These bench ideas are all over Pinterest and I love them, because they inspired this in a moment of desperation. Someone was giving away a free king size “headboard” and because I haven’t had the time to make my desired headboard I thought this could fill in until I get there. Well… I show up to take a look and immediately realize it is a foot-board. My initial thought was to say, “no thank you.” But, the foot-board-giver had these pleading eyes like, “please take this thing away.” He also looked like he had just had the worst day of the year. So… I took it. The whole way home I’m thinking, “I’m going to need to explain this, this large thing that isn’t going to be a headboard.” By the time I arrived I had planned out the whole bench and was ready to start. It also helped that the same week someone else gave away real walnut wood planks, left over from a kitchen cabinet job and the house being built down the street donated a few pieces of hardwood (really, I did not just take them :). Before I knew it, I had everything needed for my spare parts bench.
Upfront disclaimer, the reason this bench was able to cost just $15 is because a bulk of the wood was free and I already had most of the paints, stains etc. It’s leftover, spare parts–but that is the beauty of it. With a little imagination, you can bring leftovers together and get a nice piece of furniture .
First I built the front legs and support piece of the bench. I took one long piece of 2×6 for the support, which I actually had to buy because no one is going to give away good lumber like that. As you can see it is rough wood which makes it cost less. It also take forever to sand smooth, I will show you in this article how to deal with that and get a smooth look. You will also need to notch out the wood of the vertical leg piece. Then you will need to pre-drill with one of these handy drill bits specifically for that purpose. It also has a large drill at the end that will drill out a hole to fit the screw head so you can caulk over it. If you don’t pre-dill you will more often than not split your wood.
On the vertical leg piece cut notches about 1/4″ apart with a circular saw. Adjust your saw so that is cuts the depth of 2×6 board. Then use a chisel or screwdriver to break off each piece.
Clean it up with a chisel and rubber mallet like this. If you don’t clean it up the 2×6 board will not lay flat. No need to sand it, but get off the jagged wood so it is smooth. In this picture you can see the portion behind the chisel is smooth enough for the board to lay flat.
Now to get rid of rough wood, sand it a bit just to get the real jagged parts off, fill in gaps with caulk and let it dry. After it is dry take drywall mud and spread a smooth layer over all the parts you want smooth. Drywall mud fills in gaps nicely and blends this joint together almost seamlessly.
Now the bench is ready to prep for paint. When I am planning on painting a piece that is varnished this is my quick trick that works really well. I sand the entire area that is varnished with a sanding block. See all the scratched up wood? That is going to allow the primer to really stick well to the wood. In order for it to stick you will need to also wipe down the piece with a damp cloth and get rid of all the dust.
Next prime the whole piece with good primer. Cheap primer will not stick as well. Remember to give nice even strokes and watch for drips, they are much easier to take care of while they are wet than when they are dry.
Select your desired bench color. I have seen plenty of cute white benches or black benches, but I already have those colors incorporated on my front porch. I finally went with this color because it is a nice country blue and can pop a bit with the white railing and red brick.
I wanted to add a little texture and personality to the color so I sanded the edges with my sanding block and stained it with a walnut brown stain to give it a warm well loved look.
Then it was time to make the seating. Since I had come across such beautiful walnut wood. I decided to make slat seating. Like this. Testing out the waters to see if I liked the spacing ect. The arm rests were just placements until I could get a jigsaw to round them out a bit and tie it in with the nice curve of the back of the bench.
To cut the slats to size I used my miter saw, cutting four pieces at a time. I then sanded each piece lightly softening the corners and edges.
Each slat needed to be secured to the back and front of the bench. I secured the front by pre-drilling each slat like this and then screwing it into place. You will notice I am drilling in at an angle and had to be careful that my screw would go through the slat and the 2×6, but not show. I was successful on all of them, but one. I simply filled the hole in with colored wood putty.
To secure the slat on the back I used a nail gun. Each slat had to be measured so I could know where to nail in the back. I also used a hand weight to hold each slat down so that is was in the exact spot I wanted it to be when I nailed it.
Here you can see where I am measuring to get the placement of the next slat and where the holes are for the other slats. This was my first time using a nail gun and I was a bit intimidated, wear ear plugs and make sure no one is in front of you just be be safe. I did have one nail hit to the side and ended up having to pull it out and try again, but amazingly all the other nails went where I wanted them Yay!
