How to convert a countertop to a breakfast bar

I've always wanted a breakfast bar in our kitchen, so naturally, when planning the layout of our kitchen, I was determined to make it work.

We got our cupboards used off of kijiji and designed it so that we had a peninsula that we could make into a breakfast bar. We had to modify the back of the bottom cupboards that were now exposed, by adding a bookshelf to the empty corner and by adding a thin board to make it look like board and batten backing.

I bought these Capita brackets from IKEA to make the breakfast bar. We really didn't want to have to drill through the granite though, so we returned them and I kept trying to figure out how to make something work.

Because of the colour of our granite, it would be pretty hard to match, and I didn't want it to look like the new bar was supposed to match, but didn't, so I thought something that was a different material would look best. The Numerar countertop from IKEA was relatively inexpensive and could easily be cut to size and I thought it would look great.

Because there is a door right by where this would be, we could only have the counter extended by 9 inches, which is too narrow to comfortably use for eating, so it would need to overlap with the granite at least 3 inches. Here's what we came up with after several trial designs and with a little help from some friends.

John planed and sanded a 2x4 down so that it was perfectly square and flat and pre-drilled the holes for screwing it to the butcher block. I painted it the same white as our cupboards then John screwed it to the butcher block (after cutting it to the right size). John then made 2 support braces and pre-drilled holes for them. I painted them and then we screwed the supports to the butcher block.

We carefully spread granite glue along the top edge of the counter where the 2x4 would sit, then screwed the supports in place. We clamped it all together and let it sit for a day and a half. We were a little nervous about how it would hold up, but it is very secure and stable.

After reading lots of reviews and blogs about how people finished off their Numerar countertops, we decided to just use mineral oil. You just rub a generous amount on with a rag and reapply until it stops being absorbed into the wood. I used lots the first week and now have just applied it every few days. When there is a mark that won't wash off, I just sand it and add oil. We'll see how it holds up in the long run.

I love it and am SO happy with how it turned out!      (excuse the Spiderman photo-bomber!......)