The first thing we wanted to do was make the kitchen more functional on a whole. We wanted to add storage, work surfaces, and some eating space.
Noticing the Ikea branded oven, and putting two and two together, we soon realized that the cabinet system was all Ikea cabinetry. Reading up on some consumer reports, we were pleased by this because it turned out that Ikea cabinets are just as nice and durable as more expensive brands. This was all good on several levels. It meant the kitchen was pretty good quality to start with, and it also meant that it would be easy to add on to the kitchen using Ikea’s coordinated modular systems.
After a lot of measuring and consideration using Ikea’s room planning software (free on their website, but it’s PC only. I had to borrow my work computer for a weekend), we had our plan and set out. After an evening of putting pre-fab furniture together, we were almost finished.
Our first addition to the kitchen was a stainless steel freestanding counter from Ikea’s Udden line. We wanted more counter space, and originally wanted to add a big island to the kitchen, but were reluctant to cover the pretty mosaic in the middle of the floor.
This gave us a comparatively luxurious amount of counter space that coordinates well with the steel fixtures already in the kitchen without the expense of adding another granite counter top or more cabinets. Some added benefits are having another type of work surface in the kitchen (since both granite and stainless steel have their pros and cons) and having separate work stations for times when multiple people are working in the kitchen.
We also added two Ikea Sebastian bar stools because while they do have backs that make them more comfortable than a flat bar stool, the backs are low enough to slide under the counter. This gives the space flexible usability. You can push the stools under the counter when you want to use it standing up, and don’t need to reach over the stool backs. If you’d rather sit while chopping your onions, that’s an option, and it’s also a good place to use as a breakfast nook when you’d like to have a quick bowl of cereal or eat more quickly and casually than the dining room might allow for.
Next, we made a stop in Ikea’s built in cabinetry section to choose a coordinating item for our existing counters. The idea was to add a bit more storage, as well as more counter space by the stove. The bit of space between stove and doorway was too small for our original idea of putting in a kitchen cart that could serve as a work surface and storage unit, but we did find a base cabinet shelving system that caps the area nicely.
This caused us some initial dilemma because the guy at Ikea wanted us to mount the shelves to the existing cabinet with a few wood screws and let it “hover” a few inches off the ground. We got it home, put it together, and said, “Hm. We want this to hold heavy things, like a ton of cookbooks. We don’t have that much confidence in a few screws.”
Back to Ikea for a few 4″ cabinet legs. Once again, this caused us some problems when we got home because we’d been assuming that the holes in the bottom of the cabinet were there so that one could put cabinet feet on. Not so. Luckily, with a little measuring and a lot of drilling, I was able to drill all the necessary holes myself, and the screws were just short enough that they didn’t pop out the other side of the wood.
Now this serves quite well as a bookshelf for cookbooks, and a bit of needed counter space. (Ignore the general clutter; the stove is serving as a temporary drying rack, and we haven’t decided where all of the oil bottles and utensils will live yet.)
One thing that still needs to be done: find a chunk of butcher block or some heat resistant silicon to cut to size to put on top of these shelves to make them a bit more impervious to stove splatter and spills and make a better work surface than the current laminated cabinet wood.
Overall: success! Now we’ve got more work space, more storage space, and even a little breakfast nook that’s much more practical than the original one. High marks for Ikea!
Very cool. I like the before and afters.
I’ve never been much of an IKEA shopper in the past (I’ve not really needed to add much furniture to my life in the past, and when I have IKEA was either too expensive when I wanted something cheap and temporary, or not durable enough when I wanted something substantive and long term. And for much of the time I was getting furniture, the nearest IKEA was in PA.), but having gone recently to assist friends, I’ve seen a lot more why people pick up the matching bits. I suspect that when I become a member of the landed gentry (homeowner) in a few years I will be an IKEA shopper.
I’m so happy that this worked out for you, and that the new additions aren’t going to be the wrong style for the rest of the kitchen. And I’m really enjoying the before and after pictures. You’ve got great appliances in there. Looks like you could probably put some floating shelves over the new counter, or on the wall to the right above the outlet.
I can tell the age of the house by the layout of the kitchen. All those doors into other spaces, the efficient size of the kitchen (no part is more than a step or two away), The dark, 6-panel doors and doorjambs. Someone lovingly updated the kitchen though, which is nice. Myself, I have a hard time with the rabbit-warren rooms, mostly because I have a thing against rooms that are as much hallway as room. Living rooms are especially prone to being functionally a hallway to other rooms, and it always interferes with how I want to lay out furniture.
And I’m loving the before and after pictures, it really gives a great feel as to how you are making the space your own.