Now it’s varnish time, the pinnacle of refurbishing and building. I love how it brings out the shine and beauty of the wood. No stain here, it’s all natural wood color. I made one mistake here and used my good brush and even though I cleaned it “thoroughly” or so I thought, with paint thinner, it still dried hard with varnish residue. I was reminded again why I love cheap paint brushes so much and finished the rest of the bench with these bad boys. They are so inexpensive you can toss them instead of spending for ever trying to clean them out and it not work anyway. They also work better–at least I think so.
Once you have it varnished you need to let it dry for a few hours, lightly sand it wipe it with a damp cloth and do another layer of varnish. You should varnish at least three times on bare wood that has never been varnished before. When you have all the layers on let it dry for a good 24 hours or so before using it. I used oil based varnish for indoor outdoor use since it would be sitting on our porch.
This is how you transform your ordinary desk into the best kitchen island imaginable. I know, It’s pretty presumptuous to claim “the BEST,” but there are so many cool things to consider for your next island – YOU might even decide it’s the best…if you want, no pressure.
First you need to find the perfect desk, dresser, cabinet – which ever piece speaks to you. I collected five desks before I settled on this one. I liked the curve of the top drawer and the symmetry of the drawers.
Kitchen flow — A kitchen island can pull a whole kitchen together and make it the most accessible, efficient place in the house. To make this dream a reality, look around your kitchen, where do you spend the most time? Do you make a lot of smoothies, really like to throw things away (me), have children who like to cook and who you want to teach to clean up after themselves? All of these kitchen uses can be incorporated into a well built island. Consider what is near your kitchen island. As you can see below, our table was near one end of the island. So we placed the tilt out trash on that side, making it easier for our kids to scrape off their plates before putting them in the dishwasher. Since we had also redone the kitchen we had a deep drawer built in that held our everyday bowls, plates and cups. This drawer was placed conveniently between the dishwasher and the table allowing our kids to put away dishes and set the table – such a beautiful thing! We also kept the island temporarily short so our children had a counter height where they could make lunches themselves and help cook in the kitchen. (read about the Kid Friendly Kitchen here)
This arrangement was perfect for us. A tilt out trash helped our kids to clean up after dinner then each put their plate in the dishwasher. I wanted our kids to know how to work in a kitchen even if it’s just to take care of themselves. Here is the tilt out trash can. I first saw this idea while living in New England and decided one day I would have one. Little did I know that one day I would feel comfortable enough with power tools to make one myself and I’ll show you how on this post.
This was the portion closest to my oven, I wanted my island to be useful on every side. Consider what items you want easy access to. You could easily include your blender near the fridge or a shelf that holds all your drink accessories. I chose to have a place to slide a few cutting boards and pizza stones. Eventually I put some hooks right under the counter there for hot pads, but you’ll just have to take my word on it- I don’t have a picture.
Consider making a cut out for trash on top – easy food prep and looks awesome. Place a cutting board next to the opening and prep away, simply sweeping scraps off the side. You can read about how to make our own counter top with food prep access here.
Tilt out garbage — no more smashed toes from roll out versions. I like that it tilts out instead of having to roll along the floor, it take less space to toss your stuff.
First you have to build a structure the size of your trash can and attach it to your desk or dresser piece. You can see that I made the 2×4 structure come just under the top of the desk. I did this so I could use the desk top as reinforcement for the structure to fit in. Later after I added the top counter piece (read about it here), I added a few spacers to the trash can structure so it was the same height as the desk top. I also used wood glue and varying sizes of screws to attach it to the island. Pay attention to where the hardwood is in your desk. There were good places to screw into along the drawer supports, the top and bottom of the desk. If I were to do this again I would use 2x2s and not 2x4s. It wasn’t weight bearing and added unnecessary weight. But I guess we can sit on the island and jump up and down and it won’t break so that’s a plus. 🙂
The tilt out door was built by creating a bottom piece and front “door” piece. Basically a square wooden rod the length of your door and two right edge triangles to act as support. In the second picture you can see I had just added wood glue and was preparing to add the plywood door. I further attached the door to the support triangles with short screws that would not come through on the other side of the door.
I then used a continuous hinge to attach the bottom of the door to the island. A small chain was attached at the top so it wouldn’t fall all the way open.
I added several adjustable felt pad levelers so I could move the island without it damaging my floor and the adjustable feet helped me get a perfectly balanced top. Simply tighten or loosen each foot until it gives contact to the floor.
I used sliders on the bottom of my recycling cans, inexpensive and only cost $7 instead of $75. It is also much easier to clean and get to added storage behind. Make sure to use a heavy use, polyurethane on the floorboard of the island to hold up from the sliding.
Useful shelves –There was room behind my recycle cans so I added a shelf for more storage. Here I stored extra can liners and rarely used baking containers. You can see there is a cut out portion where the recycling bin fit.
