The new breakfast nook (shared about here) is on its way! I crossed my fingers, gulped twice and ordered those above-the-fridge cabinets that match the rest of our kitchen cabinetry and are perfectly sized as future bench seats for a breakfast nook. (For reference, they’re cherry wood shaker-style KraftMaid cabinets from Lowe’s in a honey spice finish.)
And then they arrived! And are just as perfect as had hoped. I opted for drawers rather than doors so that as I move my bench pieces around the kitchen (I’d like these guys to serve double-duty as all sorts of seating options) the contents won’t come spilling out. The drawers provide a nice little stash place for tablecloths and runners and such, too.
The drawers came assembled straight out of the box, but rather than add a toe kick to the bottom of the cabinets so that they aren’t directly on the ground, I thought that legs might look a bit nicer and will add a little industrial detail.
Ikea came through with two varieties that I thought would work well – one a solid metal ‘skinny’ leg with a round foot, the other a pewter-painted ‘fatter’ leg with a rubber foot. The skinnier guys won based solely on ease of installation (I could drill the legs directly to the base of the cabinet without the screws interfering with drawer functionality).
You can see that the fatter legs actually require a decently sized pre-drilled hole and something to screw the current exposed screw into (which is probably customary on the Ikea cabinets you’re supposed to buy them for). See how the legs would sit into the underside of the cabinet above and not flush with the bottom (as I had imagined them showing up)? That plan was a no-go.
My skinnier legs are attached to a cabinet by securing each with four small screws, a perfect solution when a drawer must function on a track that is in the way of potential screws. The small screws were about 1/2″ long and didn’t interfere with any sliding motion when drilled through the base.
I totally dig my Ikea industrial legs. They don’t look very Ikea-ish at all and are perfect for the kitchen!
Don’t mind the dusty floors.
Now it’s on to pretty cushions to top these rather uncomfortable drawer cabinets with, and then a table and maybe a few cool chairs. The breakfast nook is coming together!
All kitchen posts can be found right here (we built this space from scratch, at one point in its past life it was actually a den).
What dimensions are the cabinets you purchased?
They are each (there are two): 18″ deep, 23″ wide, 12″ tall. Cheers!
Since all the cabinets are on legs, did you put legs on the dishwasher?
Hi Ron, most of the cabinets in the kitchen reach the ground, including the island where the dishwasher is. This bench seat has legs to make it easy to move :).
I love your bench and am going to try to recreate it. It looks like there are three different heights for the legs. Do you know which one you used?
Hi Gretchen, I believe the set that I used is called ‘CAPITA’, they are about 4″ tall.
Thank you! Off to get some cabinets and legs now. :)
How did you reinforce the feet to make them strong enough to sit on?
Hi Lauree, Each set of Ikea legs came with four large screws and covered an ample surface area (plus I added four to each bench, so eight in total) and since the legs were built to be applied just as we did to our KraftMaid boxes but instead to Ikea cabinets (so they were built to function as we used them) I wasn’t worried about reinforcement beyond that. These Kraftmaid cabinets are made of solid wood and are incredibly strong too – they don’t wiggle or budge an inch!
Great idea!! What type of cabinet did you choose from Lowes to use for the bench? I am also looking for a bench with drawers and would love to find those!
Thanks :)
Hi! We were originally looking for above the refrigerator size cabinets, but Kraftmaid ended up selling the same size in a standard drawer after we inquired:).
Love it! I’ve definitely over-used Ikea in our house.great idea!!. i love your blog!!
Love it! I’ve definitely over-used Ikea in our house. Some of their items are just.so.functional that I can’t resist. And I can’t wait to see what you do for the cushion tops, especially with a toddler running around.
Oh you won’t be so impressed with my cushion solution! It’s very impractical for toddlers ;) but I do love them…
Great idea for bench seats! Can’t wait to see how you make then comfy and purdy! ;D
Hi Morgan! What a creative solution. I love it. Can’t wait to see it finished and with the cushions…
Cheers,
Rebecca
BTW – we also used the KraftMaid cabinets with some Ikea hardware (pulls) in our kitchen renovation. The cabinets are really well-made and I’ve been so happy with them and the Ikea hardware works really well with them too.
Love KraftMaid, we’re huge fans!