Part 1 of a Kitchen Unit for my Mum

For years my mum has wanted a unit to clean up the corner of her kitchen, with cubbies for baskets and shoes. I've been refining the plans for over a year, I just couldn't get them to a point I was happy with. After reducing the number of baskets it would hold, the plans are finalized.

It’s a corner unit with 3 towers for cubbies, angled corner section and a bench next to the door. 

Recently laminated pine sheets were on special, so we bought enough for the unit. This weekend I cut them down and drilled the pocket holes.

For the cubbies, I decided to do adjustable shelves and bought little shelf supports that fit into ¼” holes. This meant drilling lots and lots of holes. I used pegboard clamped to the pine to align the holes, then drilled each with a bit marked for depth with tape. 

Once everything was cut and the holes were drilled, I began the assembly of the boxes. This is the 2 cubbies on the right side of the unit, they will each have 2 shelves and the bench will be on the right of these.

This is the corner section and the left hand cubby. The unit will stay in 2 pieces like this until I get it to my parents house, otherwise it will not fit in the car or through doorways.  Next to do is cut the top to fit, create a base for it to sit on and get some nice wood to trim out the front.

And now we know: after I rolled sandpaper into tubes and painstakingly sanded each hole for the shelf supports, I realized that this would have been a great use for my Dremel. So next time I have a hundred holes to sand I have a plan.

Our New Barstools

We got our new barstools for the kitchen peninsula.

They are super comfortable and just the right size. I’m really happy with them. 

And now we know: It’s great having somewhere to sit in the kitchen; I want that in all future kitchens

Putting on the Sofa Back

Another of those things I never got around to was putting the back back on the front room sofa. I took it off back in July when I modified the top rail. Since it sits against a wall, no one notices so it was never that important.

I re-used the fabric and added some cardboard along the top and both side to reinforce it a little. Easy enough to do.

And now we know: another thing off the list! I think I might be nearing the start of a new project…

Shelves for the Upstairs Closet

The upstairs closet was getting out of control, it’s hard to tell in the photo, but that pile is all sorts of random stuff and finding anything was difficult. 

Using the existing side supports and some laminate covered plywood, I added 2 shelves to the top of the closet. It’s still not pretty as it needs some paint and the trim patched but it gets the job done. I also wonder why they never painted the inside of the door? And why the side supports were installed all crooked…

Here is how it looks with all the stuff back in (except for the donation pile). It might look the same, but all the fabric and small items are now off the floor and only luggage and large pieces of foam are left at the bottom.

And now we know:  this was really a 2 person job, at 1 point I was trying to balance a shelf on my head while I adjusted the support, so I had to call in reinforcement

More Finishing Touches for the Kitchen

Back to work in the kitchen, I finally added those clear sticky things to the doors and drawers to soften the blow when they are closed.

Another task that’s been on the to-do list for a long time is painting the kitchen blind cleats. The came in this shiny gold finish and its always bothered me.

After a coat of metallic paint they look much better and match the door handles.

On the wall the shelves were still unfinished; the wall patches were sanded but not primed and painted.

This touch up is now done and the shelves are ready for use. I’m glad to get my spices out of the cupboard and easy to access again.

And now we know: I didn’t realize what a difference those sticky things make, the cupboards are a lot quieter now.

Trim Work and Hanging Shelves

Before I start a new project, I’m committed to finishing up many of the small items that need completing. This includes one of my least favourite things to do: painting trim. Quite awhile ago I patched the door frames in the upstairs hall, but never painted them. This weekend I got out the small roller and gave them 2 coats of paint.

While I had the trim paint out, I put 2 coats on the upstairs railing. From far away it looked okay, but up close you can see all the chips and worn areas.

After the 2 coats it looks much cleaner. It was a pain to paint but did not take as long as I thought it would.

Next to do were hang the shelves in the kitchen. They are spaced about 4” apart, just enough for the spice bottles. There is a wider gap at the bottom to allow for the salt and pepper grinders.

And now we know:  this design of shelves, where you screw through the back piece to hang then, is much stronger than the previous type where I used hanging hardware. You can’t even see the screws once stuff is on the shelves.

Floating Shelves

The floating shelves that were in the kitchen prior to the renovation no longer work with the new layout, especially the ones on the left that aren’t over a cabinet.

During the construction I removed 2 and patched the holes, but left the others for function until I could build replacements.

Now that Christmas is over, I had some time to build the new shelves. Over the past few months, I’d been sketching and my favourite concept had 4 shelves with a reveal detail along the front

Using pine boards, I build basic shelves then routered a ¼” detail that runs along the front and side. 

To emphasis this detail, I painted it black like the kitchen cabinets and left the rest the natural pine. The finish is the same as the kitchen floor; I had some left over and it is super durable with a nice sheen. 

And now we know:  I really like the Verathane finish for floors, I wonder what the difference is between this and the Minwax polycrilic, they are both water based.