Roly-Poly Kitchen Island DIY

Rach
Jun 30, 2016
3 min read

I had a lot of nice empty floor space in the kitchen of the trailer with the slide out- at first this was great. So spacious I thought, doesn't feel like a cramped trailer at all. Over the first few days/weeks spent in the trailer the lack of storage was driving me crazy and my thoughts turned- what a waste of empty space, who cares how spacious this little area is when everywhere is full to the brim. SO I decided to build my self a rolling kitchen island. With the help of some building plans from Shanty 2 Chic I got to work.

My inspiration was this lovely DIY Kitchen Island- find the full Shany 2 Chic plans here.

I decided I wanted two shelves- one for bigger items on the bottom and one for shorter items and baskets on the top. I also decided to do pipe cross sections across the width of the island to support the selves just for the fun of it!

I bought select pine from Home Depot- this project can be done much cheaper if built with cheaper material but I decided to go big and go home. I followed the shopping list and altered it- I didn't need the cross sections for the selves and I needed double the shelving area. I also originally wanted to make my island a bit shorter- which I neglected to do in the end. I also bought pipes for my shelf cross section and for my handle/towel rack.

I assembled my frame using my trusty Kreg Jig (which I love and highly recommend everyone have!) and started staining my shelf pieces.

For the pipe cross section I purchased the following:

8 Flangs- 3/4" width to attach pipes to island
Pipes
4 -18" long
1- 24" long
2 Pipe caps for handle pipe
Rust-oleum Universal Hammered Spray Paint
2 Pipe Stay for the handle

For the top of my island I used wider pieces and ran the the opposite way in comparison to the original plan. I used my Kreg Jig and Gorilla Wood Glue to attach them together for a perfect fit. Using my palm orbital sander I sanded down the top, made the cracks where each board met more even and softened the edges and ends of my top. I wasn't overly worried about perfecting the top as I thought a semi rustic look would be lovely.

Some glue residue remained on the cracks of my top- reminder that glue doesn't stain! I used Miniwax stain in Dark Walnut. I stained my boards with a shorter than recommended soak time as I wanted the colour to be a bit more rustic looking and not overly saturated. I stained the rest of my project in the same manner and was quite pleased with the result.

Next I had to add my lovely handle and my wheels- I got two wheels with a braking system and two without for easy sliding back and forth!

I finished off my piece with a protective layer.

TOP- I used Helmsman satin clear, I applied 3 coats over the next few days with very light sanding in between.

BODY- the rest of the piece I have a quick once over with s can of Krylon clear spray paint. i really like the way it looks and gives the wood and extra layer of protection and smoothness

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