Beautiful Customized Live-Edge and Eat-At Kitchen Island

We all want more functional space in our kitchen, right? Unfortunately, adding more is easier said than done most of the time. One of the most popular ways to add more functional space and increase the appeal of your kitchen is to add a kitchen island.

Kitchen islands, however, can be tricky to find the right one for your needs. Building a custom one that fits your kitchen exactly can be tricky and if you’re not too handy, this may seem like a very daunting task. Luckily, there is a way to build one yourself and ditch the headaches that come with DIY projects of this size.

Kee Klamp structural pipe fittings have been around for decades and have been used in numerous furniture projects including everything from dining room tables to loft bed frames. They are designed to be as easy as possible to work with and utilize a simple, but incredibly strong set screw connection. This means no special equipment, no welding, no handy experience, and no headaches needed. They have also been used extensively in the construction of custom kitchen islands.

Take Steve and Karen from Aken, South Carolina for example. They built a beautiful island for their kitchen that also serves as a table to eat at. It features a live-edge wooden tabletop as well as multiple shelves for easy and accessible storage. It also utilizes casters which make moving around the kitchen a breeze. Want to take a closer look? So do we! Let’s dive into Steve and Karen’s kitchen island project and take a closer look at how it was constructed.

Steve and Karen's Kitchen Island Project

Steve and Karen’s kitchen island is comprised of two live-edge shelves, a live-edge tabletop, caster wheels with brakes, galvanized tubing, and just two types of Kee Klamp structural pipe fittings. The two fittings are:

The 10-7 – Single Socket Tee is used to connect bracing at multiple points, while the 61-7 – Flange is used to attach the tabletop and shelving. In order to allow the attachment of the shelving, the flanges needed to be bored out to allow for the galvanized tubing to slip through completely. The aluminum version of this fitting, the L61-7 – Flange, is already bored out.

Steve and Karen love their new, custom kitchen island. They found the set-up to be straightforward and the result to be everything they had hoped for. Here is what Karen had to say about the finished project:

"Absolutely love the kitchen island. It is the perfect workspace/dining table for this small space. Since this is a carriage house, we wanted a rustic/industrial look, and this island makes a statement! I am amazed at how much storage space it provides as well. I pretty much have all the dishes, cookware, spices, and booze stored there!"

While very pleasing to look at, Steve and Karen’s project is far from the only kitchen island project built with Kee Klamp fittings over the years. An LSU student built a smaller kitchen island for their small condo that also features a live-edge tabletop. One of our customers, Margaret, also built an attractive kitchen island using a simple, yet elegant butcher block tabletop.

If that’s not enough inspiration, we’ve also compiled a list of 10 DIY Kitchen Island Ideas that should cover all grounds.

Ready to Build Your Own Kitchen Island?

Steve and Karen built an alluring kitchen island, but maybe it’s just not 100% what you’re looking for. With Kee Klamp structural pipe fittings, nearly every configuration is possible!

If you’ve got a design in your head, but you’re not quite sure where to start, please, feel free to reach out to our projects team for design assistance. Our team has worked with thousands of customers over the years to bring kitchen island and other ideas to life. They would love to play a small part in the creation of your ideas as well!