How to finish benchtop and wall edge in kitchen?

We are currently working through a reno of a house we bought - everything has been mostly fine for the rest of the house and completed for now but sadly things went awry with the kitchen.

Rather than a new kitchen we just decided to repurpose/ modernise what was there. The main piece of work was to remove the existing kitchen wall to open up the space into the living area. This part was done and then job was to replace benchtops, repaint cabinets, add new splashback and add VJ panel to the main benchtop - fairly basic stuff.

After a terrible job by first tradesperson and then a second job by another to rectify their mess we are now left with a mostly fine but still unfinished kitchen (6 weeks later).

There is an benchtop with a clumsy finish to the VJ panel at the base, a benchtop without edging and a weird wall/edge that needs help/gyprocking.

Looking for advice or tips on best ways to to complete these out so we can finally finish it out. Pictures attached along with what hoping it to look like. We would also be painting the VJ panel and cabinet doors again

Easy craft panels under island bench_ In white.jpg

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EricL

Hello @flubbawubba

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your kitchen.

I'm sorry to hear you've had issues with your kitchen upgrades. Allow me to address each issue and see if I can offer alternatives.

Let's start with the wall. Is that a timber edge moulding I'm looking at or is it a gap between the wall that is in the shadows? If it is timber moulding, the easy option is to paint it the same colour as the wall. The challenging option is to remove the moulding and patching it with custom cut plaster board and re-plastering the corner.
Next is the end of your benchtop island, I suggest putting Porta 30 x 30mm 2.7m External Corner Rounded Edging Primed FJ Pine in order to give the edge a proper finish. Please note that this is a primed timber mould and still needs to be painted with a topcoat. It's best to glue and nail the moulding into place to prevent it from falling.
The side of the base end panel of your island just needs to be painted to match the finish of your doors. If the trades person left the can of paint, there might be enough left to cover the unfinished end.
If you know who manufactured your benchtop, I suggest asking them for a benchtop edge strip in the colour of your benchtop. You then simply glue it on the edge and cut the excess off with a craft knife.
If you don't know who benchtop manufacturers are, the closest benchtop match I could find is the Kaboodle 38 x 600mm Biancoccino. Proceed to your local store and speak to the in-store kitchen specialist and order an edge strip for your benchtop. Please note that this is a close approximation, and it will not be an exact match.
The last thing that I noticed was the kickboard and skirting board around the island. I suggest painting the kickboard again along with the timber moulding attached to it. Do the same thing for the front skirting board in front of the island in order to unify the look of your kitchen.

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric

flubbawubba

Thanks Eric - nice tips - will post some images this weekend to help further

flubbawubba

Hi Eric

We are using the offcuts and re-attaching to the existing VJ panel to increase the depth and then have decided to add Premepanel over the top to give a finished look

https://www.bunnings.com.au/prempanel-2700-x-600-x-21mm-oak-timber-acoustic-panel_p0455959

JacobZ

Hi @flubbawubba,

Like @EricL, I'm so sorry that this is the standard of work that two separate "tradespeople" have left you to clean up.

Luckily, everything is fixable and some filler, timber trims, a few coats of paint and a little bit of know-how go a long way towards concealing things.

How did you go getting an edging strip for the benchtop? Did you have any luck with this part of the repair?

Did you come up with a solution for the dark void near the doorway?

Using the Prempanel over the top of the VJ is a great idea to hide a few of the obvious issues there.

Eric's above tips will go a long way to finishing things up, but if you have any further questions or ideas, you'd like to run by someone, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob

flubbawubba

Hi all

we finally finished - added 2.7m walnut prempanel after cutting down sheets to size and screwing on - in the end took about 3-4hrs - so much better now. Thanks all

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flubbawubba

and last is to add the edge

EricL

Hi @flubbawubba

That island looks absolutely gorgeous! What a fantastic transformation, the Prempanel blends in so well with your flooring, I'm looking forward to seeing your benchtop finished as well.

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing the edge strip installed.

Eric

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