Misc: kitchen larder - bedroom cupboard, etc

It was useful to have some indoor projects to do alongside the house demolition, as it allowed us to concentrate on them during the coldest, wettest winter days, when we just didn't fancy working outside. 

One of our main priorities was to finish the kitchen larder. We'd been using a temporary set of shelves (constructed hastily out of old pallets) for a couple of years, so it was about time we sorted the larder out properly. The one good thing about using the temporary shelves for so long was it demonstrated in practice what worked and what didn't work and would help us decide on the right final design.

 

 

The first step was to research what pre-made shelving was available to buy and how we could incorporate that into the relatively-limited space we had. Not many ready-made items were going to fit our purposes (or budget), so we ended up having to work out our own bespoke shelving. As ever, we used SketchUp to work out a detailed 3D design. 

 

Once we'd got the plan right, we ordered in all the materials we'd need for construction and got to work. In the bottom part of the larder, we would be using pull-out mesh drawers (for potatoes, onions, bread, etc). Removing the old temporary shelves was easy enough...  

 

... then it was just a matter of screwing in a single metal support. We used the Elfa shelving system which is very good, albeit ridiculously overpriced. The cheaper alternative made by IKEA wouldn't fit inside the dimensions of our cupboard (note to self: next time design the cupboard size to allow for cheaper shelving systems). 

Once the main support bar was in, the rest of the shelves simply clicked into place. The Elfa system does seem very easy to use and well made.

The baskets fit perfectly and open out smoothly on little rollers.

Next we fitted the lower shelf which goes directly above the pull-out baskets. The picture below was just a test-fit to check everything was lining up correctly. 

We designed the stepped shelf for storing tin cans. It also doubled up as a kind of bracing bar, to secure the two right-angled sections of shelf together, using cunningly-hidden screws.

The tins fit well and the step allows clear access to the ones in the back. Wherever possible we adapted the design around standard wood sizes, to minimise the amount of cutting and planing needed. 

Although the shelves were made from 25mm thick timber, to stop any chance of the shelf bowing in future, we added supports at the back made from leftover door stops. Once painted these would be barely visible so it was well worth doing. 

We did consider making completely invisible supports for the shelves but it would have been a lot of extra work and rather unnecessary for a functional cupboard.

Getting everything level in all directions was crucial.

We had to work around the boxed-in pipe which runs directly through the larder. This was useful for attaching shelf supports, but meant the shelves themselves would need to interlock with each other where they overlapped in the corners.

The bottom shelf in the picture has been notched to complete the 'wraparound' effect. The notch was measured pretty easily by placing one shelf on top of the other and drawing around it...

... so once cut it should be a pretty close fit.  

All the gaps will be filled and painted once everything is securely screwed in place.

We'd planned for another stepped shelf - this one would be three-tiered and used for herbs and spices.

Once again, we'd designed it using standard sizes to minimise cutting and planing. Most of the timber was pre-primed, moisture-resistant MDF and was sold for use as skirting boards and architraves, so lots of different widths were available.

Test fitting the 'steps'.

Quite an easy way to build a spice rack. Once filled and sanded all the joins in the timber will disappear and the whole thing should look like a solid stepped shelf.

We would also be fitting four mesh baskets to be used for holding small bottles, like oils and condiments. 

Once all the shelves had been screwed down securely, we filled and sanded everything so it was perfectly smooth.

Then both walls and woodwork were given a couple of coats of paint. The cupboard looked pretty good once we'd applied a good quality eggshell paint and would also be easy to wipe down in case of any spills.

 

 

 

We would be fitting another two baskets above these later (delayed delivery).  

 

To store all the herbs and spices, we bought a set of matching jars. These ones were the perfect fit for the stepped rack and were not expensive.

It's not as OCD as it looks - after all, they're not even in alphabetical order... (however they are ordered with the most-used at the front and least-used at the back...)

Along with the spice jars, we added a few more Oxo Pop containers for the middle shelves on both sides of the larder. 

 

 

The gaps between the shelves were sized to allow for these containers.   

 

 

Compared to normal kitchen cupboards, even a relatively small larder like this can hold a huge amount of food and allows us to get at everything easily. 

 

The larder was always part of the house plans, so we deliberately omitted underfloor heating from that area. It works really well, as the larder remains nice and cool, even on hot days, to help preserve the food.

 

 

 

 

We also tackled the cupboard in the spare bedroom.

 

 

There are two narrow cupboards that run between the front bedroom and back bedroom. The original idea of these was to provide storage space for both bedrooms, while also allowing for some separation between the rooms. This meant that the bedrooms would have not one, but two soundproofed walls (and a small gap) between them to hopefully reduce sound transfer and increase privacy. Years of living with noisy neighbours made us a bit paranoid about sound.

Here's that bedroom wall going up back in 2015, with the cupboard in the far corner...

 

 

...and the two walls of the cupboards that separate the bedrooms.

 

Back in the present day, the inside of the bedroom cupboard was looking a good deal more finished, albeit a little bare.

 

Once again we were using the Elfa system which made installation straightforward. Once the vertical bars had been screwed onto the wall...

... all the shelving simply slots into place.

On the opposite wall, we made the most of the limited cupboard space by using some shallow mesh baskets.

We fitted a series of hooks along the top bar.

  

To finish it off, we added a wardrobe rail that runs the full length of the cupboard. 

 

These drawers are a lot deeper than the ones in the kitchen larder, so can hold plenty of stuff.

That's the spare bedroom cupboard completed. It functions as a kind of wardrobe/chest of drawers so means that we don't need to buy any additional furniture for the room (plus because it's 'fixed' to the structure of the house, we can also claim back the VAT for the materials as part of the house build).