This update made the whole island feel and look so much more substantial.

Over time I was craving a little more detail — I’m always trying to soften all of the hard lines in our kitchen and knew the long horizontal planks and simple design weren’t helping.

First up, I needed to remove the shiplap boards on each side of the island. I used a flat blade and tapped it behind each piece like so: 

This is why I never use wood glue on my trim projects — I change things up too often! 🙂 Removing the boards was super quick and easy. I also removed the bottom and side trim that made up the “frame” I had installed around the shiplap. I left the top part intact since that wasn’t changing that at all. 

I reused some of the shiplap I had just pulled off and nailed them in at the height of the baseboards all the way around the bottom — I didn’t want the new trim I was installing to sit directly on top of the base. 

Instead I wanted the new baseboards to come out a just bit and sit in front of the new trim: 

This will make more sense in a minute. It’s a minor detail, but I think it adds a bit more dimension in the end. That scrap pushed the baseboards out a smidge and gave it more of a reveal against the new treatment I was adding above.

After the base was in, I was able to reattach the sides and bottom pieces that made up the frame before: 

The only big expense for this project was for the new baseboard — thankfully I was able to use most of what I already had for the rest of it! (By the way, when did pretty baseboards get so expensive??)

After the frame trim was reinstalled on the sides, I moved on to adding more detail on the “legs” I built years ago. I used very simple (and inexpensive) lattice from Lowe’s on the front and sides of each leg: 

Luckily I had enough random cuts of it in my scrap wood for about half of what I needed.

You can see why I wanted the baseboards to butt out a bit further — otherwise the trim would have been installed directly on top of the baseboards and I would have lost some of that added detail.

A quick side note — the sides of our island didn’t have a toe kick (the open space below your cabinets) to start with. Taking your trim straight down to the floor like this gives cabinets a lovely, custom look that can resemble furniture. 

I’ve noticed a trend lately of creating this same look for ALL of the cabinets in a kitchen, and I would warn against that. As pretty as it looks, a toe kick is very functional. Literally, it’s space…for your toes. 😂 

Without that open space, you can’t stand at your countertops comfortably. Ergonomically it isn’t ideal, especially while working at a stove or sink for any extended amount of time.

Anyway, moving on! 

All I had left to do was add something back to the space inside the “frame” on each side of the island. Before, I had the horizontal planks there, but this time I wanted a more traditional look. Thankfully I had some scrap luan already cut to the perfect size — this time I installed them vertically. 

For the other side, I had a 2×4 piece of luan cut into strips at Lowe’s. I haven’t had them cut down wood for me in a long time, and the employee said they won’t make more than a couple cuts now. He was SO nice and offered to cut them for me anyway, but now I know! I wonder if Home Depot is the same?

If you use this thin wood, I recommend giving the edges a good sanding — they can be rough after being cut down:

Everything got a couple of coats of the paint match to the rest of the cabinets (in a wipeable semi-gloss finish) when all of the updates were finished. 

The pretty baseboards and added character on the legs add so much more interest to the sides of our island!:

I had exactly 41 inches across the width inside that frame, and the pieces of luan I used were about five inches thick. I used eight vertical boards across, and had to play around with the spacing between each one before I nailed them in. 

Coins are great for this — I think I used a quarter and a penny together to space them out this time:

I added the same trim and baseboards where needed on the other side of the island as well: 

The view from the front looks SO much better now!: 

Those pretty baseboards make all the difference! All in all, I spent under $100 for this new look, including the cabinet feet. 

Here’s a reminder of how the sides looked before: 

This was definitely an improvement, but with a little effort they look much more custom and beautiful: 

It’s so much more substantial now and is such a beautiful addition to our kitchen! The curved lines of the base add character, but soften the look as well. 

Both versions are great, just different design styles. My first DIY had a more modern look, and this more recent update is more traditional. 

I plan on painting our island a warmer, richer color sometime this year, but for now I used the leftover matching paint I already had. 

I’m so so thrilled with this change! I still stop and check it out when I walk by. 🙂 If you’re looking for a great way to update a builder basic kitchen island, these changes don’t cost a ton and add a ton of visual interest.