We’re into Week 4 of our 6 week kitchen makeover for the One Room Challenge. This week we’re adding some open shelving. Whenever anyone walks into our kitchen, the first comment we get is usually get is “Wow, that’s a lot of cabinets” and to be fair, they’re not wrong. We do have a lot of cabinets.
In fact, when our kitchen was originally delivered from IKEA, it came in 376 boxes. That isn’t an exaggeration.
So while the space is clearly not lacking for storage, what it does lack is any place for us to display anything – pretty dishes, wine glasses, etc. To rectify that, we built some open shelving boxes to mount below our cabinets.
The plan:
KItchen Elevation showing open storage boxes
Similar to our media wall console, we built the boxes out of 3/4″ plywood that is laminated to give it an 1 1/2″ thickness and then finished the raw edges. The finished plywood edge will help give the boxes a bit of the industrial look we’re going for.
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- Laminated plywood
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- The finished plywood edge on our DIY media wall console
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- Close up of the finished plywood edge on our DIY open shelving boxes
Kes also routed channels into the boxes which will be used to recess some LED strip lighting. This will allow us to backlight the inside of the boxes as well as provide some under-cabinet lighting for the space.
Routed channel in the open shelving box for recessed LED lighting
The boxes are assembled and ready to go. Now we just have to stain them & get them installed.
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- Sanding our DIY open shelving boxes
Before we go, lets check in with our overall to-do list for the kitchen.
The to-do list:
Source backsplash tile optionsResearch countertop optionsResearch sink optionsSource electrical workChoose countertopFinalize lighting choicesPaint window wall framesUpdate electrical for island pendantsWire island for outlets & bar fridgePurchase bar stoolsBuild& mount open shelving- Install under cabinet lighting
- Replace window/door trim
- Purchase bar fridge
- Purchase backsplash tile
- Install sink
- Have countertops cut & installed
- Install backsplash
- Install new faucet
- Install pendant lights
- Install wall sconces
- Style & accessorize
That’s it for this week! What do you think? Are you digging our open storage boxes or do they seem like overkill?
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Oh wow that is ALOT of boxes!!! Holy lots of work, but its going to look sooooo good. I look forward to seeing it all come together.
Thanks Jennifer! We’re getting there. Thanks for following along. 😊
Wow! I don’t know if I’d be ambitious enough to build all those cupboards. Keep at it!
Lol, thanks Ariel. It was a lot for sure. We had a few helpers & got a good assembly line going tho so it wasn’t as bad as we initially anticipated. Tedious work, but thankfully not hard. 😊
This is going to be SO good! What a lot of hard work, but so worth it!
Thanks Lydia & thanks for following along!
So. Many. Boxes! I would have been totally overwhelmed. But also, your routed channel looks sooo good. When I tried to do that for our lighting they were all wibbley wobley lol – I can’t wait to see the whole thing come together!
Thanks Casey! It was overwhelming for sure when we saw them all arrive, but we got a little team of family members & managed to get everything assembled over 3 days. 😅 Also I can’t take any credit for the routing. That’s all Kes. Hard to believe there’s just 2 weeks to go!
Wow! You have a ton of storage in that kitchen! Those boxes will make it look custom!
Thanks Nicki! Yea that’s what we think too. Should definitely help give it a custom look.
HI Tash,
I’m looking for an inspiration for an upcoming kitchen makeover project. I like a lot of storage. This just made me realize that it is possible. I hope everything goes well. How’s everything going?
Cheers,
Jessica