Organizing and weeding through tons of paper in Tech Guy's office is taking super long. I am hoping that maybe sometime soon I'll be able to share some of the pretty manly decorating stuff I've been working on for him.
So, in the meantime, I thought that I would start doing some more tours of our house. I have some pretty dramatic before and progress/afters to show you and will slowly plug through them room by room. I'm starting with our dining room, but before I can post the before and after I want to share a couple DIY projects we did in the space.
Today's post is about the DIY floating sideboard. I've had a lot of questions about how we made this piece and thought it deserved its own post. :)
This was such a simple build-it-yourself piece with tons of mod style. We mounted three 36" x 24" ikea cabinets (over the fridge cabinets with Applad doors) using the Ikea kitchen mounting rails. You basically just need to level the rail and your cupboards will be nice and level as well. Attach your cupboards to one another from the inside and that's it. We mounted our cupboards 8 1/2 " from the floor. The top of the sideboard is 33 1/2 " from the floor.
The top for our sideboard was custom milled from cherry. If you're in the Toronto area, we went to this mill. They did such a nice job that it only needed a little sanding before we finished it. The top is 13" deep and 1" thick. We finished the wood using Waterlox (I highly recommend this wood sealer). I love how the cherry has variations in the wood tones and even the knot!
Here you can see that we didn't overhang the wood top at all. It is flush with the cabinet. I really wanted a clean look. I initially had planned to put on some cute brass pulls on the doors, but ended up falling in love with the plain doors. There's also the extra bonus of Little Pilot not knowing how to open them!
Here you get to look at a semi-tidy section of the inside. I have my Muumi cups, teacups and other dishes in there.
One more photo of the entire dining room. I have added a little bit of spring colour via some tulips and lemons. I may still craft something else into the room for Easter. I haven't decided. :)
Up next I'll show you how Tech Guy installed a completely invisible sound system in this room using these invisible speakers. He's really excited about the post. I agreed to it since there are some cute pictures of Little Pilot drywalling. :)
Your creativity is beautiful and functional! I noticed the coffee mugs inside the cabinet have the Hippopatamus like character! I know this from Estonian books my in-laws gave us when my kids were little. My husband is Estonian and I Croatian. I even loved reading these wonderful stories with this adorable character despite the language barrier! So, this is a Scandinavian character then
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, simple, clean lines..... very scandinavian! :) I especially LOVE the top and how it shows the wood (who Finn wouldn't love wood?).And of course Moomin mugs deserve their own photo. lol! Beautiful pictures!
ReplyDeleteI think the main reason I took the picture of the inside was because of the Muumi mugs. :)
DeleteThe cherry wood looks amazing! I like how the floating cupboards are simple, yet still so striking. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! We were so happy when we found the cherry piece at the mill and it was just the right size.
DeleteYour dining room is so bright and spacious--it looks like it would be really pleasant to hang out in there :). Love that wood top...so pretty! My DH will be very interested in the invisible speaker post, I'm guessing....
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness I am SO in love with this idea! What a perfect look!!!! Thank you so so much for the great inspiration and for sharing at the inspiration gallery!
ReplyDeleteJaime from crafty scrappy happy
I love this! Really wishing we had an Ikea close. Thanks for the tutorial.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I loved the outcome of this DIY and that it was pretty simple too. :)
DeleteWow. This room looks fantastic. Great job. I love how bright it is. The sideboard is awesome too. I would love it if you would share this over at my link party.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ifitsnotbaroquedesignblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/tuesday-link-party-11.html
Wow, that looks awesome! What a great idea. I hope you will consider linking it up to the Pinworthy Projects Party over at my blog, Just Us Four.
ReplyDeletesimply genius...love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It works great in our space.
DeleteToronto? You're Canadian too! Fantastic! I love finding other Canucks with an appreciation for simple, Scandinavian decor as sometimes I feel like I an anomaly here. Love the sideboard! And your dining room chairs are amazing, can I ask where you found them?
ReplyDeleteHi Alex! Yes, I'm Finnish-Canadian and so love anything Finn/Scandinavian. :) The wooden leg chairs are Saarinen executive chairs made by Knoll - we bought them from kijiji, but they were originally purchased from Hollace Cluny in Toronto. The white chairs are Arne Jacobsen knockoffs made in Canada and purchased from the Chair Source.
DeleteIt looks amazing. Love the clean look and I really, really love the room!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! It's one of our favourite rooms in our house and we use it all the time. :)
DeleteThis is simply gorgeous. IKEA cabinets... what an awesome idea; and one that I have pinned and will recreate somewhere! The cherry wood top is divine. Another touch I love? Using light bulbs in the candle sticks. So many fun things to look at and ideas to recreate. Kudos on a job well done! Jules from bles-id.blogspot
ReplyDeleteThanks Julia for your lovely comment and for the pin! It's great what you can do with IKEA cabinets. :)
DeleteWow! Looks great! LOVE this idea!
ReplyDeleteJenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof
Cabinets- that's brilliant. I need something to fit under the windows in the dining room for more storage.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!!! I love your clean fresh look too! Your home seems so inviting!
ReplyDeleteSmiles,
Rachael
The Joyful Thrifter
It looks fantastic!! Brilliant idea using uppers and the cherry wood top is so pretty!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah! We really loved the look of the cherry wood too. :)
DeleteYou guys made that?! Holy cow - it looks fantastic!! Like seriously. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel! It really was a pretty simple project.
DeleteLOVE! do you have a pin button I'm not finding?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Mary. I don't have the pin it button installed. Maybe I should! You can repin it from my Nalle's House board: http://pinterest.com/nalleshouse/nalle-s-house/.
