The DIY Kitchen renovation is coming together! Today we go through the simple process of how-to install Ikea base cabinets (from the Akurum kitchen line).
Like the upper cabinets, the first base cabinet we installed was the one in the north-west corner because it’s much easier to spread out from a corner than it is to start mid-wall and try to get everything to fit in from there.
The great online reference I used as a guide for installing Ikea kitchen cabinets mentioned that they levelled everything on a base of wood boards; but we decided to use the Ikea adjustable legs. Our kitchen/house is not level at all, so it would have probably been more of a hassle to try and shim it all with wood pieces (rather than twist the little legs up and down).
The Husband was probably tired of having me remind him that everything had to be super level – a need for a proper countertop installation (that our counter suppliers mentioned to me). Either way, we spent loads of time slowly adjusting the little feet for one cabinet, then attaching another cabinet to it, then adjusting the feet again, etc. Once everything was all set and level for one cabinet section, we then secured them to the walls.
Eventually we got to a point where we could bring in (and hook up) the dishwasher, then continue the cabinet installation on the other side. Once again, we made sure it was level across the whole surface since the countertops would be going all the way over.
Remember back what our kitchen used to look like? Everything was starting to come together and take shape now that the cabinets were in! Here is the view (above) from the entrance looking towards the north wall.
And here (above) is what it looks like from the dining room facing west (that gap is where we will be putting the oven FYI).
Remember how we had to demolish this wall where the oven used to be? It was one of the first cabinet sections we actually had completed (probably because there were less cabinets on this wall).
It’s a much more open space since we removed the wall between the dining room and kitchen! For some reason, I don’t have any pictures showing how we integrated the peninsula section (see where the little floating cabinet is in the photo above?) but hopefully I can explain it properly.
Basically, the corner (lazy susan) cabinet used, and was attached to, the legs from the cabinet to the left of it and was also secured into the wall on the north side. For the right side of the cabinet, where it was jutting out, it was screwed into 2x4s into the ground along with the little floating cabinet. We had to make sure to buy a special drill bit that could screw into tile because we didn’t want the tiles to crack (well, at least not anymore than they were already).
And again, after installing all the wall and base cabinets, our big Ikea pile got much smaller! We still have lots of panels, and filler pieces – most of which I will be discussing next week when I talk about installing the doors and drawers.