My island will have beadboard on the back and sides. It won't go in for about a week, so I can't show you pics of mine right now. I love the look of beadboard and will have it in two other places in my kitchen, as well (the backing on some shelves and in an opening in a run of pantry cabinets). I think it's a nice accent--attractive, but subtle. Ours will be stained the same color of the cabinets, but I've already thought about painting as one possible way to perk up the kitchen a few years down the road (is that sick--to think of ways to change a kitchen I don't even have yet?!).

I have only seen a few examples of tiles used this way. I only liked one of those examples. The others looked either too busy or too "heavy." In other words, I think it's way easier to screw up with tile than with beadboard.

Holligator - Your plan sounds great and I am relieved to know I am not the only person who thought "beadboard" for the back of the peninsula. I'd love to see your final photos when you have them! I was looking at the cabinets (which were just delivered today and only lined up where they should go, not installed) and I am curious as to how you "finished" off the look of the beadboard - i.e., did you trim it out like a picture frame if looking at it dead on from the back? Did you install it a little "inset" so it was totally flush with the edges of the back of the cabinets? Or ???

Good point about the tile - if I were to do that, I have the same "finishing" Qs - i.e, do I use backerboard, and if so, how do I get it to look okay from the side, since the backerboard would jut out a little, and if I used subway tiles like my backsplash, would it be okay to tile that jutted out backboard with pencils strips? Argh, sometimes I make myself crazy!!

There are several examples in the FKB, including aprilquilts, sarapamela, and karenforroses. I've seen the edging done a number of ways. Ours will be somewhat like this, but with straight trim instead of curved and, of course, stained instead of painted:

It only looks "right" if beadboard is a right style choice for your kitchen and the color is perfectly matched to the cabinetry. (Painting is much easier!) Staining aftermarket beadboard to a particular cabinet maker's color DIY is very tricky. It'll never look exactly the same unless it's the same species and the same stain and finishing techniques as the cabinet manufacturer. That's why they can charge the big bucks for the panels. If your peninsula backs up to a pony wall instead of being cabinets on the non kitchen side, then that can rightfully be a different material than the cabinetry and look just fine. Tile is difficult to do well unless it's a material that is used elsewhere in the kitchen, like 3/4" glass mosaic tile that is also used for the backsplash. With tile, you want even more continuity of design than you do with beadboard, because it's so easy to get it looking wrong and like an afterthought.

We're also going with beadboard on the sides and back of our island. Truthfully, it was the only option I had ever considered.

Our peninsula has back to back cabinets (so no need for facing the back side), but it has a raised breakfast bar at the end and we faced that wall with beadboard. We also used beadboard above our hood to the ceiling. I love it, but livewireoak is correct; it does need to suit the style of the house, I think. Ours is stained and we did purchase beadboard in the same species as the cabinets (birch) and it was expensive (both the material and the staining), but it matches perfectly. Where we have toes kicking the breakfast bar, the stained wood is much easier to maintain than painted wood. You said you would paint it and, without the footmark issue, that would be much easier and less expensive for a solution to your peninsula back facing. Oh, and the contractor finished our corners with some kind of birch molding or quarter-round or whatever it is called -stained to match. Because it is at the end of the peninsula and kind of a separate (pony?) wall perpendicular to it, the finished edges look fine... but I'm not sure that kind of edge treatment would work where yours back cabinets. Not sure any of this helps, but I think you could do beadboard, and be happy with it. -Kim

Not the greatest photo, but here is the back of our peninsula, done in beadboard.

I think it will great witht he beadboard. I wish I had some pictures to share, but go for it!

We are doing the back of our penninsula in beadboard...if the house ever gets to that point.

thanks for your responses and the photos. I will have to experiment a bit before committing to the beadboard (since I will be getting some anyway for our guest bathroom) and I'll look into quarter round or trimming it out like our windows or something for finish options. Thanks again.

We are doing beadboard on the back and sides of our island as well. They are finishing it as we speak. It is stained the same color as the island cabs, and in my opinion looks gorgeous! Our style is kind of beachy, so the beadboard look works for us.