week 3: this of course is no standard IKEA cabinet build….
Cabinets will be IKEA Sektion although I plan on doing quite a bit of “HACKING.” The cabinet frames and drawers can’t be beat in quality and for the price. EVERYTHING has a 25 year warranty and the most amazing hardware my custom cabinet maker uses (SHHHHHH they’re european, AKA BLUME). I’m going to attempt to make all the drawers. I want wooden drawers and not metal ones, with full sides, not the open sides that the IKEA ones have. I’m also planning on wrapping the cabinets in 1/2” baltic birch plywood around the frames to give it a more custom look. I’ll most likely regret this choice but it’s going to look beautiful.
Here’s my design using the IKEA Planner
This is my “IKEA HACK” design.
I got to work quickly on the cabinets and the base, but noticed I had some unused space above which I didn’t want going to waste. Thus began my quest to build additional boxes for the render above and raise the tall cabinets on the left. Originally I placed them at the top, and soon realized that storage would become a “dead zone.” So I decided to put them underneath and made another drawer, Yay! My next week self will now thank you in advance for the creation of additional work.
I also realized that in the “cubbies” area, the head space above the high cabinet was not enough for my 12 year old to sit under. So…..I bought another 2- 24x14 3/4x15 cabinets to raise them up. I wanted this to move faster…..
And finally I’d need another one of those hacked cabinets below the 18” cabinet or the space was gonna look weird.
As week 3 comes to an end, I’m still “dry fitting” and getting everything in place before I secure it. I haven’t decided if I’ll use the rails to hand the cabinets or just secure them to the walls and wood base. I’ll let you know next week.
Looking forward I’d planned Week 4 for the drawers which will give me a bit more time to work on the cabinets. I still need to “officially” install them, add the baltic birch trim and BUILD THE DRAWERS. It’s gonna be a busy week but hopefully there won’t be too many more crazy ideas I need to execute.
Just as a friendly reminder, we’re ALL exactly where we’re supposed to be. We’re learning & moving forward with the best intentions and information we currently have. Let’s give each other a bit of appreciation. Some weeks are harder than others!
Check out what other One Room Challengers are doing here. Tons of amazing work going on!
