Of course having a custom kitchen island built can be expensive due to the highly skilled craftsman ship that goes into building them. If you are on a tight budget but your really want a kitchen island to help you better utilise the space in your kitchen you could even try and build one yourself. Below are some ideas to help you do this.

To start with you will need to find out how big you want your island. If space is not an issue then you can of course you can choose what ever size you want. However, assuming that space is a factor you will need to use a tape measure to measure the size of the space that you would like to fill. You will of course need to ensure that you have enough room to easily navigate around the island. I will not go into any further detail about measurements however, I have included some information below to help you decided the size if your island.

Of course there is no set rules to kitchen-island design but I think it is always good to allow a distance of approximately 3 feet between the edge of the island and any adjacent wall, cupboard or appliance.

Assuming that you are planning to build a small 2 feet by 3 feet kitchen-island you would require an open floor space of 8 feet by 9 feet in order to allow for 3 feet space surrounding the island as mentioned above. Having a kitchen-island this size however will not provide much use other than an extra surface. You would be better off looking to build an island of approximately 3 feet deep and 7 feet long providing, of course, you have the space. In terms of the maximum size you should build your kitchen-island, I would say no more than 6 feet deep and 10 feet long as an approximation. It is important to bear in mind how the surface of the island will be cleaned. If the island is too big you may have a hard time reaching areas of the island surface with a cloth. One of the advantages of having a larger island is that they do not need to fastened to the floor. The weight of the island including the contents will prevent the island from sliding on the kitchen surface unlike that of a smaller island should someone lean or push against the island.

Of course it takes time and skill to build a good quality kitchen-island however, you may not process that time and/or skill. In which case we would recommend that you start by picking up two sets of DIY shelving units which you can purchase from your local home improvement store such as B&Q, Wallmart etc. These shelving units will be placed back-to-back and with a counter-top place on top. You can of course choose the sizes of these shelving unit in accordance to your requirements. You should also be able to pick up a counter-top at your home improvement store as well. You will need inform the staff of your measurements and they should cut it to fit. Make sure you tell them that it is for a kitchen-island otherwise they may assume you will need a back-splash. You will also need a collection of tools including a screwdriver, screws (no longer than the depth of the counter-top) and a tube of carpenter's adhesive.

Once you have purchased your shelving units you will need to assemble them as per the instructions. Next you should position them back to back with the shelves facing out and place them in the desired area of your kitchen. It is a good idea to use some of the screws to attach the back of the shelving units together for stability.
Next you will need to take the tube of carpenter's adhesive and spread it all across the top the of the shelving units ready for the counter-top to placed on top. Depending on the size of the counter-top you may need someone to help you do this. Once the top is in place you need to insert some screws into the bottom of the counter-top through the top of the shelving units to hold the counter-top firmly in place.

IMPORTANT: Make sure the screws do not poke through the top of the counter-top. If it looks like your screws are too long it is a good idea to screw them in at an angle.
The shelving kits generally come in wood grain of white, however you can or course paint them to suit you requirements.

This is of course one way to build a custom kitchen-island. However, bear in mind a kitchen island is often the centrepiece of your kitchen and it is therefore important to have something that is pleasing to the eye, carefully crafted, durable and sturdy. If that sounds more like what you are looking for then it is much better to leave the job to an experienced craftsman.

More information...
http://www.associatedcontent.com
http://www.askthebuilder.com