I would like to thank all of you (and Susan in particular for running
this absolutely great forum) for the inspiration and valuable advice
that I found just by visiting Ikea Fans regularly.
This is my second IKEA kitchen. My previous one was completed 14 years
ago in another house. By the way, in the eighties I was living in
Sweden for a year where I fell in love with IKEA concepts and design.
Here are the pictures of my new IKEA kitchen and some pictures of my
stainless steel staircase (which is my previous home reno challenge):
http://www.pbase.com/jackw49/ikeafans
Here's how I planned it from beginning to end.
First, I defined a number of goals and assumptions before designing my kitchen:
I want a modern and open kitchen and the Zen principles of balance,
harmony and simplicity are important to me.
The kitchen will be U-shaped and I will remove the wall between the
kitchen and adjacent room to create space for a bar and some
barstools
I really like the visual appeal of open shelves with an invisible
support instead of upper kitchen cabinets.
I want to have a floor which is very strong, quiet and warm (one that
is really nice to walk on barefoot)
I need to get rid of the "popcorn ceiling" from my kitchen.
Counters, shelves, kitchen table and chairs should be made out of the
same wood and natural wood should be emphasized in the kitchen's decor
and materials.
Stainless steel should be used in measured amounts and can't be the
focal point (as my staircase and appliances are already stainless
steel).
I like the look of the IKEA High gloss base white cabinets in Abstract White.
Strong color contrast between the floor and cabinets is preferred
I want strong, decisive colors on the walls.
White Abstract cabinets should be placed on Capita stainless legs to
create an additional sense of lightness.
Glass use should be maximized as this is a beautiful building material.
I will maximize IKEA content in my kitchen (cabinets, counters,
shelves material, tables, chairs, lights, blinds, sink, faucet,
accessories) in order to save time and money (with exception to the
appliances which I might buy elsewhere)
I will buy all new appliances.
I want to have a separate cook top (gas or induction) and wall oven in
the same 30" IKEA cabinet in order to create the long unbroken lines
of the countertop.
My new kitchen budget will not exceed $25,000 CDN ($22,000 US) and
approx. 40% of the labor will be DIY.
I will design the Kitchen without any help from kitchen design
professionals. I will discuss my design ideas with my daughter, who
is a graphic designer, as well as her quite knowledgeable friends and
I will acquire and read a number of books related to kitchen design. I
will extensively use IKEAFANS site and other Internet sites to gain
confidence in my design.
I will use the extraordinary good (and free) Google SketchUp software
(instead of the IKEA software which was inadequate for my needs) to 3D
model and design of my kitchen.
I will complete the kitchen in 2 months.
It would be too long to explain why I decided on each of these goals.
It should suffice to say that my extensive reading, discussions and my
sense of esthetics dictated many of them. My professional life is
totally unrelated to construction or interior design.
Results:
My pictures are telling almost the full story of the completed kitchen.
My kitchen has been completed in October, 2006. Since then I have
compiled a few frequently asked questions by my friends, guests and
visitors.
Why not high cabinets ….dishes on open shelves are not easy to keep clean?
I would say that having the range hood with 500 cfm (air removal,
cubic feet per minute) to remove pollutants very fast is very
important. I experimented with frying on few pans simultaneously…with
excellent results. Additionally the Tall Tub Bosh dishwasher can wash
everything that I have on shelves in three fast "econo" loads if
needed.
Access to shelves (no visible support to interfere) and locating items
is very easy and I only keep items I really use on those open shelves.
Are shelves without visible support strong enough for really heavy dishes?
I tested my shelves to a 150 lbs load. How the shelves have been built
is illustrated in the pictures:
http://www.pbase.com/jackw49/shelves
The challenge is to ensure perfect level in both shelf directions and
this is not a trivial issue. The studs behind drywall at home are
usually perfect vertically. However these studs tend to be slightly
twisted (not perfectly parallel to the drywall) and this requires
adjustment to the shelves' drilling angles (not exactly 90 degree) as
seen on the pictures. I also used a slightly oversized bit (7/8") for
the ¾" steel rod that served as shelf support. This was to maintain a
little bit of space (which was later filled by glue) to adjust each
shelf level as needed. Tough work!
Glass backsplash, is it expensive?
Less than $50….I use tempered glass used for glass deck rail systems
(I used glass piece 36"x30") and used rare–Earth magnets to attach
glass to the wall (as you can not drill holes in tempered glass).
Magnetic strength of 1" magnet approaches 30lbs!
One magnet is glued by epoxy to the wall and second one is placed on
high friction discs on the glass. It holds glass perfectly.
I bought magnets and high friction discs at a Lee Valley store in
Canada.
http://www.leevalley.com/
Why an induction cooktop?
I love my induction cooktop and I prefer it over a gas cooktop.
I decided to go induction after reading:
http://theinductionsite.com/proandcon.shtml
Installing the cooktop over wall oven in 30" Ikea cabinet is illustrated here
http://www.pbase.com/jackw49/induction
What is on the Floor?
I choose "NightShade" natural cork from
www.wicanders.com
Countertops, shelves, table sill…- where did you get them?
Everything except the kitchen table is built from Numerar Ikea oak
countertops .The kitchen table is Ikea Edefors table with Ikea Rogers
chairs.
What is this "chimney" behind the fridge?
After removing one wall I needed to hide electrical cables that were
in the wall. So there are 20 or so cables inside this "chimney"
Thanks again for all your ideas and the great IkeaFans community. It
really motivated me to complete my project. It took almost 6 months
(instead of planned two) but I did it within my budget. In July and
August I had just had it with this project and I decided that I will
be going one week to my office and the next week backpacking in the
Canadian Rockies. I did it each week for the next 7 weeks totally
neglecting my renovation during this period. Some of the backpacking I
did alone. It was good for my soul, my sanity and my new kitchen.
jack
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