knew bead board would be easier and quicker to install so I went to Home Depot to price and possibly purchase some. The bead board was $20 a sheet, and I needed two sheets. I know $40 isn't that expensive, but it was more than what I was hoping to spend. Board and batten isn't very cheap either, so I decided to hunt around for a cheaper solution. That is when I came across this:


That my friends is a bundle of 1 1/2" x 3/4" x 48" wood boards for only $11.97! It was perfect. I really didn't want thick boards since it is such a small area, and it was a much better price than the bead board. So I decided to take a bundle home with me.

There were a few boards in the bundle that I wouldn't use because of imperfections but the bulk of them were in great shape. Just keep in mind that you will need to sand them down nice and smooth. I sanded each board after I cut them, but also prior to attaching them so I wouldn't bring as much saw dust into the house.

Here's how I installed the trim.

Materials needed: 
  • Wood
  • Saw 
  • Measuring Tape
  • Level
  • Nails/nailgun
  • Wood Putty
  • Caulk
  • Paint
1) Measure and cut. I first measured for the two boards that go across the bottom and top. You'll want to measure both top and bottom and not just assume that they are the same length. We have a miter saw that I used to cut them.


2) Level and attach the horizontal boards. I used my level with all of the boards. I would typically nail one end down, grab my level, make adjustments then nail the other end down.

3) Figure out spacing. This is where the work gets a little more tedious. I like to try to work around vents, light switches and outlets as much as possible to avoid having crazy notched-out boards. So try to plan accourdingly. I taped a few boards up prior to cutting them to size in order to visualize the spacing a little better. I had to do a lot of rearranging.

Here is what I came up with:



There is about a 5" gap between each board on one side of the island and about a 4 3/4" gap on the other side because of the vent and outlet shown in the picture below. However, because the difference is so small I don't think it's noticeable.




4) Measure and cut each vertical board. Yes, this is time consuming, but you want the best fit possible.

5) Again level and attach. The same way you attached your horizantal boards.


6) Make it look seamless. Once all the boards are attached it's time to fill in all the holes and cracks. I puttied the nail holes and caulked the seams. Once the putty is dry, sand until smooth and seamless.

7) Prime and Paint.

I was initially going to leave it with just the vertical boards, but once I got it primed I decided to add horizantal boards to make a row of squares on top. I just repeated the steps listed above.

Here it is all finished with paint. Warning: prepare for picture overload.





Here it is before:



And after:


We've  been on the hunt for bar stools for some time now, but we've had a hard time finding a stool that is perfect in function, looks, and price. I think we are getting closer to a solution. I'll keep you posted.

41 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks Jana. Also, thanks for sharing my FB link! You are the best!

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  2. Wowsers! I'm painting my peninsula this week and am worried that it'll look dull after it's painted. This might be my answer! THanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like you are in for some fun. ;) Thanks for stopping by and saying hi. Good luck with your upcomin' project!

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  3. What an amazing redo!!! Love your work! Keep it up! Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Sandy! Love when people say hello. :)

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  4. Hi Kristi:
    You did a beautiful job! I love the clean crispness of white against the darker floors. Can you tell me a bit about your floors? They are gorgeous and just what we are looking for to replace our old flooring. Also, are they engineered, or laminate? I am trying to determine the best fit for our house with pets and family abusing it day to day..
    Laura

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Laura! Our floors are laminate and they have been wonderful! I'll do a post with more details this week. Thanks for stopping in!

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  5. Very creative! That really gives your island great visual interest. :) Megan

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  6. Love this! I just painted my cabinets too and wanted to do something fun w/ my island. Pinned it-thanks

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  7. Saw you on Ucreate...love this! I'm going to put it on my FB page tonight! I'm following you on Linky now and would love for you to follow me back! :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for stopping by and for putting this on your FB! I will certainly stop by your blog!

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  8. very impressive!!!! :)

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  9. Wow! This looks great! I'm for sure gonna pin this!

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  10. SO fantastic!! We were just wondering what we could do with an old ratty island...and here you are! This is fabulous!! Thanks so much for sharing:)

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  11. Hello Kristi, my first time here, I just came from Ucreate. I love your island makeover, just what I was looking for, I think, I will give it a try too, since you did such a fantastic job!

    ReplyDelete
  12. THis is wonderful!! The horizontal pieces to create the square at the top was an excellent call. It really brings it up another notch, I think.

    I found this because of Thrifty Decorating posting your link on Facebook.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi! I pinned this on Pinterest, posted on fb, and featured at Creative DIYers Club. Please feel free to grab the feature button :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a great job! You are so sassy taking on all the jobs I've seen on your blog! I love to see women jumping in and doing what has conventionally been "man's work". I am always coming up with ideas and know how to do them, but am slow at following thru, and then they fizzle out! You have accomplished great things girl!!!! I am headed for the garage right now and and getting my miter saw out to start AND FINISH a project!! Thanks for the shot of inspiration! Will be checking back often to keep an eye on you....and you did it all with small ones around..AW MAZING! Just painted a couple of murals for my grand kids with them running in and out only about 1/4 of the time and "oh my gosh!"nothing got done with them in the room!..(they are posted on my blog if you want to see them) You rock!

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