Kitchen Island Cart

I wanted an industrial looking, durable kitchen island on the cheap. Where better to go than starting with Ikea parts?

Steps 1-3 walk you through my design process, or you can skip directly to step 4 for the parts list and construction details.

Step 1: Test fit

Test that everything fits and feels comfortable before you get too far into planning. Use some masking tape to mark where the cabinet and appliance doors swing and where the island will go. Grab a friend and see if you can comfortably perform the kitchen dance. For example, try to unload the dish washer while someone walks from the oven to the sink.

Comments

[GoDevils]

Very nice work. I also have a similar island (not as cool and boxed as yours), which is called a prep station or work table and can be found at restaurant supply stores. A 60' x 24' can be had for $140 plus shipping (I picked mine up). They also have wood-topped ones...
http://www.standardrestaurant.com/ecom/app/stockDetail.action?stockNo=211377

[dimtick]

Nice Job!
I like that when you drilled the angle brackets you simply taped it in place. I've always marked the holes and drilled but there can be a tendency for the drill to drift if your not using a drill press.
when drilling you shouldn't drill on top of your nice finish floor. I wouldn't trust cardboard to provide enough protection. I would either drill in another area or use better protection like some scrap wood.
We have a large dining room table that I do a lot of my projects on (drives my wife nuts). I lay an old blanket over the table then cover that with a sheet of plywood. I've done so many projects that I've cut the plywood to fit the table and edged it with 1x's so that I can clamp to the top and not the table beneath. many of my clamps i've getten from garage sales and would mark up the table.

[Robizzle01]

I tried a number of different approaches for drilling the holes for the L-brackets and securing them with tape was the only one that prevented the drill bit from sliding around too much. One method that I didn't try was to use a nail and hammer to dent a spot for the drill bit to rest in while the hole is started, but the tape approach worked really well, so I'm going to recommend that method first.

As for drilling on top of my floor: I had a stack of about 15 cardboard boxes and so even if I had drilled straight through all of it, the bit still would have been some ways from getting to the wood. I wasn't concerned with this approach and it worked well. It was also nice to be able to put my full weight on the leg to prevent it from moving while it was being drilled. However, if I had access to a workbench with a good vice (or ideally a drill press), I surely would have used that instead.

[zipperboy]

As a general rule of thumb, if you buy the parts to make something instead of buy it the cost is usual about half of retail. Factories usually sell to retailers with the promise of at least 100% mark up.

This is the really the same rule of thumb for buying used big stuff, expect an used auto parts place to charge you from 25 to 50% of the new retail price, the final price will depend on what sort of shape the used part is in, and your ability to dicker, cheers.

[flyingpuppy]

I love love love this island. How much would it have cost if you'd bought it like this?