Want to get rid of that builder grade faux wood paneling on your kitchen island or peninsula? You know the stuff. It resembles those wood panels that used to be on the sides of station wagons. I’ve had it in every kitchen I’ve owned. But I’ve learned that I don’t have to live with it. And neither do you.
This peninsula update is the first step of many to come in a mini DIY remodel that I’m about to undertake in my small, non-functional kitchen. I’ve had smaller kitchens, but my current kitchen, hands down, wins the award for the least functional. It also ranks right up there with the least aesthetically pleasing.
So here are my before pictures. Pretty standard as far as peninsulas go. This kitchen is one big ball of patterned brown. I love brown, but there are brown patterns that fight each other in the oak grain, the flooring and the countertops. Makes me dizzy. This kitchen is not a safe place for anyone who is prone to seizures—that’s for sure.
I’ve been collecting posts on Pinterest for kitchen ideas, and to give credit where credit is due, I copied this design from “Remodelaholic”. And I combined her project with a photo I saw on “DIY Network”. This transformation can be done with basic carpentry skills, and isn’t all that expensive.
Step one was to remove the corner trim piece so I could pry back the existing paneling and locate the studs, water lines and electrical wires. My dishwasher is in my peninsula, so I was aware that the potential existed for an electrical shock or a flash flood if my nail hit just the right spot.
Unfortunately the installer for my new dishwasher had to remove some studs in order to get it to fit into the space where the old one was. That leaves me with only a few studs to attach my boards to. I knew that was going to be my biggest challenge. However, I was relieved to find no water lines running through the studs like I had in my last house, and there were only two electrical wires that were going to be relatively easy to avoid. Here’s one of them.
So I marked my stud locations on my counter top with some tape, and I taped another area to mark a board from the back of a cabinet that I could use to nail into. And of course, there will always be a 2 x 4 on the floor, on the outside corners and against the wall that were used in framing.
I had to remove a piece of baseboard on the wall adjacent to the peninsula since it was going to have to be trimmed down afterwards.
The only other out-of-the-ordinary item I had to deal with, was an electrical outlet that I had to move up about 1/2″.
I decided to use bead board paneling for this project, and Lowe’s had a new kind that looked like traditional bead board on steroids. The routed groves were much larger and farther apart. A 4′ x 8′ sheet of traditional bead board paneling ran around $20. The more unique version that I decided to use was $30 a sheet. The extra $10 was worth it to me.
Lowe’s will cut plywood for their customers, and so will Home Depot. Not only does it save me the hassle of cutting it, but a 4′ x 8′ sheet won’t fit in my tin can of a car. I had them make me four panels which required four cuts. The first two cuts were free, and the second two cost me 25 cents. Again, worth it. I also had a large scrap piece leftover to use on another project.
I had the panels cut to a size that was 1/4″ shorter than the actual height of my counter tops so that I could mount them off the floor a bit. Dishwasher + leak = potential water on the floor at some point. Cutting it short also allowed for any wonkiness as far as the possibility of the sheets not being cut perfectly square (sorry Lowe’s) or my floors/counters etc…not being square (sorry house).
So I attached the bead board to the peninsula, setting it on a ruler to raise it while I hammered. I’m happy to report I only hit my thumb once, but I’ll admit I did bend a handful of nails that had to go in the garbage. I also broke two drill bits while pre-drilling. Like I said, I’m not a carpenter. I also used a level to make sure each sheet was plumb.
Here’s a photo after the bead board was attached. Since I didn’t have much of a selection of studs to hammer into, some of the pieces only had one nail on top and one on the bottom, but I knew when I added the trim, some of those nails would also be penetrating the bead board to hold it on too. The trim itself would also help secure it.
I had to trim around the outlet, and I also had to shave down part of the toe kick that extended past the end of the cabinet in order for the bead board to lay flat against the cabinet.
Next, I added 1 x 4 pieces of MDF that I cut down from a leftover sheet I already had, and attached those. I also kept those up off the floor. MDF and water do not mix.When MDF gets wet, it puffs up like a toasted marshmallow.
Next came the horizontal pieces. I had to cut a hole in the trim piece that went around the outlet.
Here’s how it looked with the horizontal pieces added.
The bottom board is a 1 x 8, so that once I put the baseboard on, there will be a reveal equal to the rest of the 1 x 4 trim.
The next step was to install the remaining vertical boards. These will cover the areas where the sections of bead board paneling meet.
The previous photo shows that my vertical board placement didn’t line up with any studs (marked by the blue tape on the counter top). In order to attach these two pieces, I just pre-drilled at an angle so my nails would go into the horizontal pieces that were nailed into studs. This is where I managed to snap my last 1/16 bit. Sigh.
