Do you have a bar in your kitchen that consists of some cabinets on one side and a sheetrock wall on the other?
Production builders do this a lot. They build a half wall and then attach lower kitchen cabinets to one side. They don’t address this as a free-standing island.
Kitchen island with sheetrock wall on one side and cabinets on the other.
If you have a high bar, it really telegraphs the look of the sheetrock wall and how it doesn’t look like an island.
If you have a low bar with everything at one height, it is a bit more disguised, so I often see it not addressed when doing a partial kitchen remodel.
However, taking the island design a step further will really make a huge difference in the aesthetic appeal of the kitchen. It definitely will have a more upgraded look.
BEFORE - Sheetrock faced island with high bar
AFTER - Painted wood island with low bar.
Kitchen with new island. (Yes, we had to keep the column and incorporated it into the wall.)
Here’s another kitchen with a sheetrock wall on one side of the island and cabinets on the other.
BEFORE - kitchen islands with sheetrock wall on one side.
AFTER - New island all made out of painted wood looks like a piece of furniture and beautiful stand-alone feature in the kitchen.
This kitchen, below, had beadboard on the island face and sides, but that country look wasn’t really the look desired for this home. We removed the beadboard and added wood paneling and extended the side panels out to the end of the countertop front.
BEFORE - Beadboard clad island
AFTER - Once the island was clad with a paneled look and side walls that extended to the overall depth, it appeared more substantial and updated in this kitchen. Designer: Carla Aston
BEFORE - Beadboard clad island
AFTER - Paneled kitchen island
Here’s an island that had sheetrock on one side from one of my Designed in a Click consultations. I suggested that they panel the sides and face when they did a partial remodel. They were considering painting their kitchen in an update.
More Kitchen Island Info
Here’s more on kitchen island end panels and paneling the bar face and columns when attached to an island.
This blogpost was thoughtfully written by me, Carla Aston, and not by AI, ghostwriters, or guest posters.
Don’t forget to address the end panels of your kitchen island! Sometimes this kitchen design detail can be overlooked. Here are 5 ideas to help you figure out what would work best for your kitchen!