Fitted Cupboards

Over the last two days I have been building two fitted cupboards either side of a fireplace for a customer.

The brief was that they were to look traditional, meet her budget and be build in a relatively short time so that her office wasn't out of action for too long.

We settled on building the carcases out of 18mm MDF to keep costs down and have the book shelves in 25mm ply for strength.

 The walls either side of the fireplace were massively out of level and square so it took a bit of time to level it all up. I then started to build the units i n place before adding the sides and the shelves above

First unit nearly built

All the beading to hide the edges of the MDF and ply

Simple MDF doors that will look really effective when painted up

Lots of space in each unit

The book shelves are 300mm deep to accept to rows of small books

The finished units - difficult to get far enough back to take a good picture I'm afraid!

It took me two very long days to fit these two cupboards but I'm really pleased with how they turned out in the end. I've asked the customer to send me a picture when they are painted and full of books so watch this space!

Little Kitchen Storage Solution

Today I built a little cupboard into a nook behind a kitchen. It wasn't a very deep space (about 220mm) but the customer wanted somewhere to store their wine glasses with their cook books on top.

It's a simple construction out of low cost 18mm MDF.

I first built the base and added the sides and divider, these were notched to accept the top supporting timber that holds it together and provided much need support for the shelf on top.

Kitchen hinges were used for the doors making it flush when all the doors are shut. 

Once painted I think this gives a very practical and low cost solution to utilising all the storage a space has to offer whilst still looking good.

Tetris Style Shelves

Sorry I've not posted on this blog for a few weeks (I've been busy having more children!) So it's meant I've slowed down on the work front a little bit.

I have, however, just completed this shelving unit for a friend/customer and I'm rather pleased with the result.

The brief was to make up blocks in tetris style shapes and have a unit where all the blocks could be rearranged if you wanted to. Unusually I worked with the customer on this project and we got on like a house on fire.

The first step was to construct the bottom storage unit that would support all the blocks. We made sure this was really strong as there was to be a fair bit of weight above it.

The first blocks we made were in MDF. Once we made a few we decided that achieving a good finish was going to be a problem so we decided to switch our material to WBP ply, leaving the cut edges exposed.

The first unit we made like this looked good so we set up a mini production line

We made a total of 14 blocks, all joined together with biscuit joints and a PU glue

Starting to stack the blocks in the unit. They were all made with the measurement 265mm as the standard "unit" size, so that it's completely interchangeable

Brian using a homemade beeswax polish to finish the shelves. This picture gives a good idea of how big the units are.

The completed unit with storage cupboards underneath

The completed unit

Completely interchangeable and a really good fit

Three sets of cupboards under the tertis blocks make really useful storage. These doors will be painted white.

We made the doors and hung them on kitchen hinges so it gives a clean finish when they're all shut

Some interesting patterns

I'm lucky in my job that I enjoy what I do, but when I get a project like this I enjoy it even more. I've built some amazing things over the years but this is pretty near the top of the list!

I've still got a few more projects to do in this house so watch this space!

Fitted Book Shelves

I fitted this book shelf a couple of weeks ago, fitted into an alcove in one of the bedrooms.

 I made them out of Sapele with brass strips either side, so the height of the shelves can be adjusted to suit the books it's holding.

Painted up they work quite well in the room, although I think I'd have them fitted down to the floor if they were mine.