When we bought our first home, the kitchen had plenty of things I knew a little paint and elbow grease could fix. The lack of counter space wasn’t one of them.

I wanted to add a kitchen island, but I needed something that could do more than provide another work surface. It had to offer storage, give us a place to pull up a few stools and—most importantly—actually look like it belonged in our home.

I eventually found a basic white kitchen island that checked all the functional boxes. The style? Not quite. But with a few simple changes, I knew I could make it work.

A darker wood top, new feet and more traditional hardware completely transformed it—and gave our kitchen one of the most-used surfaces in the house. For products you can use to make your own DIY kitchen island, scroll to the bottom! 

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The Island I Started With

I originally purchased the island for about $300. The exact model is no longer one I’d necessarily recommend hunting down today, but the idea behind this makeover works with plenty of unfinished or basic kitchen islands. You could consider one of these! 

 

Step 1: Staining the Wood Top

First thing I did was stained the top. One major draw to this island was it is convertible. It comes with a “butcher block” style top, with hinges so the part where you can have some stools as a breakfast bar actually flips down, so you can push it against a wall and use it as a side board or just a regular cabinet/counter top if you needed to! Or, if your space isn’t big enough to have the full island all the time, you can always still have it in the middle of your space and then pop up the table piece when you have company over!

The first change—and probably the one that made the biggest difference—was staining the wood top. I already had a dark walnut stain on hand, and the deeper finish immediately warmed up the otherwise very modern white island.

A note about the surface: I wouldn’t use the island itself as a cutting board. Because I stained and sealed the wood, I would always use a separate cutting board when preparing food.

Once the stain dried, I finished it with polyurethane for added protection.

Step 2: Replacing the Wheels With Feet

The island originally came with large metal casters, which gave it a much more modern, utilitarian look than I wanted. I replaced them with simple furniture feet from Lowe’s—and, luckily, they screwed directly into the existing holes.

Such a small change made the island feel much more like a piece of furniture and less like a rolling kitchen cart.

Step 3: Changing the Hardware

Next came the drawer pulls. The existing holes didn’t work with the hardware I chose, so I filled them, lightly sanded the surface smooth and drilled new holes for the replacement pulls.

Step 4: Finding the Right Counter Stools

Once the island was finished, I wanted to add a few stools so the fold-out top could double as casual seating. The tricky part was the height. It wasn’t quite standard bar height, and I tried a few different stools before finding a pair that worked.

I eventually chose adjustable-height stools, which ended up being the perfect solution. I was initially a little hesitant about pairing the wood stools with the newly stained wood top, but I ended up loving the warmth they added to the space.

If you’re adding seating to a kitchen island—especially one that wasn’t designed around standard counter or bar-height stools—measure before you buy. Adjustable stools can give you a little more flexibility and save you from the trial-and-error I went through.

Cost Breakdown

Original island: approximately $300
Furniture feet + new pulls: approximately $30
Stain + polyurethane: already owned

One thing I’d do differently: replace the towel bar before assembling the island. I installed the original one and later realized I’d have to partially disassemble the island to remove it. Needless to say, the original towel bar is still there.

 

SHOP THE LOOK

• Adjustable counter stools I love now  
• Island Options for this look → this one from Wayfair  or this one from Amazon 
• Stain  
• Pretty drawer pulls I would use today!