Very affordable counter top design — plywood. I know, why would anyone choose plywood. Well it was meant to be a fill in until I could get my glorious butcher block top, but the fill in worked out so well I quickly moved on to other things. Who knows, I may add a butcher block top one day, but for now, here is how you make a plywood counter.
Easy to clean — After you have finished adding all your favorites to the desk you will need to choose trim and paint to pull it all together. I chose a simple trim that looked easy to clean and didn’t have small areas that would collect more things for me to clean:). I also chose a satin finish paint that could hold up to a lot of use and a lot of washing. Each of these trim pieces were caulked before painting to fill in gaps and give it a professional look. This thin trim is actually extra slats from our 2″ blinds. They didn’t add a lot of bulk, but still gave the island nice defining lines.
There you have it, the Best Desk to Kitchen Island, or the best for me. I would love to hear about your must haves in a kitchen island, share comments and pictures below.
We wanted to create a little nook in our basement where we could just hang out and read a good book. This was a big project because the basement didn’t exist, so it took several additional steps (framing, drywall, etc.) before the building of the bench and staging the area. In the future we’re going to put a zen garden and fairy land in the window well.
A plywood countertop has its pluses for being quick, inexpensive and versatile. True you don’t go into a remodel dreaming of a way to incorporate plywood – usually. But plywood, when used properly and with a bit of foresight, can be exactly what you need. You may want to buy time to save for your dream counters (as was my situation), or you may not be sure which counter you want and would like to get a feel for your kitchen before making the plunge with your hard earned cash.
Start with a cutout of the size you want on plywood. Since it is just plywood, let your imagination go wild.
I ended up adding a trash lid to the top of my counter (link to the Best kitchen island), to see if I liked it. Give it a try see if you like the shape before you commit with a more expensive counter.
A thick counter looks better than ¾ inch. Get this look by adding an extra 1 ½ inch wide slat to the underside edge of your plywood counter. I did not have clamps, so after wood glue I weighed each slat down with hand weights. It worked.
Do a dry run, make sure it fits the area. Consider using a router for a smooth edge, or to experiment with an edge finish.
I used a piece of paper to get a uniform curve on each corner
Plywood does leave gaps where it pulls out a bit of wood from the layers. Simply fill these in with wood putty. Wood putty won’t stain the same way as the rest of the wood. After I stained the counter I went back and painted the wood putty so it matched the rest of the counter edge. Or you can buy colored putty and put it in after you have stained your counter. Get two or three colors so you can blend to match your counter. Walnut putty will not exactly match walnut stain — I don’t know why, but it won’t (buy here).
To finish off the counter you have a few options. You can use a heavy duty polyurethane or go really heavy duty and use a bar top epoxy… nothing will penetrate that counter. I went with the polyurethane because I was still planning on switching to my awesome butcher block and didn’t want to spend the money for the bar top. Now I love it so much I’m going to keep it this way so bar top would have been worth it.
Best wishes with your projects and post pictures in the comments, I would love to see your personalized counters.
If you are renovating a kitchen or building a new home you have the perfect opportunity to build a kid-friendly kitchen. The good news, you can design it in a way that will grow with your family and look nice at the same time.
For me this meant a place where my children could have responsibilities. A place where they could help safely and still let me cook and a place where I could host adult events. If we were going to re-do the kitchen I wanted every square inch to be useful and beautiful. Today I will discuss the storage you can get out of your kitchen island, whether it’s a desk turned island or built by a carpenter. I will also discuss appliances and kitchen faucets, who knew they could make such a difference for kids. I map out kitchen designs that help with the flow of a busy and useful space and discuss types of flooring and paint sheen that can add to the comfort of the most used room in the house. Sometimes just knowing your options helps you map out the best kitchen for you. We are going to go over it all. So sit back and relax and let your list of must haves and dream additions come together.
First on my list, an awesome fridge, namely the Whirlpool five drawer French door fridge. Why is it so awesome? It has a middle drawer on the outside and a water and ice machine that kids can reach. This allows children to get themselves a drink of water and the drawer is accessible at child height. I like to keep bread, meat and cheese, apples, carrots or any other snack item I want them to grab first, right here in the middle drawer.
I was in awe of the french door fridge for a few years and asked a good friend how she liked hers. She told me she liked everything about it, but wished that the long drawer inside the fridge was on the outside. We searched and found this one. It also is quite awesome for the adults in the house because you can put so many things inside and it doesn’t seem crowded. I can fit a whole thanksgiving dinner and still have room. If you want your life to become a little bit easier–this will do it.
