Chapter 1 - How to install an IKEA kitchen island. PART 1.
[Make sure to to click the 'kitchen island' label found at the bottom of this entry to see all my 'IKEA kitchen island' entries! - enjoy!
EDIT: for detailed drawings click here!]
[Opening]
I had a chance to do a nice install recently. A center piece of which, in my opinion, is the island - 12 cabinets - a combination of lower units [at 24'' depth] back to back with a row of the shorter [12'' deep; 30 3/8'' tall] upper units - IKEA makes it possible to mix and match uppers and lowers. That's really good, smart, very flexible design.*
The client went with a very nicely done IKEA Lidingo Gray - solid grey gloss, 'frame-and-panel' MDF doors. This year, at the Toronto Interior Design Show - which is the most prestigious, non-commercial design show in Canada - IKEA did Lidingo Gray for their booth. I doubt that many of us have the 20' foot heights and the option of doing gold gilded ceiling - but it looked amazing. IKEA splurged [they got the money....] and had a custom made, really nicely detailed marble slab for a countertop and did some fancy trim carpentry. It ended up looking like 'a million bucks'!
But it did not cost a million bucks.
And the island ended up at a reasonable 2200 Canadian dollars + the cost of that nice marble slab. Here -
That was a really nice kitchen island.
IKEA instructs that the kitchen island be fixed to the floor and I agree. Kitchen islands are essentially free standing cabinetry. Think about all the the forces that will work against that cabinetry - people leaning on it, pushing on it, sitting on it, standing on it and whatever else. Add to that the weight of the stone slab and a large double sink full of water. You get the picture - it has to be rock solid. It also needs to be dead level - my standard is the rolling marble.
My practice is to build a sturdy rigid base that is both - easy to fasten to the floor AND super easy to level. The tools required to build such a kick [that's what I will call it from here on] are the same tools that you will need to properly assemble a medium size IKEA kitchen - treat yourself [buy or rent] to a set of cordless drill/driver combo [get the one that will do hammerdrill option - just in case you have to go into concrete] - it will be silly of you to attempt to assemble any IKEA kitchen with a Philips screwdriver. A mitre saw is required to install many mouldings - rent it at a local Home Depot [there, a plug for Home Depot]. I mention Home Depot, because they will also be able to rip [cut lengthwise] the plywood that you will be using for the base - very convenient.
Chapter 1 - How to install an IKEA kitchen island.
The advantage of going with this design is that there is flexibility in setting the height of the countertop surface. In most instances it does not matter if you set the height a 1/4" one way or another - but on this install it did - the client wanted to match the finished height of the stone countertop to a window sill - less than an 1/8" was the only acceptable tolerance. Having a self-leveling laser level is the handiest thing around - it is guaranteed to be off less than 1/8" over a 100 feet.
I offer a service that I call a 'premium IKEA kitchen install' - I charge the same amount of money that IKEA kitchen installers do. I improve on the assembly of the cabinets and build my own kicks for all the lower units. The services really shines when you got an ambitious plan for your kitchen island. [to be continued...]
Chapter 1 Chris said, 'Karol you channel Candice Olson' 'Thank you Chris', I said.
Chris is a smart, first time home buyer. He bought a townhome on a 'six year plan' - he will do some strategic work on the house, let it appreciate a little, and then sell it - upgrading in the process.
He had the kitchen doors professionally refinished. Changed lighting fixtures himself, and did the backsplash in a nice stone with the help of his father-in-law. Selected a cool grey for the wall colour, paying attention that the paint be easy to maintain. He bought the required linear footage of nice MDF crown moulding and painted it proper white.
As an ambitious individual, he considered doing an IKEA Billy Hack himself - learning as he went along. It was then he contacted me asking me to come look at his space. The space - his living room - had bulkhead that was 15" deep [and as bulkheads are usually built, with a laser I found that it was waving 'in-and-out' and 'up and down'], which almost matched the depth of the deep Billy bookcase. He had that space filled with IKEA Expedit units in dark brown. In the center there was an electric fireplace. He did not like the look.
See, what Chris did not know, was that he suffered from an incurable condition - something I call the case of 'a hidden designer'. My experience is that, often, the client leaves most design decisions to me - they trust me. Chris was different because he paid attention to all details - I felt that I had very little wiggle room. He was very specific about what he liked and required help in realizing his vision. I have to say, that I feel I was successful, as in collaboration we achieved savings [we kept the original fireplace] and were able to nicely expand on the design without raising too much end costs*.
Instead of creating a wall of Billys [the original image that he showed me**, I believe, is the most widely circulated image of an IKEA Billy hack on the web, I see it all the time], we opted to create some 'voids' in the design. Chris has a plan to put some fancy wallpaper/fabric on the back and accent it with lights. We deleted the fourth Billy on the left, shortening the space to a 24" wide countertop, and thus gaining valuable width for the fireplace and a nice TV. Chris plans to introduce the paint to the MDF - a matching white - and then do a natural stone arch just above the electric insert. Whoa! I said, that is ambitious!
Chris' favourite part of the built-in - that floating panel on the back is removable - makes for cabling upgrade on the TV a breeze. Here:
Chris said, 'Karol you channel Candice Olson'
'Thank you Chris', I said.
That's right! I am not a interior designer - but the one thing that I do real good is a mean design for built-ins - professional IKEA hacking! Great designs done on a budget!
** Here is the image, it's by this really crafty lady -
http://www.centsationalgirl.com - and her 'hack', in my opinion is totally legit. If you follow her instructions you will be able to create built in like these. It is a simple hack - base and crown with covered gables. While it does work for this space, odd dimensions would create an awkward look - the covered gables [verticals] would keep getting wider and wider as needed to fill in the width. I am sure someone who attempts this hack will find out exactly what I mean.
My IKEA hacks are seamless - they become part of a larger design. I hope it shows. I hack IKEA for the combination of functionality and price. All hacks are assembled to commercial millwork standards - my background is in commercial millwork. And I can make them look any way you want - I can do very modern, classic, arts and crafts, shaker, 'fancy french', even bauhaus. My IKEA Hacks are custom millwork - very well priced.
To my knowledge I am the first professional IKEA hacker. Virtually all my designs and millwork are based on IKEA products - it being so vast and varied. I have developed a system for creating professional looking designs. Some of IKEA product lines are of such high quality that I decided to hack them to create my own line of super-luxe hacks - KingK + QueenT - a combination of high end manufacturing with some fancy woodworking techniques.
* in the end it came to a vigorous fencing match and a draw, at which point we agreed on one-to-one barter - your workday for my workday.
[UPDATE]
Chris painted it!
Here it is! Nice! Ready for Christmas!
Chapter 1
Here is a good IKEA Billy Bookcase hack.
So, take two Billy bookcases [with doors], add 2 1/2 sheets of MDF, mix in a designer/maker and you end up with beautiful millwork - on a budget.
Chapter 2 - To design or not to design...
IKEA hacking is a very popular endavour these days - considering that a 'woodworking shop hour' can rival that of a 'car garage shop hour'. As a designer and a maker one of my favourite things to do is to browse the IKEA's 'as-is' section - which I always do - and see what I could build with the available pieces. My 'designer mind' wanders from piece to piece, while the 'maker' in me jigs those pieces together for a coherent look and practical function...
I personally admire the IKEA model - there is no other like it in the world.
Democratic Design all the way!
