Shiplap Kitchen Island or Peninsula for $25!

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How to shiplap Kitchen island or peninsula for less!

Hey there and welcome! I’m so excited to share the latest project in our budget-friendly kitchen reno! Let’s jump into how to give your kitchen peninsula or island a shiplap look for under $25! 

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. See my disclosure policy here. 

Here’s what our peninsula looked like before:

Shiplap: Just Decorative Wood Panels for Walls?

Shiplap has been all the rage since Chip and Joanna Gaines made it popular on their show Fixer Upper.

While there’s part of me that wonders if these wood panels for walls will go the way of the 1970s wood paneling in a few years, I really love the look of it! And shiplap in the kitchen looks so good!

RELATED: Farmhouse Design Style: What is It and How to Get It

The real stuff can be pretty pricey. We used it in our coffee nook makeover to cover up outdated wallpaper. But we only needed a small amount so it wasn’t a budget-buster.

We also used it in our main bathroom renovations where we installed it vertically. We chose to go with the real deal since it was being installed in a bathroom and we weren’t sure how MDF would hold up. You can check it out in my post on how to paint shiplap.

Supplies needed for this project:

Pine plywood
Nail gun and nails
Miter saw
Caulk gun and paintable caulk
Paint or stain of your choice
Brush

How to Make a Kitchen Island with Shiplap

This time we decided to try a cheaper option. Our peninsula was covered in outdated paneling and we wanted to give it an updated look.

Rather than ripping the paneling off, we decided to give it a modern update with faux shiplap.

RELATED: DIY Shiplap Accent Wall

We went to Home Depot and purchased a piece of pine plywood for $23. The smallest they had was 4×8 so we have some leftovers we can use for another project.

TIP: We don’t have a table saw (someday!) so we asked them to cut the pieces for us according to our measurements.

Having them cut it for us was so handy. Since they cut it to size for us, Eric just had the cuts around the door making this a quick project.

Making Cuts and Attaching Shiplap Boards

We filled in the ridges in the paneling that would show in the gaps with joint compound. Using his miter saw, Eric made the additional cuts needed to go around the door and then began attaching the boards with a nail gun.

TIP: If you don’t have a nail gun, I highly suggest investing in one. We’ve used ours for SO many projects and it makes everything go so much faster!

Using a scrap piece of plywood as a guide, he left about 1/4″ space between each board.

Caulk

Once the boards were attached we filled in the gaps around the door and the nail holes with caulk to give it a finished look.

Painting Shiplap

Once the caulk was dry, it was ready for paint. We had already purchased the paint for the cabinets (our next project!) so we were ready to go!

Pro tip: Use peel-and-stick Samplize paint samples for an easy mess-free way to test different paint colors!

We gave it a coat of primer and followed it up with two coats of gray using Valspar’s Furniture Paint which I highly recommend! Check out my Valspar Furniture Paint review here. 

Updated Hardware

We replaced the floral knob on the door with an updated black one, completing the look.

Here’s how it turned out:

I love the change! For under $25 we were able to add shiplap to our peninsula to give it that modern farmhouse feel we’re going for.

My hubby was a little skeptical about this project when I told him what I was wanting to do, but he always trusts me and he loved the outcome. Plus he said it was easy so that’s always a win!

Go check out the YouTube video for a more in-depth look at how to add the shiplap-look to your space! This project really looked amazing after we finished our DIY marble countertops!

Get a shiplap kitchen island look for less!

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