Hacker Assist! Can I Use Base Kitchen Cabinets As Uppers?

Can all of us agree that it’s tremendous irritating to know what you need to do however be unable to do it? It doesn’t matter what it’s. You may very well be making an attempt to unravel international stage starvation or just in search of your keys, and in case you can’t determine it out, it’s annoying.

But that’s once you attain out to others for some steerage. Maybe they’ll see one thing you don’t, taking a look at issues from a brand new perspective. Like IKEA Hackers fan Alexandra, who determined to ask the hackers group for assist along with her kitchen cabinet dilemma.

Alexandra wrote, “I’m struggling to construct a kitchen with METOD 60x60x80 cm higher wall cupboard frames and want to request the group’s experience. I want to construct a kitchen with IKEA merchandise the place the bottom cupboards and wall cupboards have the identical depth of 60 cm and top of 80 cm for environment friendly storage, however with present IKEA merchandise this isn’t possible.”

Let’s assist Alexandra out!

The Main Issue

The major factor holding again Alexandra’s imaginative and prescient for her kitchen is that IKEA’s METOD vary doesn’t supply an 80 cm-tall wall cupboard. Furthermore, a lot of the wall cupboards aren’t even 60 cm deep; nonetheless, the fridge-freezer topper is.

Therefore, Alexandra zeroed in on two doable choices, each 60 cm extensive x 60 cm deep: one 40 cm tall and one 60 cm tall. Unfortunately, neither of those suits the invoice, as each fall in need of Alexandra’s desired top of 80 cm. So, she halted her kitchen reno plans and turned to IKEA Hackers for an answer.

Possible Solutions to Match Upper and Lower Cabinet Sizes

Jules provides a possible reply, utilizing her personal kitchen as inspiration. She stacked a 40cm cupboard on high of a 60 cm cupboard. (Check out extra of the kitchen transformation.)

She suggests stacking two of the 40 cm fridge toppers to attain the specified 80 cm top and utilizing a single 80 cm door to offer it the seamless look of a single cupboard. The single door hides the joint between the 2 frames, reinforcing the phantasm.

I feel this can be a nice concept, giving Alexandra the look and the storage she needs with out having to construct something customized. You may use the suspension rail to hold your high items in order that every little thing strains up effectively. Then mount those beneath on to the wall utilizing the included nook brackets.

Alternatively, Jules mentions hiring a contractor who may mount the bottom cupboards as wall cupboards. However, this will likely or is probably not a good suggestion, relying in your state of affairs and partitions. You can see a bit extra data from somebody who requested about using base cabinets as wall cabinets.

Basically, it may get difficult as a result of the suspension rail seemingly received’t assist the load. Remember, most METOD wall cabinets are roughly 37 cm (15 inches) deep. Therefore, mounting a cupboard that’s nearly double the depth presents a couple of obstacles. Not to say the additional weight of any objects you retailer within the bigger unit will put much more stress on the rail and the wall.

The fridge-topper cupboards have the proper depth, however they’re shorter, balancing out the deeper footprint. But, as Jules stresses, if the contractor is aware of how one can pull it off securely, utilizing the bottom cupboards because the uppers may very well be an choice.

Extra Considerations If You Use Base Cabinets on the Wall

Studs and Hardware

Make positive your wall materials can deal with the load; screw into a number of studs and use acceptable mounting {hardware}. Even if it appears safe at first, the continued load pulling on the wall may loosen issues over time if it’s not tremendous safe.

Visible Leg Holes

Base cupboard frames have pre-drilled holes on the underside for attaching the ground legs. Therefore, you’ll see these in case you’re hanging the cupboards at or above eye degree. Have a plan to fill or conceal these holes, whether or not with caps, trim, or under-cabinet panels.

Clearance Issues and Head Bumps

If your higher cupboards are the identical depth as your decrease cupboards, be aware of clearance area. Typically, higher cupboards are shallower, which offers a extra streamlined look and in addition provides sensible advantages.

When you’re working at your kitchen counter, you might have enough head clearance. But when the higher cupboards are as deep as your bases, it eliminates this clearance, rising the probabilities of some head bumps. (It may additionally make it harder to entry your complete counter, block lighting, and so forth.)

Could You Rethink Your Kitchen Storage?

If Alexandra modifications her thoughts and decides to mount common higher cupboards, she’s mainly shedding about 23 cm of depth per unit. Her most important purpose for utilizing the deeper cupboards was to get environment friendly storage. Therefore, one other resolution may very well be to seek out additional storage elsewhere, or pare down some kitchen objects.

This choice isn’t essentially a hack, in fact, until she decides to make use of one other hack to create additional area for her stuff. For instance, with out seeing what her precise kitchen seems like, if ground area is restricted, she may attempt one thing like this folding kitchen island or vertical kitchen storage.

Hackers, What Do You Think?

Okay, hackers, now that you recognize what strategies are already on the market, it’s your flip. Alexandra needs to know when you have a greater concept, would you construct one thing in another way, or did she miss something? 

What do you assume? Have some concepts to share that may get Alexandra nearer to the kitchen she’s been dreaming about? Share your ideas, plans, and concepts within the feedback!