Having access to water is only half way to independence, they also need to get a cup on their own. Cue the awesome deep drawer! This drawer, at child height, not only allows them to get their own drink, but also lets them have access to plates and bowls to help set the table. And social media is saying kids don’t have enough responsibility. Maybe they just need easy access to kid possible chores. I placed this drawer between the kitchen table and dishwasher so my children could easily put dishes away too. I know, awesome! Yes, my children have and still do (depending on age) complain about these chores. My go to response is, “I love you so much I want to teach you how to take care of yourself.” It works really well, while the grumbling does still happen, it happens less and less and our children understand the purpose behind us giving them chores.
A faucet can make a big difference in the convenience of your kitchen, look great and be kid friendly at the same time. Pfister F5297TMY Hanover High-Arc Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet. The cool features: it’s high enough to easily fit big pots underneath, the head pulls down so you can spray food off your dishes without it spraying everywhere. You can install the handle so it is over the sink instead of over the counter. This allows water to drip into the sink instead of on your counter AND allows short people (children) to wash their own hands! It is truly a lifesaver. Not only that, but it looks like a piece of art sitting elegantly on your counter top. Love it!
I had wanted to build one of those cute islands made out of a desk. Honestly I went overboard and collected like five desks (my poor husband is a very patient man). I kept finding desks that I thought would work better and everyone seemed to be giving them away. I finally settled on this one. The magic began when I set it in the kitchen just to get a feel for walking around it etc. In the meantime we discovered that a short island was perfect for cooking with kids. They could all reach and help and there weren’t any chairs clogging up the walking area. Click here to see how to make the island and after pictures.
If you don’t want a short island there is also this idea from Burlap and Denim. A pull out step drawer.
which I also considered doing. But I wondered if I would always trip on the pull out steps. The plan is to let all the kids gain some height and then lift the island up on decorative feet.
This island made our kitchen so useful. We were able to use the long island for large gatherings and put all the food here. This is our annual pie night, which is a blast. We invite our neighbors, everyone brings pie and we are able to talk and build friendships that don’t always happen waving from the doorstep…so yes, I’m trying to get you to start a pie night of your own. Post and let me know– he he and I hope you get a great kitchen too.
It was great for food prep where kids could help and sweep all leftovers into the trash. In fact, our kids love helping out in the kitchen because there is a place just their height.
It also had room under the desk portion for the recyclables and a small toy bin to keep my baby busy while I cook.
On the oven side of the island I had a cookie sheet and cutting board storage area.
I placed the garbage on the end where the table was so the kids could easily scrape off dishes and place them in the dishwasher. In this chart you can see how easy it was for kids to help out and if you notice that untouched corner to the right of the sink? That is where all the baking and cooking ingredients were, so the kids could be helping get things ready and I could be cooking without kids tripping under my feet. If they wanted to help cook I could easily give them a job at the island where they could reach. And of course they could make their own lunches since all the lunch stuff was kept in the middle drawer and the child height island was right there to make a sandwich on.
The flow was amazing and the island held so much storage on top of that.
We chose luxury, grout-able, vinyl tiles for three reasons, I wanted the grouted tile look for resale, and at the time, we had a toddler that was constantly falling. I wanted something that wouldn’t leave a bruise every time he took a tumble. We also lived in a very cold place and these vinyl tiles were warmer to the touch than ceramic. There are several options, looking back I would have chosen something lighter and used rectangles instead of squares to create a wider look on the floor. But look at all these choices, beautiful and highly functional.
Paint durability is important when considering little hands that will be touching it everyday for 10 years. Seriously, how often are we washing hand prints off the walls? Washable sheens are ideal for high traffic areas, i.e. kitchen, family room, hallways and stairways. Washable paints are in eggshell, satin, semi-gloss or gloss.Higher quality paints have more pigment and resin that help them wash up and stay looking nice. Even a high quality (which usually means more expensive) flat paint will wash up much better than the cheapest flat paint. Look to use flat finishes where children won’t be touching the walls that often and you want to reduce glare for example, theater rooms and rooms used primarily by adults like the master bedroom etc. Below I used an eggshell finish for the walls. Satin finish for the lighter gray on the stenciling to help it pop a bit and satin on the trim and door.
We had also built a walk-in pantry over the stairs. Who needs all that wasted space when you could have awesome storage. Because I was building the shelves myself I was able to decide how tall each shelf should be. Please excuse the panorama shot, it was the only way I could show all the storage in this pantry. I chose shelf height by first choosing the items I wanted there. I placed the items I wanted my children to get for themselves on the lower shelves like cereal, crackers etc. I then measured how tall those were and made my shelves accordingly.
