I do a lot of condos, almost exclusively, and what I’m finding more and more (more so with the newly built ones) is that the kitchen, living and dining areas are simply housed in one large square room with the cabinetry along one wall. There is nothing to separate or define the different areas of the room.

This was the case on a recent project at the SOHO Metropolitan, a condo/hotel just north of the Rogers Centre.

To help define the space and provide separation between the kitchen and living areas, I built an island large enough to seat 4 comfortably. It was actually pretty simple.

I started with a stock kitchen cabinet mounted on a platform and added a top made from MDF and solid oak.

A coat of dark stain, a few coats of varathane and some brushed nickel pulls finished it off.

To complete the visual separation between the kitchen and living area, I replaced the track lighting with a pendant light fixture that hangs over the island.

A simple project with great results.