We could flashback to the rough beginning of this particular fauxdenza via the power of HYPERLINKS or maybe just scroll down for a refresher.Let’s get our DIY on. Dimensions: 10′ long x 13-1/2″ deep x 33″ tall 8 – Applad Doors (15 x 18″) 4 – Akurum Wall Cabinets (30 x 18″) 8 – Integral Hinge (2 pack) 2 – Akurum Suspension Rail 1 – Wood (14′ L x 15″W x 1″T) *I used Afrormosia Screws + appropriate anchors This poor, strange living room wall… There was once a pipe shelf. Then I got bored with that. Then nothing for a bit. Then a floating storage credenza sounded good. The whole fauxdenza thing boils down to just installing Ikea kitchen cabinets way, way too low. Since the tops of the wall cabinets aren’t meant to ever be seen and are all uglified, making some sort of aesthetically pleasing top becomes necessary. The Akurum suspension rail system is designed to levely hang Akurum wall cabinets very simply.
Of course, to install the rail you have to choose appropriate wall fasteners for your walls. For our plaster walls, screws into studs plus heavy duty anchors worked perfectly. I test mounted the cabinets to see what the plumb/level situation was going to be when confronted with our old plaster walls.Old plaster walls are really uneven. The walls are wonky, but the other installation hurdle was that creepy giant non-functioning heater thing. Not only did it ugly up the place, it’s location blocked the centered installation of the loooonnng fauxdenza. So we removed the internal bits, framed out the wall, patched and painted it up (although, finding matching molding and large floor grates are still an issue). Old house + plaster walls = Gappity gap gap The last cabinet had a pretty large gap since the plaster wall took a sudden curve. To correct the gap, first we shimmed the rail with some broken paint sticks from Home Depot, because that’s how we roll (unprofessionally).
It was clear that the initial shim was nowhere near deep enough. We tested out how deep it had to be by sticking those little furniture foot pads onto the rail (unprofessionally). Turns out, the last cabinet needed over an inch of the wackiest shimming you’ll never, ever see. With the extreme shimming resolved and stuff hanging level, hiding the enormous new shim gap was the next quandary. The simple wood top I had planned on installing had to continue and wrap around the sides of the cabinets to disguise the monstrous shim gap. For the newly expanded wood wrap, it felt best to find a better grade hardwood than I could grab at Home Depot. With some brief googles I found Peterman Lumber, a local mill/lumber yard that specializes in domestic and exotic woods. They have wood wood, you know, wood you take seriously. Wood that won’t take crap from no one, no how. Tight budget in mind, I settled on a 14 foot long piece of Afrormosia, which is an excellent and – cough* cough* – cheaper teak substitute.
At about 15 inches wide by an inch thick, the piece I picked ran about $100 and looked purtty. We used a handheld circular saw to cut the wood down to size. No fancy woodworking, no miters. Just simple straight lines. I traced along the front edge of the cabinet door onto the wood sitting on top of the cabinets and pressed flush against the wall. No brainer, no craziness. Cut on the traced line for a superb custom fit. Each joint, as well as the edges, got a quick sanding to knock down any unevenness and smooth things out. The rest of the wood got prepped with a once over sanding using super fine steel wool. Pretty much, I went with the same process that I use to restore vintage furniture to treat this new wood. Slap on a few coats of Danish oil and a few coats of Feed n’ Wax and… That untreated wood darkens up and looks incredible. To attach the wood, I predrilled a few holes through the inside of the cabinet frames and screwed into the bottom of the wood to secure it;
of course, do not go through it completely. It only takes a few strategic screws to set the wood solidly in place, all fancy looking. Initially, I had planned on using the Ikea Strecket handles and tested them out a bunch during the cabinet installation. Once the wood went on though, the handles suddenly looked way too fussy and got nixed. Having no handles on the doors has been fine. The cabinets are high enough that I can comfortably grab the bottom door edge to open things up without any awkwardness. For about $300, some labor and some problem solving, we custom-built a ten foot long floating credenza that adds tons of storage while being perfectly scaled and custom fit on an awkwardly long and barren entryway wall. Being both super customizable and easily constructed, the fauxdenza seems a clever DIY solution for a wide spectrum of storage conundrums. Plus it looks sexy doing it, which never hurts.*This post in partnership with CliqStudios. There is that turning point in a kitchen remodel when you can actually start to visualize the completed space and for me it’s always when the cabinets are installed.
