A client asked me to make them a peninsula for their kitchen, with a wooden top made from some of the reclaimed barn beams I had in stock at my shop. The countertop is 3” thick, and approximately 48” wide by 60” long.

The barn wood is around 100-200 years old and has a lot of character. In order to maintain that character, I recommend to my clients that we only clear coat the wood, instead of staining it. Here I was using a quick application of mineral spirits to check the color of the final piece once a clear coat was applied.

This countertop was extremely heavy, and since I work alone I had to come up with a way to safely move it into the house. Using some pneumatic wagon wheels I had leftover from another project, I put together some quick dollies to make my life a little easier.

The peninsula installed. The base cabinet is painted a satin black and has bookshelves on one end for cookbooks, etc.

The main cabinet area has double doors on each side that open for easy access to the interior storage area.

The finished top overhangs each side to allow for seating along each of the long sides.