DIY Countertop Supports: a Little Spindle of Genius
In my true, thinking outside of the box mentality and backing up a bit to a big kitchen reno problem I ran into, I’m sharing another what would Tina do…. countertop supports, but not just any supports. Â Discovering upon installation of my beloved parana white countertop that I needed some serious supports in place sent me into a bit of a frenzy. Â Somehow I had completely overlooked this! Â So we had the installer put in place a couple of little 1×2 supports while I dove into ideas to solve this dilemma, I mean you don’t want your gorgeous stone countertop breaking and collapsing right?! Â And anything we installed HAD to be perfect, because every other element had been so meticulously selected I couldn’t be a big ole slacker now.
I spent the next few weeks looking up antique corbels, new corbels, legs of all shapes and styles and couldn’t find anything that seemed to be the right fit for our kitchen.
UNTIL, after what seemed to be an inexhaustible search for the perfect supports I stumbled upon cast iron stair spindles at a local flea market. Â Boom I had a struck by lightening, light bulb moment. Â We were a couple of inches short but no matter, I knew we could make it work.
I paid $60 for 5 spindles, 2 for the bar and 3 for the island. Â They are HEAVY, cast iron is no joke so I had no concerns with the support factor and I loved that they were reclaimed AND they had this really pretty simple detailing.
Because they were a bit short I came up with the idea of purchasing some black walnut blocks of wood and drilling divets into them to hold the spindles. Â We went to a local wood shop and purchased 2, 2x2x12 pieces of black walnut, cut them into the appropriate size squares and stained them the same color as the cabinets.
Once we did that we were able to fit the spindles and ends underneath the countertops to perfection. Â We glued the spindles into place in the wooden blocks where the divets were drilled to fit. Â Then we used silicone to set them into place under the counter and floor.
Now we have unique countertop supports that cost a small fraction of what the traditional supports would have cost while giving us SO much more style and personality.
The what would Tina do series is all about showing you how I think outside the box in the hopes that it will inspire you to join me outside of those lines too. Â Sometimes the best solutions or answers are not in the traditional but the un-traditional. Â So go kick some booty today and rock that untraditional!!
Jessie
June 15, 2017I love that your beautiful countertop has a repurposed bit in there. So much more personality. It looks great! I’ll keep this in mind when our little family buys our first house and we start to turn out into our own space next year.
ttbousu
June 15, 2017Thank you so much Jessie! Making a house a home is such a fun and adventure filled experience, I’m so excited for you!
Kim@Team-Cartwright
June 15, 2017Wow, that looks great. Go you for doing it on your own! I like the nontraditional look and love the savings. 🙂
ttbousu
June 15, 2017Thanks Kim!
Jackie
June 15, 2017I def. would not have come up with this type of idea! The look of the spindle matches your chairs perfectly! This is definitely a perfect example of thinking outside of the box! I’d love to see what the rest of your home looks like!
ttbousu
June 15, 2017Thank you Jackie! If you are interested in seeing more you can check out the house tour section of the blog or hit me up on instagram, I’m always sharing over there!
Jenn
June 15, 2017Wow! That’s such a beautiful piece! Very unique and with a lot of personality. Great job!
ttbousu
June 16, 2017Thanks Jenn!
Viktoria
June 16, 2017That’s really beautiful! Good job to ya for doing them yourself! 😀
ttbousu
June 16, 2017Thank you so much!