Last weekend when I was in Las Vegas I checked in on the kitchen remodel progress and was so excited to see the space coming together with the cabinets in place! The fully assembled cabinets were delivered in January by truck and we unpacked and inspected each one, then then brought them into the house to acclimate. Instead of an all white kitchen I opted for blue gray bases and white uppers. With white countertops and a variegated blue gray tile backsplash, this kitchen will be a stunner when complete! (Find sources for the kitchen cabinets in part one of this remodel series). I chose upper cabinets instead of open shelving to maximize storage, I like to include a series of glass fronts for display, I think they feel less heavy than all solid doors and also provide open shelf style storage but protected behind glass. Our upper cabinets and bases were installed with a 30 ¼” space between them to allow for the range and hood to slide in but it left a gap on the left side so instead of trimming the gap we’re going to fill it in with sheetrock instead to make it seamless.
I chose drawers instead of cabinet doors to the left of the range for cookware, and LOVE the soft close drawers that slide in on their own. You can see the painted sides of the cabinet where they are exposed and the sides where they are not. We’ve installed kitchen cabinets before for the Alma project remodels (here and here) but opted for a professional finish carpenter in this case for a few reasons. 1) To save time since I was out of town when it happened, my Dad supervised and snapped some pictures in my absence. 2.) Precision was so important since a level revealed the floors, walls, and ceilings weren’t straight and 3.) There were two angles in the kitchen at the sink base and in a corner and a finish carpenter would make it all right for the countertop installers. On top of the install, they had to trim the backs of two cabinets and construct the refrigerator frame and they did an amazing job. I asked Joe (the finish carpenter) what his opinion was on the quality of the CliqStudios cabinets since he’s installed them all in his 30+ years experience.
He told me that because they have plywood sides and a full back, soft close drawers, nickel plated steel hinges, and smooth enamel paint, the cabinets are excellent quality. In the old kitchen there were cabinets that surrounded the fridge, I had two problems with this scenario: the upper cabinets were too shallow and the refrigerator too deep. See how it sticks out beyond the arched opening? We moved the old refrigerator out into the garage and replaced it with another gently used one my Dad found for us (his friend was moving). This one is cabinet depth so that it can sit inside a 24” frame. The new refrigerator cabinet is also 24” deep, but we still need to add some shelves (DIY project!) to the left and recess the electrical outlet and water line so that the refrigerator will sit inside the frame. It allows for panels so we will make them at some point (DIY project!) but for now the white is perfectly fine. Also unseen is a 3” edge on the other side to allow for a full door swing.
The fridge no longer blocks the entry and is a big improvement on what was there before! My least favorite thing about this kitchen is the angled peninsula where the sink sits since angles are wasted storage space, unless you order completely custom cabinets that include those spaces in the cabinets. But since we cut the pony wall down to cabinet height to allow for counter instead of bar stools (see the before here) I’m not so opposed to it. It’s more open concept which is great for spending time with and entertaining people in the breakfast nook to the left and the family room beyond. I call this the non-range wall, here’s a peek at the kitchen before we replaced everything from the flooring on up to the lighting. I decided to remove the pantry from the space entirely and instead install two pantry cabinets in the breakfast nook (see below). The choice allowed for more counter space in the kitchen and makes if feel less cramped. There is one problem though, despite our accurate measurements we ended up with a slightly wider gap to the right than expected so again here were using drywall to cure the problem.
We will open up the entry by eliminating a few inches that protrude into the entry (top to bottom) and add drywall to the edge of the base cabinet to fill the gap. It’s hard to explain but I’ll show you what it looks like when complete. The 3” gap between the wall and upper cabinet will have a filler piece so it meets the wall uniformly. Just beyond you can see how the kitchen connects to the breakfast nook where we installed a set of pantry, base, and upper cabinets to add more storage to the home in the same style of cabinetry and same color as the upper cabinets in the kitchen. Here is the breakfast nook back in July of last year before we removed the popcorn ceilings and wallpaper and replaced the flooring. Notice the electrical outlet down below. I had the electrical outlet raised for access and added a set of 18” deep cabinets to the space. Both of the tall cabinets are the same height as the kitchen cabinets but since the ceiling is higher in here we trimmed them with crown molding.