IKEA Countertop - Backsplash Hack

   The kitchen was a mess, and I had avoided this intervention since day one. I swear I used the sink with my eyes closed for the first month. Before I even pulled a line, I knew there was a severe sag in the countertop. There turned out to be a one inch dip in the middle, for no obvious reason. The only solution seemed to be yanking out all the cabinets, and reinstalling them. I bit the bullet, and removed the cast iron sink, only to find the original cabinet had been previously butchered. I would spend the next couple days trying to rebuild the base and level out the 12' run for the new counters.

   We chose to replace the original delaminating countertops with a black mineral effect laminate from Ikea. We were nicely surprised by the finish, and even more impressed by the $240 total cost for our project.
   The surface is lightly textured and looks better than the smooth surfaces at the big box stores, even five feet away it could pass for manufactured stone. The whole kitchen took four, 6' sections. The island was a perfect swap out, with instant gratification. The rest would take patience and precision to achieve the desired results.
   Once the sink base was reconstructed, it magically resolved all the leveling issues and only took one small shim. Much relieved to not have to take apart the whole kitchen, I started test fitting the countertop slabs. The overhang on the front was too deep for this dated style of oak cabinets. Because the walls were fairly true, it made sense to rip a half inch off the back edge of all the pieces. By accident, I realized the waste strip would look sharp as a shallow backsplash. We had opted to hold on installing the full tile backsplash for budget reasons, not to mention the walls had just been fixed and looked great.
   Another trick I learned when finishing dark laminates is to stain the thin, raw edge revealed on the end piece overlays. Typically the base material is a medium brown and it detracts from the overall appearance. Guide the broad edge of a new, black Sharpie over the edge at a 45 degree angle. Immediately drag a paper towel over the wet marker line and it will buff out to make the ends look seamless. If you make a mistake, use rubbing alcohol to clean it up.
   The rest of the kitchen still needs the finishing details fleshed out. Knobs and handles, as well as the floating shelves will be added soon with before & after photos on the way. There will be several more related posts that cover the individual components of our economical reformation.

Deglossing An Acrylic Light Diffuser

   Man, is it dark in here? After working in the same kitchen for seven years, I suddenly realized there was a huge light void over half the work area.
   This was partially due to the high ceilings and our only light source was nestled next to a wooden beam. We opted to replace the single light with a subtle pair of fluorescent fixtures to increase the overall lumens and simplify the need for additional electrical wiring.
   Everything went according to plan, but something with the new lighting did not sit well with me.
   The satin nickel details fell in line with the rest of the fixtures in the house, but I soon realized the white diffusers did not.
   The glossy plastic finish made the lights look cheap and incongruent with the metal end caps. It turns out that every light diffuser in our house has a matte finish that matches their nickel housing. It is one of those things you never notice, until you do, and then it bothers you.
   The easiest solution would involve dulling the exterior finish of the diffusers. This was quite a daring move, because if I blew it, the molded plastic would be ruined. I had worked with a lot of acrylic and polycarbonate during my days as a sign artist, and I knew the risk.
   Now, I did not just pull out the power tools and start grinding away. Instead I gathered a few green Scotchbrite scouring pads, some #0000 steel wool, rubbing alcohol and a towel for buffing. To start, I highly recommend that you choose a direction for the grain and stick to it throughout. Conversely, I do not recommend a circular "brushed steel" swirl, that is much harder to execute consistently.
   The easiest directional stroke to maintain is the shortest. In this case the diffuser was roughly 1' x 4', so I started knocking down the finish with the scotchbrite, while sanding perpendicular to the length. I followed this pass with the extra fine steel wool, then rotated the piece and worked back to the start. After several passes the sanded grain became more muted and a satin sheen developed. Once the finish was de-glossed and appeared uniform, the entire surface was wiped with alcohol and then buffed with a towel.
   This is where I must heed caution, and remind you to test on inconspicuous areas before trying something drastic like this. It is not a difficult effect to produce, but it is irreversible though. Aesthetically the fixture looks much nicer with a flat sheen, as well producing a softer, more evenly diffused light.

Maxing Out Kitchen Cabinets

   Whether you are planning for the apocalypse or just need more space for your cookies, this concept will benefit your pantry. Maxing involves taking a second look at the negative space around the products stored in your cupboards. Now, you could just cram as much stuff into your cabinets as possible, but that does not create a functional space. Take a good fifteen minutes to see if you could rearrange your goods by height in a way that creates enough dead space for an additional shelf. If you have older builder-grade cabinets like me, this is probably not too hard, considering their inefficient use of space and poor design.

