I have been consistently reminded that some of our glasses and dishes are still in the same boxes as the move. Some might say that could be seen as an indication that we have too many glasses and dishes. Others would argue, that we need more storage space.
So this update is about how we found a home for our neglected dinnerware.
We used the empty space to the left of the chimney breast. This was where the original larder cabinet was located .. to see what it looked like click here. By original, I mean c. 1940 as the paper found inside the shelf would attest.
Debate went on for weeks about how best to use this space. I was originally thinking of a floor to ceiling cabinet. Except that one didn't exist to fit the space. The other option was to stack 3 x wall cabinets, one on top of the other to achieve the same effect but this was too many doors. The option that we decided on was a floor cabinet, a little countertop and a wall cabinet. This would provide us with another surface in the kitchen for mail and random stuff (and we have a lot of random stuff).
So the "base" cabinet is actually a wall cabinet that I chucked some feet on. This was because the opening was only about 40cm deep and most base cabinets are 60cm deep. We ended up getting a 33cm cabinet and pushing it out from the wall by a small margin.
Now the challenging part, the countertop. We had 2 slabs of countertop: 1 was 3m long (sink unit) and the other 2m long (breakfast bar). All the bits were essentially used up across these and the wee cabinet in the corner. So where would I get an 80cm x 40cm piece. Ordering a new slab would take weeks, cost quite a few quid and lead to waste. The other option was to use the cutout that I made for the sink. It was just, and I really mean just, large enough to work. But the edges weren't exactly straight or great so it needed a lot of TLC to get right. But being the seasoned countertop specialist that I now am .. no problem.
After cutting the slab to the right size, it was time for edging. Using the nice, smelly solvent based cementit was fairly straightforward. I used a piece of wood and a couple of clamps to hold the strip flat while spreading the adhesive on.
And voila, a nice square edged finished countertop. And lesson learned for all the DIY'ers reading this .. don't throw out extra wood unless you are sure you won't need it again.
Next came the upper cabinet. This also needed to be pushed out by 4cm but it couldn't just be put on feet and slid to the right depth like the base cabinet. This time I needed to get creative. I used 2x4's as shims. This got the right depth by had the secondary benefit of making the cabinet fixings pretty darned solid. As I told Care, this one you could stand on.
I also fixed some batons to the wall to support the countertop.
And there you go, 2 cabinets.
With all the doors, cladding, cornice and pelmet attached on the top.
And the final product. We now have a home for all of our neglected glasses and dishes. After about, well 496 days, they are finally out of the boxes. We also have a nice counter space for all our random stuff to sit on - which nobody will ever see because it's already buried under stuff - but at least this photo is proof.
So that's now it for cabinets - YEAH! Just some finishing touches - skirting, lighting and a bit more tiling and the kitchen will be finished. And then on to the next project.
