Kitchen part one - Barista bar

With Christmas fast approaching we've at last started to assemble the kitchen. After much planning and looking we decided on the Ikea Applad. I wanted a simple style that was pale but not high gloss. The Applad is soft white with a silky finish, easy to keep clean but adaptable in style. I was looking for Swedish simplicity but with a hint of Mediterranean warmth. Or as Andrew says Abba meets Pavarotti.

Courtesy of Ikea

Used to designing kitchens on a CAD system I did find the Ikea on-line planner a little clumsy but once we went into our nearest store found them very helpful. We ordered it back in June and it's been in the garage since the end of July.

Where do I start?

Our starting point was the short wall with the boiler. I wanted to have a separate area for making tea & coffee - my personal barista bar - and this also developed into a wine area.  When friends visit they can make drinks without needing to get near the food preparation area. In hindsight this was probably the most difficult area to start with as we had uneven walls and tall units.

Ready to start

Because I have a thing about symmetry we used an integrated fridge freezer housing to cover the boiler to match the real thing at the other end. We had to cut an end panel to make a filler between the carcass and the wall, partly to pull the cupboard out to give access to the boiler for servicing but also as the wall is very uneven and this allowed us to start with a vertical.

First carcass

Despite tales of horror we* found assembling the units quite easy, but only if you follow the instuctions very carefully. What may seem an odd thing to do will have a reason and also, as there are no written instructions, examine the drawings carefully. The only thing we did do, after the first unit went up, was to screw the legs on. These seem insubstantial but work well once the weight of the cabinet holds them in place. The difficulty is keeping them on while manouevring  the unit in place, if they are not screwed in place they fall off at the most inconvenient times.

Screwing on the legs

Joining leg

First carcass

Next was a 600mm base unit, with a gap for a wine cooler, and then the integrated fridge freezer.  The base unit has a drawer for cutlery and bottle openers and a cupboard with two pull out wire shelves. One will house all the mugs and the other tea and coffee.
The Applad kitchen comes in two heights and we chose the taller one as we have the headroom and you can never have enough storage in a kitchen. The wall unit here however is a shorter one as we are going to put a shelf underneath for some of the coffee making equipment.

Progress

All up

At last, after nearly eight months, I have a fridge :-)  Next stop an oven.


Until next time


Sharon

* when I say we what I mean is I read the instructions and passed the screws while Andrew did all the difficult stuff.