[Brehon]

Hi,

I'm a little stuck on direction for my kitchen island, thanks very much for any thoughts you can offer to help break my creative logjam!

I am repurposing my adel birch cabinets into an open floor plan, L-shape kitchen with a very large island. As the island will be a centerpiece of our 'great room' I like the idea of doing something visually interesting / different with it...

I'll be reusing the current adel birch cabinets on the kitchen permimeter with dark granite countertops and a glass backsplash. The appliances will be stainless and the floor multi-colored slate.

The island is sketched at 36"x106", at one level, with seating down the length on one side.

As far as micing a look with my adel birch cabinets, any thoughts how either Rubrik black or Hallarum brown bases paired with a lighter countertop (either granite or butcher block) might look for the island? Perhaps Rubrik stainless? It seems Nexus BB may not be available, but I had considered that as another option... Abstrakt is probably too modern for our more rustic contemporary home.

Again, many thanks for your mix-and-match advice! It'll be a few months but I look forward to sharing photos.

[DesignDiva]

Hi Brehon and welcome!

I love love love Abstrakt Red with Adel Birch! But it might be a bit too modern. Or it might be a fantastic juxtaposition that creates design tension and therefore DRAMA. Depends how you look at it, I guess!

I think stainless would be too clinical on that large of an island. Have you considered going ULTRA rustic? Like a giant slab of wood as a table top with a couple of shelves running all the way down below?

What is the configuration of your island and how will you be using it? 106" will seat four people comfortably, it will be tight for five.

[climber_grrl]

Re: Hallarum

I thought that style was no longer offered...

[kirsty]

Maybe paint adel birch doors in some other color? Like green...

(Sorry, don't mind me, I'm on a green kick lately. Everything, green! )

I also love rubrik turqoise, and linjar. Might be to modern if you're going for country-ish.

A side note: I didn't care for the rubrik stainless in person, they scratched like crazy. (I really did a number on one of the doors at Ikea Seattle...heh...)

[Brehon]

Thanks all for the welcome and helpful feedback. Glad to be forwarned on the stainless... fingerprints alone made me nervous enough, scratches would be a quite a bother.

I'm going to look into the 'ultra-rustic' suggestion <it would actually tie-in with our reclaimed timber dining table> but I'm a little worried about potential water damage... any reliable sealers out there? Any shleving units from IKEA which might fit with this or were you thinking custom?

"Or it might be a fantastic juxtaposition that creates design tension and therefore DRAMA"

I love it, inspiring words! I liked the red very much as well but couldn't sell the sigificant other on it, even with the tie-in to the Wolf range's knobs. I blame color fear here, I'll give it another shot. With the red base, would you go with the same color countertops as used on the perimeter or a contrast granite? Perhaps a butcher block? I'd hate to cause too much "design tension"...

Many, many thanks.

[DulcineaK]

Brehon, if you want rustic but not a table you could go with Fagarland... which can also be painted

[gwen]

Welcome!

I'm a big Waterlox fan which is a tung oil product which we used on IKEA Oak Numerar island countertop.

It's been mentioned quite a few times on the forums here - just search for "Waterlox". You can also find more information at the Waterlox company website waterlox, tung oil, tung oil finish, waterlox tung oil, floor finishing, floor refinishing, tongue oil varnish, polyurethane, floor finish, wood floor finishing, wood floor refinishing, wood floor varnish, wood sealer, wood floor, hardwood floor, VOC
Another favorite site that displays countertops with a Waterlox finish is Devos Woodworking Custom Wood Countertops, Butcher Block Countertops, Kitchen Island Counter Tops

(Sorry - my links are looking funny! Anyone know how to maintain *just* the website address? I tried unlinking and it didn't work.)

[DesignDiva]

I'd do a contrasting top...butcher block would be great on Red Abstrakt!

If you can go for a rustic table look, maybe you could do a faux finish on the legs and incorporate some of the red there, or use baskets under it that were painted red. I just love red with birch

Waterlox would be perfect for a wood tabletop island, I think. For shelving below, I'd do wood with either big reed baskets or crates to hide the stuff that is in them.

[Shadowkat]

My vote would be for the Nexus BB with a butcherbock countertop. Nice contract to your other cabinets.

[Brehon]

Originally Posted by Shadowkat

My vote would be for the Nexus BB with a butcherbock countertop. Nice contract to your other cabinets.

That was my first thought as well, but seeing some posts on here are making me nervous regarding future availability of the BB...

Thanks to everyone for the tips on Waterlox and different surfaces, etc. What a great forum! I'll run the ideas by my better half and the designer and be sure to take photos.