DeleteSooo gorgeous and clean and crisp. I love looking at your home! Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteKrista @thehappyhousie.com
Thanks Krista. :)
DeleteOh, Anu! That is gorgeous! I love it...that top?! Stunning! I'm sharing a link back in this week's DIY favorites. Thank you so much for sharing your inspiring DIY! :)
ReplyDeleteLove its style - it looks a lot more expensive than it probably was =)
ReplyDeleteThis looks so pretty. I love that you chose such a minimal overhang on the wooden top. Makes it even more sleek and sophisticated. Love how this room looks!
ReplyDeleteOh how I love this whole room! I especially LOVE those grey chairs....do you know the brand?
ReplyDeleteChristine
Hi Christine,
DeleteThanks so much for your comment. The chairs are Eero Saarinen executive chairs made by Knoll. I hope that helps!
Ok so before I was just contemplating a floating credenza in our entryway. Now Im definitely doing it. This is absolutely beautiful and incredibly inspiring. Love the clean lines and modern look of it. Im sure my wife will too. Maybe ill sneak in some fun hardware to suit my eclectic tastes. It really us the perfect compromise. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love how you did the credenza! I have a question about the measurements- you said you got a piece of cherry wood for the top that was 12" deep, but the measurements for the cabinets on the Ikea website say those particular cabinets are 12 7/8" deep, so almost 13". I assume you didn't use a 1 x 12 board, because the actual measurement for that is 3/4" x 11-1/4". Would you mind telling me the instructions you gave the lumber yard where you had the board milled? The lumber yard that I called where I live said that anything wider than 12" cannot be a single board, they have to be glued together. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks! :-)
ReplyDeleteThe top is actually 13" deep. Thanks so much for catching that and I'm sorry for the mix-up! I've corrected it in the post now. We got our top at an actual lumbar mill that carried all sorts of wood. They had quite a few large pieces including live edge pieces that were large enough for tables as well. They also planed the wood there as well. I'm thinking you may need to look for a mill that specializes in wood for furniture building (i.e., on that custom planes wood pieces for you). I hope that helps.
DeleteI love how you put this together. I'm gearing up to present this to my husband for our living room's blank canvas, do you remember which ikea cabinets you used? Did you purchase the doors separate, or did it all come together? Thank you!
ReplyDeletepetitemodernlife.com
oops! I'm sorry, I realized I was over looking the link. You can ignore that last comment! :)
ReplyDeleteNo problem at all! We're actually contemplating a new top for this unit as we're renovating the kitchen - possibly marble if there is any extra material from our kitchen counters. :)
DeleteYou wrote "mounted three 36" x 24" ikea cabinets". I can tell from the photo that the floating cabinet 13" depth, which you've corrected recently in one of your comments above. Can you re-iterate the dimensions of our your Applaud doors? I don't think they are 36" either.
ReplyDeleteHi the cabinets are 36" wide and 24" tall. The depth is 13". There is a link in the post to the cabinets that we purchased. For each 36" wide cabinet you get two doors at 18" wide. I hope that clears things up. Thanks for your comment. :)
DeleteJesus Christ I love this. Great DIY project!
ReplyDeleteI am just discovering your blog and love this! Would you be willing to share where you got your dining room table/chairs, or where to look for inspiration?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! The table and chairs are both Saarinen for Knoll (tulip table and executive chairs). I purchased them secondhand. I believe the oak top on the table was a special edition. I'm not sure if that finish/option is still available, but there are other options.
DeleteWhere did you get that awesome picture above the sideboard? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi, the print was purchased from HomeSense here in Canada. It is called "wings over manhattan" by Caite Dansbury.
DeleteHi there! Love this idea! Can you tell me how you attached the top board to the cabinets. I don't see any screws or nails. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi! The top was screwed on from underneath (through the cabinet). I hope that helps!
DeleteHi! This is fantastic! Could you explain how you fastened the 3 cabinets together? Was there a specific hardware that was used? Also how did you end up fastening the cabinets to your wall? Does it come with the ikea cabinets or separate hardware? Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteHi, the cabinets are mounted to a wall with a rail system that you can buy from Ikea. The mounting rail also holds the cabinets together in place.
ReplyDeleteLove this!!! I've been shopping for a large sideboard. I think I found my solution!!!
ReplyDeleteI've been shopping for a long sideboard, I think I have found my solution, I love this!!!
ReplyDeleteI noticed a marble-looking top on the sideboard in other photos. Is there a particular reason the cherry wood doesn't appear to have worked out? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteNo, the cherry was great. When we renovated the kitchen (which is open to the dining room) we had leftover marble from the countertops. I thought it would be nice to use the same marble in the dining room to tie in with the kitchen and was happy not to have any marble go to waste. We saved the cherry to hopefully use for another project.
DeleteI really like this hack and would love to try the same @Home. I have a few questions :
ReplyDeleteHow did you manage the gap between the back of the cabinets and the wall ? Don't you see the rail when looking at the sideboard from the side ?
Without the handles, how do you open the doors ?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Benji,
DeleteThe gap behing the cabinets is covered by the countertop. You just see the counter when looking from above. We open the cupboards from the bottom of the doors which is not very difficult since the cabinet is floating. I think Ikea may also have push latches that you can install to open the doors by just pushing the door. I know that blum makes them if Ikea doesn't have them. I hope that helps!
Alright ! Thank you for that :)
DeleteHi there! I really like this sideboard - its soo pretty! Unfortunately the link doesn't work for me (Europe) - it doesn't show me the cabinets - it just shows the IKEA landing page :( Which cabinets did you use? Thank youuu!
ReplyDelete