Noting Grace
When we were living in a rental for a year, our home was lacking on counter space and it didn’t have a kitchen island. I adore pallets and when we needed a budget friendly option, I turned to what I knew would be most economical! Loving how our Pallet Bookcase turned out, I wanted to do something similar.
Here’s how you can build one yourself for less than $50.
We didn’t have an existing frame as we did with our Pallet Bookcase, so we had to build a frame. This is the only wood we purchased for this project.
The posts are made from 4 x 4s and the framing is from 2 x 4s. Make sure there is enough clearance for appliance doors before you make your cuts. We measured for the exact fit of this kitchen as well as our height, so I am not including exact measurements. They should fit to your space and needs.
Since I was crushing hard on the gray, I wanted the weathered pieces to be the most prominent, so we cut and fit the pieces to the sides and attached using the existing holes from the pallets after we disassembled them.
Look at that beautiful, natural gray, washed out by wind, sun and rain!
I’m seriously swooning!
One purpose of this island was to create additional storage space but allow it to be hidden, so we needed to create shelves and a front to hide the storage.
For the front, I wanted a rustic, pieced together feel, so I varied my wood textures and hues.
The very bottom shelf was most visible, so continuing with that weathered, rustic feel, we cut pallet sides to varying lengths and used distressing glaze to hide the cuts.
Now for the next shelf and top!
Using the braces on the sides, we cut scrap wood to fit the length between the two braces. For the top, we used other wood from a previous project in order to cut our wood costs.
Recycling and upcycling is key to saving money!
I don’t recommend using pallet wood for the top of a kitchen island. Pallet wood is treated with chemicals and isn’t safe for a food prepping surface. If you don’t have scrap wood on hand, this will add to your bottom line if you need to purchase it.
The wood was very new, so I used the same distressing glaze to create a grayish color to the top and frame. This also added a semi-seal to help with food stains.
There you have it!
An easy weekend project that didn’t take rocket science to create.
All for less than $50.
It was a helpful addition to storage and was cute to boot!
If this post inspires you, be sure to share your creations with me! I’d love to see what you come up with. For more tips on how to decorate a rental, you can read how we adding our touch here.
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