My kitchen. Now finished.......finally!

[Pond]

Hi peeps,
I put a thread up a while ago about my kitchen build. It is now finished, at last, after 6 months work.
For those who didn't see the original thread, this is my first foray into woodworking; I know I jumped in at the deep end and sometimes I have wished I hadn't!
This is how it looked a few months back, about half way through:

This is after all the hard work:

The island unit was the biggest single item for hours put in. The turned posts are actually pine, not oak. I had these lying around. They were a bit tatty, so I sanded them (took a whole day), filled and waxed them.

The dressers weren't too bad to make; both have 20mm solid oak backs, the staves were pocket-holed and glued.
The open dresser has small 'v' grooves along all shelves to hold the plates!
The carcasses were bought online from a cheap supplier. They are all 18mm MFC in 'light oak'. The timber is all 'Light country grade' from Sykes, who I was very impressed with!
The handles were £1.99 each from Screwfix. The flush hinges and roller catches were from Isaac Lord. I started with really cheap items from Screwfix, but the Isaac Lord ones are much better quality and should last better. The belfast sink is an end of line Armitage Shanks, I got this for £110 delivered!
The granite is 30mm 'Black Pearl'. All tiling was from 'Walls and Floors', ordered online.
The whole lot, including new lights, paint, woodworking machines (Axy TS200, Axy p/t and router table) cost me £7,500.
To say I'm chuffed is an understatement!
Andy

 

[Pond]

The dressers:

All the doors are 20mm thick, rails and stiles are 50mm wide. Centre panels are 50mm wide by 10mm thick staves. They are fitted loose in the door frame to allow for movement, this I presume being more of an issue because the staves are so thin! These sizes came about by 10mm being an optimum thickness of re-sawing 27mm rough planks and 50mm being the maximum cut my tablesaw would give safely.
The beading between the frames and doors and the mouldings are all stuck on, as I wanted a 'hand-made' look.

All the oak has been finished with Osmo Polyx hardwax oil (matt finish). I only used one coat on most of it, as when I applied a second it seemed not to give any more protection, or darken the timber at all. It seemed a waste of expensive wax!

 

[Pond]

It's going to take another six months to clear up the workshop now!

 

[bosshogg]

Are you sure this is your first time around,could be in a previous life...... :wink:
...bosshogg

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried something new (hammer)

 

[barkwindjammer]

In a word 'wow' ! :shock:

 

[Pvt_Ryan]

cracking job, esp for a first time.

 

[Chems]

Amazing! You could go pro with work like that, especially like the island.

Will there be a cornice added, looks fine with out just wondering?

 

[Pond]

Chems,
Funny you should mention cornices, as I've been deliberating about these. I am not going to put any on for a couple of reasons: I don't have a cornice cutter, they are hideously expensive when I probably won't use it again. I also am not keen on the limited range of profiles. I know I could make up profiles without a cornice cutter, but think it could be too fussy.
Another reason is that I have now painted everything above the cupboards and there is nothing really to 'hide' except the lighting control gear on one of the dressers.

 

[Pond]

Chems,
Several people have said about doing it professionally, however, as I say to them; I only know how to make that kitchen. It has also taken about 150 man days. I charge £350-400 per day for my day job, therefore, I would have to charge £56,000 plus materials for a kitchen like this!
Also I wouldn't be able to make it 'off-site' and transport and fit. Because I don't know what I'm doing I have to have my workshop 20 feet away to 'make things as I go along'!

 

[MickCheese]

That is really impressive. Well done.

Can I just suggest one thing, on the dresser to me it looks like it needs the top to be scribed / fitted to the alcove. The bottom does not look free-standing but the top is not attached?

That is not in any way a criticism as I think the workmanship is second to none, just an observation.

I like the turned posts, they seem to blend in well.

Mick

 

[Pond]

Can I just suggest one thing, on the dresser to me it looks like it needs the top to be scribed / fitted to the alcove. The bottom does not look free-standing but the top is not attached?

I don't understand?!

Is it because the photo was taken with a wide angle lens, skewing the angles?

The tops on both are plumb with the walls to the fireplace and end (not easy as all the walls in this 300 year old house are pi**ed). The lower cupboards are level and the tops are sat on them, with 'L' brackets holding them against the wall at the top.

I must admit in the pictures the two sided skirting/plinth on both do look a bit naff, but it looks OK in 'real' life.
I didn't remove the existing skirting to wrap the new around the bases because our skirting is older than the finish on the walls, thus making the skirting 'recessed'. I know if I tried to cut the skirting half the wall render and plaster would have fallen off, so I didn't disturb it!!

 

[doctor Bob]

Very well executed.

 

[Pond]

Very well executed.

Not compared to the pictures of the stuff on your website, it ain't!!

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Nice work, well done.

 

[MickCheese]

Can I just suggest one thing, on the dresser to me it looks like it needs the top to be scribed / fitted to the alcove. The bottom does not look free-standing but the top is not attached?

I don't understand?!

Is it because the photo was taken with a wide angle lens, skewing the angles?

The tops on both are plumb with the walls to the fireplace and end (not easy as all the walls in this 300 year old house are pi**ed). The lower cupboards are level and the tops are sat on them, with 'L' brackets holding them against the wall at the top.

I must admit in the pictures the two sided skirting/plinth on both do look a bit naff, but it looks OK in 'real' life.
I didn't remove the existing skirting to wrap the new around the bases because our skirting is older than the finish on the walls, thus making the skirting 'recessed'. I know if I tried to cut the skirting half the wall render and plaster would have fallen off, so I didn't disturb it!!

To me it looked like there was a gap between the sides of the dresser and the vertical wall either side in the alcove, or is that just a shadow?

Is it just the way the photograph is portraying it?

Mick

 

[Pond]

To me it looked like there was a gap between the sides of the dresser and the vertical wall either side in the alcove, or is that just a shadow?

Is it just the way the photograph is portraying it?

Mick

Yes there is a gap of 25mm each side on both. All of the dressers I have seen have tops smaller than the bottom, I presume because otherwise they would look like fitted units. I followed pictures I have seen, obviously with a little poetic licence!

 

[MickCheese]

To me it looked like there was a gap between the sides of the dresser and the vertical wall either side in the alcove, or is that just a shadow?

Is it just the way the photograph is portraying it?

Mick

Yes there is a gap of 25mm each side on both. All of the dressers I have seen have tops smaller than the bottom, I presume because otherwise they would look like fitted units. I followed pictures I have seen, obviously with a little poetic licence!

[/quote]

I think it looks great and am not criticising. My personal taste would have been to have the top fitted but I fully understand why you did it the way you did. That's the thing about personal taste, we are all different.

Mick

 

[softtop]

Excellent job - no wonder you are pleased! Look forward to seeing you on Monday.

Best wishes,

Henry