It’s clearly not worth stinting in the kitchen, but a new one furniture from this - alas! - does not get cheaper. What remains? Of course, make kitchen furniture do it yourself. Fortunately, the Internet has all the necessary plans in this regard, including absolutely free ones.
But, in spite of this, the home master often stops the need to make paneled doors for cabinets or, in general, their sophisticated design. And the point is not even in experience and skill, but at least in the presence of the necessary equipment.
The kitchen presented in this master class was made in Alaska, away from civilization and the bustle of the city. The masters were given the task: to equip the kitchen with furniture, using edged boards and plywood. Yes, so that all this looks stylish, beautiful and neat. The cost of materials was only $ 400 - for residents of this state the amount is not particularly significant.
In order to make kitchen furniture yourself in home conditions, you will need:
Materials:
- pine board for the manufacture of the base of the furniture wall, as well as facade panels of doors and drawers;
- thick pine plywood of high quality;
- thinner plywood for the manufacture of the rear panel of the wall;
- boards of the first grade from solid and dense wood, such as ash, maple or oak for the manufacture of countertops;
- ready-made concrete worktop or components for its manufacture in case you do not want to use wood in this area;
- paint of a suitable shade (not enamel!);
- resistant varnish for woodwork;
- furniture accessories: handles for cabinets and drawers, as well as furniture hinges;
- screws or self-tapping screws, nails;
- metal-plastic guides for drawers;
- glue for woodwork;
- primer on wood, if necessary;
- metal connecting corners, if necessary;
- for the manufacture of concrete countertops: cement, water, fine river sand, dye, plasticizer or detergent for dishes, varnish for stone and concrete.
Instruments:
- circular saw or jigsaw;
- miter saw at will;
- grinder;
- electric drill;
- screwdriver;
- joiner's hammer;
- sandpaper with fine grain;
- paint brushes and roller with a plastic pallet;
- building tape measure and square;
- a pencil;
- for the manufacture of concrete countertops: plywood form, trowel, construction mixer, construction packaging, grinding wheels for grinding concrete.
Step one: take measurements, draw up a diagram, make a plan detail
Despite the fact that in this master class all dimensions are given and the construction is described in detail, you still have to carry out some preparatory work.
First, take measurements of your own kitchen. Think about where the stove, refrigerator and sink will be. Ideally, the most convenient option for you is when the stove is in one of the corners, and in the other there is a refrigerator. In this case, your entire wall will be a solid structure, and it is always more convenient than making each cabinet individually.
Draw a diagram on paper, using ready-made computer models from this workshop, and indicate the overall dimensions. After that, carefully disassemble the entire structure for details and determine the exact size of each of them. At first glance, the task is long and tedious, but it is not. The wall consists of many similar details, and such work will not take much time.
Please note that this kitchen wall was made of almost one plywood. Even the frame consists of sawn plywood strips. Only its base is assembled from a natural board. This is the fastest and most convenient way to make furniture at home. If you wish, you can replace plywood with natural wood in the manufacture of facade panels for cabinet doors and drawers.
Step two: identify the basic principles of the design of the kitchen wall
The highlight of the program was a common base of boards for the entire wall. You can see it in one of the photos below. This is an ordinary wooden frame, designed to raise the furniture wall above the floor. The idea was successful for several reasons.:
- You do not need to count, mark and cut out the protrusions on the side parts of the cabinets and partitions;
- plywood walls are shorter, which is very useful for the rational consumption of plywood sheets;
- the lower part of the cabinet is solid and this adds a very tangible rigidity to the wall;
- and finally, it’s easier for you to build the frame, since the upper section simply joins the base with screws.
In order to make the kitchen wall complete and neat, the author has planned a front frame frame, which in the assembly looks like an integral part.
But the author’s idea about the design of cabinet doors became the main feature. Using a milling machine became impossible, so I had to come up with something simple, but no less spectacular than the paneled doors. This is how these easy-to-make doors that mimic drawers came about.
Step Three: Assembling the Kitchen Wall
Transfer the dimensions of the parts to the material and cut the plywood and boards into blanks. Already at this stage you can grind all the planes that, after assembly, will be inside the cabinets and drawers.
To connect the elements of the wall, the author used inclined pocket holes with screws, as well as glue for woodwork. If you are sure that the back wall and side parts of the structure will not be visible, pocket holes can be drilled from the outside.
Assemble the frame from the side walls, partitions and base under the countertop. Assemble also the wooden base frame. and connect both parts with furniture screws and metal corners. Fix the front plywood frame to the front of the wall.
Make drawers according to the size of the upper cells. Boxes should be smaller and enter the compartment with the gap required to install metal-plastic guides for sliding systems.
Also prepare the cabinet doors. To do this, connect wide and narrow parts with plywood rails.All parts are positioned with some clearance to simulate drawers. If you do not want the doors to have gaps, place thin plywood or fiberboard between the facade parts and the battens. You can also fill the gaps on the back with sealant or putty on wood, and then sand the surface.
Mount the metal-plastic guides for the drawers in the upper cells using self-tapping screws. Place the drawers in the cavity and make sure they open and close freely.
Hang the cabinet doors. You can use secret loops, as the author did, or choose suitable decorative loops to your taste. Attach the handles to the drawers and cabinet doors.
Step Three: Making Countertops
As a working surface you can choose a concrete or wooden base. Any of them is simple enough to make at home.
For a wooden base, use carefully planed and sanded hardwood boards. Fit the parts so that there is no gap between them, and fix them on the base of the kitchen wall. Use glue for this. Grind the surface until it becomes a monolithic base.
Concrete worktops are made of cement (usually white), water, fine river sand, a plasticizer (or detergent for dishes) and toner (dye). All components are mixed in the required proportion and in order of priority. Then the mass is placed in a plywood form, and subjected to processing on a vibrating table. The frozen workpiece is ground and fixed on the frame with glue.
Step Four: Staining
Inside, all wall surfaces should be varnished. This is necessary so that in the future you can carry out wet cleaning of cabinets and drawers.
Outside, the author painted the kitchen wall with matte oil paint in two layers. After that, all external panels were lightly polished in order to age them.
After that, the furniture must be varnished with resistant furniture varnish. Matt preferably. The varnish is applied in several layers, and each new hardened layer is sanded with fine-grained emery paper. In this way, a very high resistance coating can be achieved.
A simple kitchen made of plywood and boards is ready!
