The weekend before last I took a trip with my dad up to Manchester to visit my sister.
It wasn't just a social call though - we were there to upgrade her kitchen!
Dad went up a few weeks before and helped my sister's partner, Nick, alter the fridge unit, remove some wall units and add in some extra sockets.
The main items on their wish list was some extra drawers where just units had been (This is something we've done here as well as drawers are so much more useful!) and some new doors. The other possible was extra storage on top of the wall units, to make use of space that normally just collects dust and grease.
So armed with some measurements I set about making new drawer units to fit the carcasses that were there already. I was a little nervous about this as I hadn't taken the measurements! They were the first thing I did when I got there and they fitted as sweet as a nut! I made them with birch ply which gives them a nice modern feel.
I also built the extra units to go above the wall units at home, they slid into place perfectly. Over the next two days we got every thing else fitted.
The first day I cut all the door and drawer fronts with MRMDF, which should take a good paint finish and the edges don't fir up like normal MDF. Nick was fitting these doors and dad was doing other jobs that needed doing. Extraction was used when I did the cutting I should add - the days of using tools on this type of materials are long gone for me.
The second day we experienced some rain which would have been a disaster, fortunately they had borrowed a big gazebo which gave us a perfect working area just outside the kitchen.
There were a few tricky bits and unfortunately some hinges for the top units didn't turn up on time, but otherwise we got it done.
The other drawers weren't so bad - I made the bottom one for baking trays completely adjustable so the dividers could be moved if needed.
So a cheap way to upgrade a kitchen, although they've got a lot of painting to do yet to make it look really good. Hopefully I'll have a few more photos then to show the finished room. Nice clean lines as well, it made the room feel much bigger.
Have you ever upgraded a kitchen like this by replacing the drawers? What style would you pick?
Do you need another sister......
ReplyDeleteHaha, no thank you! One brother and sister is enough for me.
DeleteLooks great Kev! And I do love the shots of the three of you.
ReplyDeleteWere I to upgrade our kitchen (like your sister, currently this is not our forever home), I would likely find a way to use corner space a little more effectively. Our current "corner" space is for baking trays which is a pretty effective use of the space, but it just seems awkward. Also, having shelves I have to get a small stepstool to access seems a bit silly as well.
Corners are always tricky in a kitchen. I wish we'd done more with ours, it where stuff gets chucked quite often so never used effectively as it's so hard to reach anything. .
Deletewe have just moved a kitchen from the north side to the south side. Over looking the garden we knocked 2 bedrooms into the one room. Nothing was hand made but we fitted it ourselves, I am quite proud of it. We could not have afforded it if we had not done the work ourselves. People fitting kitchens and bathrooms are really going for it with their rates at present. Good luck to them, we cant afford to fork it out, but many others are. we had a quote for the tinniest shower room ever. just under 10k. wowsers! Your sister is lucky you are talented. Everything costs so much money at present. the wood for stud work is astronomical!
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