DIY Rustic Kitchen Island

Select an old wooden desk to use as the body for your rustic kitchen island. If you do not have a spare desk at home, check your local thrift store or neighborhood garage sales. If you want to use your island for storage, choose a desk with several drawers.

Remove the drawers from the desk and set them aside. Survey the condition of the desk to be sure it is stable. Tighten any loose screws with a screwdriver to ensure the desk is in sound condition.

Sand the surface of the desk by hand using coarse sandpaper or by using an electric sander. Once you have removed the finish, switch to medium-grain sandpaper, and later switch to fine-grain sandpaper. Keep sanding until all surfaces of the desk are smooth and all the finish has been removed.

Apply a thick coat of chemical paint stripper to the desk if it is painted rather than stained. Follow the directions on the packaging to determine how long to let the stripper sit on the wood. Scrape away the paint with a putty knife. Apply a second coat of stripper, if necessary, and continue scraping until all paint has been removed.

Distress the entire surface of the desk, including the drawer fronts and excluding the desktop, using a hammer. Strike the desk with the hammer, creating nicks and dents in the surface of the wood that will give the desk a more rustic appearance once it has been painted.

Apply a coat of interior-grade latex primer to the entire surface of the desk and drawer fronts. Allow the primer to dry completely before moving on.

Brush on a coat of interior-grade latex paint over the primer. Choose a light-colored paint such as white, beige or yellow. You will be painting over this layer and sanding the top coat down so the color underneath shows through in places.

Apply a final coat of paint to all surfaces of the desk. This top coat of paint can be a bold color, such as red or blue, or you may choose something that matches your current kitchen decor scheme. Allow the top coat of paint to dry completely before moving on.

Gently sand the surface of the desk and the drawer fronts using medium-grain sandpaper. Concentrate your sanding along the edges and corners of the desk, sanding away the top coat just enough that the layer of paint underneath shows through.

Cut a sheet of butcher block to the desired dimensions for your table top. You may be able to have a piece of butcher block cut to size for you at your local home improvement store.

Lay the butcher block flat on top of the wooden desk. Measure the distance between the edges of the butcher block and the edges of the desk on all sides with a measuring tape to be sure it is centered.

Attach the butcher block to the desktop by driving wood screws through the butcher block into the desktop at each corner. The length of the screws is determined by the thickness of the butcher block you have chosen. Use wood screws 1/2 inch to 1 inch longer than the thickness of the butcher block.