   After completing the hard mental task of cereal Tetris, lets talk carpentry. The real bones of this hack is the quick and easy installation of stock shelves. I have painted, stained and varnished enough household projects in my lifetime that I no longer find any joy in it.
   Armed with this prime directive, I began searching for a solution that would literally be finished when the last screw was driven. After scouring my vast knowledge of home improvement products, a foil wrapped, faux wood shelf popped into my mind that would fit the bill. Normally, I despise this material because it is cheap, heavy, brittle, and altogether ugly, but in this application it is perfect because it matches the material grade of my cabinet interior.
   Our primary pantry, included only one shelf in a rather large volume of 16 cu.ft., great if you are storing camping equipment, but of little use for can goods and other consumables. There was also zero interior bracing to add shelves. In order to make this as simple as possible, I bought (3) shelf boards for each rack I intended to build. Two boards were used as rails and glued to the interior of the cabinet walls. The third was laid across the top and voila! the cabinet is now a highly functional system.
     Admittedly, this can be a rather crude venture depending on your skill level. The trick is to match the faux wood to the interior of your cabinets. Rubbermaid makes a variety of sizes, and colors ranging from white to black with several shades of wood in between. You might ask why bother with this relatively simple upgrade? If you are a piler then this is not for you, but if you like the thought of not having to constantly move around the same items daily, you can see the benefit in this system.

Multitask Appliances

   As a frugal, small house owner, I have learned the true importance of cupboard space. I have gone as far as rebuilding the interiors of all my cabinets, doubling, if not tripling the original storage space. I will admit that there is still only room for critical appliances.
   My mother-in-law has graciously tried to buy me a coffee grinder, but I honestly do not need one. I have an awesome blender. It is easier to clean and takes the same amount of time. I can grind 2 lbs. of coffee beans in about five minutes. This is an old school use, prior to the 1980's, owners manuals would list this as a feature and give directions accordingly.
   The trick is the magic number of (2) Cups of beans at a time. You can get a nice coarse, medium, or fine grind depending on the length of time. I also have to give a proper shout-out to Kirkland House Blend roasted by Starbucks. If you love the strong classic flavor of fresh Starbucks, then this coffee is for you. It gives you the expensive taste, but at the lowly price around $5.00 a pound.

   The second tip involves my well loved 12 Cup, 1100-watt thermal carafe coffee pot. My mother bought us an ice tea maker that was used once before donating it to goodwill. Once again another redundant appliance. Through experimentation I have come up with a suitable recipe for brewing ice tea as well as green tea. I run a full carafe through the coffee maker, then poor the very hot water over (8) tea bags in a gallon pitcher. I let the bags steep for 15 minutes creating a concentrated brew, then fill the pitcher to the top with filtered water. This recipe is subjective, adjusting the quantity or steep time greatly affects the strength.
   This post really should be about my addiction to caffeine. I know there are coffee and tea snobs that would protest these methods, but this is still superior to Snapple and Maxwell House. Give it a try, you will get more function out of appliances you already own without sacrificing additional storage space.

Custom Refrigerator Shelf

   The surly antagonist stood with arms akimbo, feet square, and attitude firm. She had allowed a lot of money to flow through her purse to keep this sinking ship afloat. This was a battle not to be won by any man, much less her husband. How dare HE want to spend an additional thousand dollars on a french door refrigerator. Yet another role reversal for the antiquated paradigm.
   She did not care how perfectly it would fit in the existing space. HE should have thought about that when laying out the new kitchen.
   Okay, maybe the discussion wasn't this heated, it was a while a go. When you have been with someone for nearly two decades, you know when you are absolutely not going to win a battle. This was a loser and I needed to come up a solution for our new standard size refrigerator.
   The problem was that our house came with an ugly 1980's french door refrigerator, which is wider than a standard top and bottom fridge. We were able to reuse our kitchen cabinets after the remodel, but the width of the new fridge had been overlooked...ahem. I will admit that refrigerators are not sports cars, and it is hard to justify the nearly thousand dollar upcharge for a side-by-side. Especially when you are rehabbing and entire house on a legitimate budget.
   With parameters in place and kitchen near completion, it was time to hit the drawing board. I could live with the extra depth of the standard size fridge, but the noticeable gap on the side was irritating. Keep in mind, I had already invested quite a bit of sweat equity into this kitchen.
   After several sketches, I decided on a simple bookshelf made from 1" pine boards and painted to match the toe kick. These solutions always seem so obvious in hindsight, but this one was tough. Fortunately this also solved an another issue, and gave us storage for cookbooks.