[bcmann]

I used the search function and couldn't find the answers I was looking for.

I have a peninsula that's about 90 inches long with a low wall made of 2 by 4 lumber to run the plumbing and electrical behind the cabinets. The plan is to cut up a 3' by 8' Perfect cover panel into 6 pieces approximately 18" by 30" (and do something similar for the end) just to break up the mass of white foil for visual interest. I'm left with two dilemmas before finalizing the design:

1.) I want the joints to be visible and am not sure if this will happen unless I space them apart a bit to create reveals. An installer I couldn't afford suggested doing this by mounting the panels to plywood or MDO beneath that's painted at the exposed reveal joints. The question then becomes how thin can the reveals be without becoming hard to clean collectors of dust, dirt and debris?

2.) My original drawings show the bottom panels going straight to the floor. Conceptually it looks great but I'm concerned about how the white foil will stand up to the abuse of shoes and the vacuum cleaner. I'm now thinking about putting a vynil base or toekick down there. The problem with the toekick is that they are a slightly different finish and there would have to be a seam since they are 86 inches as opposed to 90.

has anybody dealt with anything like this before who could offer advice? Thanks.

[DesignDiva]

Can't offer any advice, but it occurred to me that if you need 18x30 panels you could use doors instead. That would give you a more dimensional look.

[laurie]

I can't remember who here in the forums used the doors in place of cover panels, but it's a beautiful finished look.

Is the peninsula 90" or 86"? If it's 90", you could use five 18" doors or six 15" doors. IMO an odd number of doors would look better than even, so I think five 18" would look better. And of course, it wouldn't look as "busy" with less doors.

If it's 86", you could do two 15" doors on the outside and three 18" in the center with an inch on each end leftover (you could use cover panels at that point). You'd still need to make a toekick, which I think would look better anyway and will look more finished with the doors used in place of cover panels.

[DulcineaK]

i like laurie's idea for using doors.... the one small tweak i would say is if it's 86in i would go every other one instead of the 15s on the outside

[laurie]

ahh......yes. That would look good, too, Dulci. The two 15" with the one 18" in the center may look even better. The two 15" wouldn't stand out quite as much.

[bcmann]

The door idea is great but expensive. The big cover panels cost $145 as opposed to $342 for six 15X30 doors.

I'm still going to try to post something to illustrate the design, but it sounds like you're picturing a series of 6 vertically mounted panels. What I'm doing consists of 3 columns horizontally mounted panels stacked 2 high.

Thank you all again for your help. I have a feeling it will lead me to a solution I wouldn't have thought of otherwise.

[laurie]

I think I understand. Instead of using one long sheet to cover the back of the peninsula, you want to cut it into six pieces to resemble doors and then use trim of some sort to cover the seams.

If you decide to use the doors instead, are you close enough to IKEA that you can check out "As Is" for markdowns?

[DulcineaK]

what about mounting trim on the cover panel to make a raised edge look? in my experience the panels don't cut so well.... might be difficult (and ultimately costly) to try to do what you're thinking.....

[kmcg]

I have the same concern about the edges after cutting. Depending on how modern you want to go, I bet you could find some kind of aluminum channel-type stuff to wrap around the exposed edges. That would give you a defined but somewhat subtle line.

I think a slightly recessed toe-kick is a good idea, based on my experience with my white island. It actually is nice to have a place to put your feet while standing at the counter (unless you have an overhanging counter, in which case it's less of a concern.) And yes, they do tend to get marked up. If it's recessed, you don't need to worry about the difference in materials.
Kathy

[bcmann]

Now I'm concerned. In addition to the peninsula I have a number of conditions that require trimming the standard size cover panels. Is the stuff really that hard to cut? Are there any other options?