Work bench-style kitchen peninsula

[Fred Falgiano]

Hi all!

As my family approaches a kitchen remodel (time frame is probably summer 2021 and I’ll be doing all the work to include custom cabinets), my wife and I are throwing around ideas.

I mentioned to her the other day that it would be cool for the peninsula that separates our kitchen from the dining room to be made in the style of a traditional woodworking bench. One main difference is that it would come all the way down the floor like a normal kitchen cabinet. Of course, there would be storage drawers and cabinets under the countertop as well.

The kitchen side of the cabinet would be counter height, while the dining room side would be bar height with an overhang for stool use.

I told her not to worry that I wouldn’t put a vise on it, but she asked me how i would make it look like a woodworking bench. I plan to make the top a few inches thick out of ash or birch and I’ll be adding dog holes that will be plugged with walnut.

So, I’m looking for ideas about how to add either true functionality or to make this bench/peninsula in the workbench style. The final size will be about 12 feet by about 3 feet. The end by the wall will have a liquor cabinet mounted to the wall with our espresso machine and grinder next to that.

I’d love to hear any creative thoughts/comments on this.

Thanks!
-Fred

[Jim Becker]

This is certainly a very doable idea...keep in mind that non-end-grain "butcher block" and "workbench" tops are pretty much identical, generally speaking. Your biggest challenge is going to be that 12' length for the surface. Creating that with lumber that is all 12' long is going to be a bear of a task, even if you have an appropriate, long, very flat surface to glue and clamp it up on. Again, very doable, but real "work work".

[Phil Mueller]

Neat idea. Kudos to your bride. You could also consider dovetail ends, and maybe even a narrow “tool tray” on the bar side as a place for glasses/napkins, condiments, etc.

[Thomas McCurnin]

Many suppliers in my area sell "butcher block" type slabs in varying lengths. I'm not sure how I would even get that size slab into the home. I'd cut it half and add and accent piece. Bear in mind that most "butcher block" slabs are not butcher block at all, but instead edge grain, not end grain. A slot or hole or mortise into which organic waste could drop would be cool.

I think I have it fabricated. Otherwise, I would need the king daddy of assembly tables, a ton of clamps, a wide jointer, a wide belt sander, a couple planes, including a bevel up plane, and a card scraper.

[Matt Day]

Make sure the bottom of the top can breathe, or the top will move and warp. If the cabinets will be white, making the legs of the bench cabinet natural wood will make them stand out.

I like the idea of the plugged dog holes as walnut. Could do a faux tail vise or something too.

[Andy D Jones]

I have lived with both types of kitchen peninsulas/islands, the split-level bar/cabinet height counter, and the single-level, cabinet-height counter/bar with lower bar stools.

I much prefer the latter. The short wall at the back of the cabinet counter-top always becomes a magnet for clutter (which the raised bar never really hides), and the bar side is never deep enough. The shorter bar stools are much easier for young and old alike.

The split level was popular back in the 70s and 80's but has become largely out of favor for quite some time in most areas.

If you are concerned about resale (always think exit when entering), I would definitely go with a single level, cabinet height peninsula with an overhang and cabinet-height bar stools.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Peter Kelly]

A few inch thick 12'x3' hardwood top for an island would be insanely heavy, I'd probably plan on building it in place. As above, it'd be an enormous amount of work just milling all of the stock and there will be lots of pressure from the family to wrap up the project by the time you're ready for countertops. Not super fun to be washing dishes in the bathtub.

A thicker than standard top would also cause you to make the cabinets underneath somewhat shorter than the standard 30.5" height in order to get the work surfaces in the same plane as the other cabinets assuming those tops would be made from something in the 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" range. Might look a bit awkward visually.

[jamil mehdi]

Just a thought about the construction. Standard countertop thickness is 1.25". When building solid surface countertops, the standard is to build up the edges to 1.25" and leave the majority of the surface at .5" - This makes large countertops light enough to be manageable for installation.

Since your workbench top isn't really a workbench, there's no reason to actually build it 3" thick. It just has to look like it's 3" thick. If someone asked me to build it, I would build up the perimeter to 3" where it's visible, but keep most of the surface to 1" thick to make it easier to build and install.

With that said, base cabinet height is typically 34.5", but your bases under the workbench will have to be 32.75" in order to accommodate the thicker top. If you're tying into standard cabinetry with a line of 6" top drawers, it's going to be hard to carry that line into the peninsula so it doesn't look like an afterthought. I would recommend getting rid of the top drawer line entirely and go with full height doors for the workbench bases, or two deep drawers for the full length of the peninsula.

I build and design kitchens and carrying the lines is a very important factor to make it look right. If you have access to 20/20 or similar design software, you can get a pretty realistic representation of what the finished product will look like. I'm happy to put you in touch with a kitchen designer friend who can email you finished drawings based on your dimensions. I think it's worth it.

[Brian Ross]

Jamil... not questioning your knowledge but I build kitchens and fabricate solid surface counter tops. The 30 in by 12 ft Hanex ( now Hyundai ) blanks I get are 1/2 inch thick. I build up the exposed edges with 2 layers of the blank giving me a visible edge of 1 1/2 inch edge. I realize granite and quartz are different thicknesses but most common in this are is 3 cm. for granite.

Brian

[jamil mehdi]

Brian, if you're disagreeing with the 1.25" thickness, you're right. 1.5" for solid surface. Stone slabs are 1.25". Either way, the point was; thin in the middle, thick at the overhang with solid surface. Makes it lighter and more manageable for installation. That's all I was trying to say

[Richard Coers]

A 12' peninsula is huge. How will you tie in the bench style to the traditional cabinet since you are calling it a peninsula?

[John P Clark]

kitchen island-1.jpg
This was in 2018- Atlanta at IWF - Kitchen hardware manufacture and this was the display for the hardware - maybe you can use this as a model/ inspiration?

[Halgeir Wold]

Well... a kitchen vise might come in handy......

[Dave Sabo]

kitchen island-1.jpg
This was in 2018- Atlanta at IWF - Kitchen hardware manufacture and this was the display for the hardware - maybe you can use this as a model/ inspiration?

I remember that.

Those Hafele folks are quite clever and resourceful.

[Jim Becker]

Brian, if you're disagreeing with the 1.25" thickness, you're right. 1.5" for solid surface. Stone slabs are 1.25". Either way, the point was; thin in the middle, thick at the overhang with solid surface. Makes it lighter and more manageable for installation. That's all I was trying to say

More importantly, it makes it more cost effective...solid surface is costly so filling under it with a composite material or plywood with a built up solid surface edge (which is impossible to tell from a single thick piece if done correctly) checks all the boxes.

Of course, the OP is doing wood, but the same principle can be employed for the "field" of the countertop. It doesn't have to be really thick. Only that one piece on the edge does and if there's an exposed end then some creativity will be required to create a waterfall end but with an end-grain exposure from the miter down.