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A DIY Kitchen Island From Stock Cabinets

Lowe's Editorial Team

By Lowe's Editorial Team
Updated June 30, 2025

If you’re running short on counter or storage space, we suggest making your own. This detailed DIY shows you how to build a kitchen island from stock cabinets. Not only does it expand your work and prep space, but it also adds customized storage for dishes, cookbooks and more in style.

Skill

Intermediate

Time

One Weekend

Tools and Materials

Note

Items may be Special Order in some stores. Product costs, availability and item numbers may vary online or by market. Paint colors may vary slightly from those shown. Availability varies by market for lumber species and sizes.

Do-It-Yourself Kitchen Island Benefits

A do-it-yourself kitchen island improves your kitchen in several ways:

  • The DIY kitchen furniture expands your work area in the kitchen and gives you more prep space for meals.
  • You’re building a kitchen island from cabinets, so you’re also extending your storage space for cookbooks, dishes, serving pieces and more. 
  • Since you’re designing the kitchen island yourself, you can create the look and functionality that works best for your home. 
  • As you learn how to make kitchen islands, you develop the skills and confidence you need to design and create other DIY kitchen furniture and take on more projects around the home.

How To DIY a Kitchen Island That’s Perfect for Your Home

Before you begin, consider these tips for designing a kitchen island that’s perfect for your space:

  • Size the do-it-yourself kitchen island to give you the room you need without making it more difficult to move from area to area in the kitchen. In general, you need to allow a minimum of 36 inches of clearance but ideally, 42 to 48 inches will be more comfortable and usable. If the kitchen needs to be wheelchair accessible, you might need as much as 60 inches to allow a wheelchair to turn around. Use the instructions below as a guide, but scale the measurements to fit your space.
  • Make sure the new kitchen island complements the existing cabinets and countertops. For a larger and more impactful upgrade, you can pick a new countertop style or statement paint color for your kitchen island to make it feel like a standout.

Do-It-Yourself Kitchen Islands: Your Options

Thanks to a range of cabinet designs, countertop types and hardware styles, you have the flexibility to create a custom kitchen furniture piece.

  1. Decide on traditional or transitional stock cabinets.
  2. Choose a door style, like shaker or square.
  3. Select pulls or knobs from a huge range of finishes and designs
  4. Decide on your countertop. Popular in-stock materials include laminate, butcher block and solid surface options. Just make sure it matches or complements your existing countertops and doesn’t include a backsplash.

Before you begin building the island, order the countertop — for this design it’s 21-1/4 inches wide by 56 inches long — so it’s ready for installation once you complete the base piece.

Steps to Build the Do-It-Yourself Kitchen Island Case

Steps to Trim the Do-It-Yourself Kitchen Island

Steps to Finish and Install the Do-It-Yourself Kitchen Island

If You’d Rather Buy Than DIY

If you’re short on time and need a quick, affordable fix, buy a kitchen island or prep table. While it’s not the same as a custom kitchen island, it offers more work and storage space while taking less than an hour to assemble. Lowe’s offers plenty of style options from utilitarian metal prep racks to more intricate rolling carts that could blend right in with your kitchen cabinets.

White Kitchen Islands

Black Kitchen Islands

Brown Kitchen Islands

Blue Kitchen Islands

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