A suggestion from the “Remodeloholic” post, was to round over the edges of the trim boards, so that once installed, there is an intentional space where the trim boards meet. That way, there’s no need to caulk or putty those areas.
Here all of the trim pieces were installed.
Next came the baseboard. The baseboard is the only piece placed directly on the floor to cover the gaps from the bead board, the corner trim and the 1 x 8’s. It would be simple enough to replace if it were to get wet.
In order to keep costs down on my projects, I usually buy “lesser” quality pine boards and then spackle over any knots or dings at the same time I putty all my nail holes. I sand and paint, and the imperfections are impossible to find afterwards.
Next a coat of primer.
After the primer dried, I caulked every place that the trim met the bead board, and along the top of the baseboard. This is an important step, and makes everything professional looking.
Then I painted everything with two coats of paint, sanding in between coats. Finished!
Now the traditional before and afters.
Since I had some of the pine boards and MDF already, I don’t know exactly what this project cost, but I would approximate not more than $50, with $30 of that being for the bead board.
A cheaper version would be to leave out the bead board and mount the trim directly onto the existing faux wood paneling. Give the paneling a light sand, a good primer and a good quality paint and you’re on your way. I’ve done that too!
Honestly, the worst part of this project was the major splinter I got in my hand when picking out the wood. It was all smooth sailing after that.
Author’s edit: And here she is after surviving nearly two weeks in the palm of my hand. My daughter, Sophie, was my splinter remover, but she moved to Los Angels. Now I’m on my own in the foreign object removal department. (Thus the two week hibernation period.)
Now on to another cabinet…
This post was written by Tracy Evans who is a Journeyman Painter and Certified Home Stager /Redesigner. Feel free to visit her website at www.HelpAtHomeStaging.com to view more before and after pictures of her projects. And if you enjoy gardening, you may want to visit her gardening blog at MyUrbanGardenOasis.
Nice job. Good instructions
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Thank you. It’s a very doable project for most people.
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Looks great!!! No way could I do that!
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I beg to differ. 🙂
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Nice job and thanks for sharing. I had on question: on the side of your cabinet near the front where you added the MDF, I noticed that you didn’t cut the MDF to the former shape of the side of the cabinet at the bottom of the side and made the side of the cabinet “square” shaped. I want to know what now supports the vertical piece of MDF that you shaved down so the beadboard would lay flat? Also, where does you molding stop at the front of the island? Did you wrap it around the entire front or does it stop at the front corner? Thank you.
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Thank you, and you’re welcome! If you’re referring to the toe-kick area on the end of the cabinet near the floor, yes, I chose to square it off as I think it looks a little better from the side view. I’ve seen pictures of them cut to the shape of the cabinet, and I prefer it to be covered rather than cut out. The majority of the vertical pieces are nailed into studs. The ones that didn’t have studs behind them are toe-nailed into the horizontal pieces above and below them. Since the horizontal pieces are nailed into studs. It’s quite sturdy. There is no movement whatsoever. The caulk I used to finish it off between the MDF and the bead board also helps secure them. The MDF trim pieces stop at the edges where you see them and do not wrap around. There are cabinets and a dishwasher on the other side that you can’t see, so there wouldn’t be any place to put them. I wish I would have wrapped the baseboard completely around the MDF piece that covers the toe-kick area, but I didn’t. It would have looked nicer to wrap it around and dead end it into the toe-kick on the other side. My baseboard ends with a small 45 miter piece to finish it off at the end of the bottom of the vertical MDF piece. It doesn’t bother me enough to change it, but I would have done that differently. I hope you can understand all of this!! Thank you for your questions, and good luck if you decide to go for it!
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Thank you very much! You explained it perfectly! I did decide to go for it after reading your reply. It is coming out great so far!! If I am able to I will post a picture of it when I finish. Thanks again!!
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I really hope you will post some photos. I hope you took some before shots too! Looking forward to seeing your finished project!
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I am almost done except for filling nail holes and painting. I think it looks awesome. I tried to post some before and after pictures but I can’t seem to figure out how to post pictures. It doesn’t seem as simple as cutting and pasting??
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Oh no! I really would love to see some photos!! I’m not sure how that works either.
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Excellent post and will be a great help for a project I have coming up. Two questions: where did you use the 1×4 MDF? Was it used for your vertical trim because one pic it looks like pine. Also, do you have a pic from the back showing the finished area where the end meets the toe kick. Thanks,
John
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Well, John, you are a very observant man! Yes, some of the pieces were pine and some were MDF. I’m big on using whatever I have on hand, and that’s exactly what I did so I didn’t have to go out and buy more wood. As I look at my peninsula, I can’t tell which is which since they’re all painted. I do not have a picture of the back of the peninsula, but I’m going to refer you to my answer to the January 14th comment on how the toe kick area was finished. I hope that helps!
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