Hackers Help: IKEA kitchen problem

Hackers Help: IKEA kitchen problem – how to lower it?

I write to you all the way from Milan, Italy in desperation, because I don’t know where else to turn…

Me and my future husband made the big step and just bought a house. I have to say that the moving period has been stressful but the biggest problem has been the kitchen… We have had it created by the IKEA staff and I really love it… there is only one issue. The counters are too tall; the base unit that would contain the sink and the oven need to be around 86cm tall to allow the window in the kitchen to open and my husband won’t budge on the issue he wants the window to completely open.

Hackers Help: IKEA kitchen problem - how to lower it?

Photo: IKEA.com

I have looked in your archives and found a project to make the kitchen higher, is there anything to be done about making them lower?

Photo: IKEA.com

Thank you so much for your input! Maybe you have a solution so that I can get my lovely kitchen!

***

Hi Mandy

Congrats on the new house. Exciting times!

And sorry to hear of your IKEA kitchen problem.

The IKEA METOD kitchen base cabinets are 80cm in height. And with the countertop, depending on what you use, it will go up to around 83 – 84cm in height. This is just the cabinet, not including the legs. IKEA METOD kitchen legs are 8cm (adjustable down to 7cm). To keep the kitchen under 86cm, I can see two ways to go about it.

You cut down the side panels to, say, 74 cm. Add 8cm for legs and 3cm countertop. It’ll be up to 85cm.You can use this tutorial to guide you in shortening the cabinet. At this countertop height, unless you’re shorter in stature, you’ll need to stoop a little to use your sink.
You omit the legs or find shorter legs from other kitchen suppliers. Do not use the cabinets without any legs as the bottom of the doors/ drawers may scrape against the floor. If you fail to find alternative legs, build a wooden frame (or ask your local carpenter to) spanning the depth and width of the said kitchen cabinet bases and perhaps 3cm in height. Then sit the cabinets on top of the frame. A variation of this would be to use the same countertop material and wrap it around the 2 cabinets, something like this. The example shows all 4 sides of the BESTÅ wrapped in pine wood. You could do the same to the sink and oven cabinet, just to give them a little lift off the ground, so the drawers/ doors can be opened easily.

I’m not sure how your kitchen design is, but if you’re just modifying the sink and oven base cabinet, those two cabinets will look stumpy next to cabinets with legs.

Good luck on your kitchen planning.

Jules

The post Hackers Help: IKEA kitchen problem – how to lower it? appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

Comments

SKÅDIS: 5 ways to make the IKEA pegboard even better

IKEA introduced its own pegboard system, SKÅDIS, two years ago and I’d say it’s one of the best systems IKEA launched in recent years. I love how super customisable it is, with a growing range of accessories that help keep things organized. It works everywhere, in your wardrobe to bathroom . Probably anywhere you have a flat surface to hang it up. Photo: IKEA.com SKÅDIS pegboard system See it on IKEA.com But no matter how perfect a system, you can trust IKEA hackers to improve on the SKÅDIS. And they’ve settle these 5 issues you may have faced with the handy IKEA pegboard. Read on for their fixes. 5 IKEA SKÅDIS issues and fixes #1 Expensive hooks? You’ll need quite a number of hooks and accessories to fill up the SKÅDIS pegboard, and Kenyer was shocked at how quickly they all added up. So he figured he could make his own hooks to save cost. Photo: Kenyer Over at Instructables , he shows us how to twist copper wires into the SKÅDIS hook shape. It works s...

Enjoy Sweet Dreams With These DIY Headboard Ideas

A headboard is one of the last things you see before you fall asleep and one of the first things you see when you wake up. Demonstrate your unique design style by creating your own. Below are some ideas and tips to get you started. Do you think the formula for sleep is on this London bedroom’s headboard? Image: Clifton Interiors Ltd Chalk headboard Create this look with a can of black chalkboard paint. Almost any type of wall – drywall, plaster, wood, brick or concrete – will work, as long is it is properly prepped. Chalkboard paint is easy to apply, dries fast and can be cleaned with soap and water. But you’re not limited to the color black – chalkboard paint comes in just about every color. If you don’t want to use paint, consider chalkboard contact paper – and yes, you can use chalk on it. An Edmonton hockey-themed room. Image: Cameron Homes Hockey goal headboard For the ultimate hockey fan, nothing beats a hockey goal headboard. Complete the scene with a team blank...

A beautiful design idea for the IVAR cabinet with doors

A wall of IVAR cabinets with doors engraved is astonishingly captivating. Because IVAR is real solid wood (unlike a lot of flat-pack cupboards), it makes a great blank canvas for CNC machining work and engraving. IKEA items used: IKEA IVAR cabinets in 30mm (12″) and 50mm (20″) depths. IVAR cabinet | IKEA.com Other materials and tools: CNC Router How to engrave the IVAR cabinet with doors: Build a wall of IVAR cabinets to your preference. It’s not too difficult to shorten some in order to fill a wall exactly. I shortened the top row to 695mm and reduced the depth of the middle column to 40mm to create a 50/40/30 sequence so that I didn’t block the window but maximised storage capacity. Take a drawing, trace it in Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator into a black-only flat design. You can simplify the path at this point to reduce the time needed to engrave. Chop up the drawing in Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator into door-sized sections. Save as an SVG. Import the ...

Martin Cooper

Search This Blog