I also created a shelf up high and secure to keep cleaning supplies on. I didn’t like the idea of putting chemicals under the sink where children could find them. It also opened up the space under the sink for a small garbage can and a place to put a small laundry basket for used washcloths and towels (see my post on How to Build a $5 kitchen pull-out Trash Can). It makes food prep and cleaning the sink so much easier.
And there you have it, a kid friendly kitchen that grows with your family. I love it because it is so easy to teach my children responsibility when the right things are accessible. It is still a small kitchen, but each and every corner, counter and cabinet was placed to create great flow and accessible for children to help.
If you have other ideas for making a kid-friendly kitchen or if you have any questions about what I did please leave a comment in the comment section below. And don’t forget to share this post with those who are working on their kitchens.
If you haven’t already noticed, I love to throw things away. Much of the clutter in a house is from things that just need to be thrown (or recycled, composted etc.). This all means easy access to trash cans = a less cluttered house. I really wanted a trash can under the sink that pulled out, to make cleaning easier – but have you seen the prices?
$83.00
$123.00
$83 ! and $123!
It’s a lot! I just wanted to put my money somewhere else other than in the trash. 🙂
So I came up with this very simple, inexpensive design to simplify the world and make it a cleaner place.
Find a small trash can that is roughly 3/4ths or less the width of your cabinet door. This will help it fit well and not be too heavy for the door. I found this one at Walmart for $4, you could also check the dollar store or score a thrift store find. If you want this exact trash can you can pay $12 on Amazon.
A straight edge works better than round as you see here. It works, but not as well as a nice straight edge.
Before drilling any holes, hold the can on the door and see if there are any potential problems. As seen in this picture of my first project, a common problem is the kitchen sink or pipes, they may hang low enough that you need to lower the position of your trash can on the door. You likely want to position it in the middle of the door and about 4”-8” down from the top, depending on how tall your door is.
Check the length of your screw against your door by placing it on the side like this. The last thing you want is to ruin the front of your cabinet door. You also want to leave enough length for the thickness of the trash can, about ⅛ th” or more. I used a washer head screw or you can go to your local hardware store and buy just two (that’s the key to keeping it under $5 :).
Next, look at your door type.
First type of door
Some doors have a thin ¼” panel on the front and hardwood only along the edges. For this door you will need a support board about 1 ½” wide, ½” thick. Most cabinets have a ½” overlay on the outside of the cabinet–so the board needs to be the length of the door minus 1” on boths sides. screws on either end of the board to attach to the board to your cabinet.
Second type of door
Other doors have solid wood panels so no support wood is needed. Simply measure where you want the holes. I used a piece of tape so I could have the exact distance on the trash can and on the door.
(Drill holes in the can I placed mine, 5 ½” apart on an 11” wide can.
Use a drill bit that is slightly larger than the screw head (purchase here).
Make your measurements, use a level to make sure the screws are balanced. Pre-drill with a drill bit slightly smaller than the width of the screw body (not head), this will keep your wood from splitting.
Attach screws leaving room for (about ¼”) for your trash can to slide into place.
Place garbage can on screws, like this and you’re done! You may need to tug a bit to get the holes over the head of the screw, but if you are needing to tug too much either adjust the screws or make the holes in the can larger.
Share pictures, I’d love to see what you come up with. Each situation is different and may help others as they work on their projects. Happy building!
Hi, I’m Natalie. I’m a mother of four, an artist, and a DIYer that loves to reuse, recycle, and refurbish. I like power tools and teaching others how to save money while improving their home.
This arrangement was perfect for us. A tilt out trash helped our kids to clean up after dinner then each put their plate in the dishwasher. I wanted our kids to know how to work in a kitchen even if it’s just to take care of themselves. Here is the tilt out trash can. I first saw this idea while living in New England and decided one day I would have one. Little did I know that one day I would feel comfortable enough with power tools to make one myself and I’ll show you how on this post.
I added several 
Higher quality paints have more pigment and resin that help them wash up and stay looking nice. Even a high quality (which usually means more expensive) flat paint will wash up much better than the cheapest flat paint. Look to use flat finishes where children won’t be touching the walls that often and you want to reduce glare for example, theater rooms and rooms used primarily by adults like the master bedroom etc. Below I used an eggshell finish for the walls. Satin finish for the lighter gray on the stenciling to help it pop a bit and satin on the trim and door.
Check the length of your screw against your door by placing it on the side like this. The last thing you want is to ruin the front of your cabinet door. You also want to leave enough length for the thickness of the trash can, about ⅛ th” or more. I used a 
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