Narrow rolling kitchen cart: Perfect for in-between gaps

I made a narrow rolling kitchen cart to fit along my refrigerator, made from IKEA BEKVÄM spice racks.

I had no other choice but build it since the space was only 11cm wide, and nothing manufactured matched these dimensions.

Materials: (total 60€)

  • 4 x BEKVÄM spice racks (16€)
  • 4 x copper tube (1m long / 12mm wide inside – 14mm outside) (26€)
  • 4 x omni-directional casters (~10€)
  • Wood varnish (~6€)
  • Wood paste (~8€)
  • 16 x less than 15mm wood screws (a board is 15mm thick) (~3€)
BEKVAM spice rack
Photo: IKEA.com

Tools:

  • Screwdriver or screw-gun
  • Drill (the screw-gun in drill mode do the job just fine)
  • 14mm drill bit
  • Sand paper / sander machine
  • Glue gun

Steps to build a rolling kitchen cart

1. Do not assemble the BEKVÄM spice rack. Fill up the holes on the sides of the BEKVÄM with wood paste, as we won’t be needing them. I used a big syringe to do it as the holes were small.

Narrow rolling kitchen cart: Perfect for in-between gaps

2. Drill new holes for the copper tubes. I used a paper template to mark the holes center with precision on the four boards.

Narrow rolling kitchen cart: Perfect for in-between gaps

3. Apply varnish on the boards and allow them to dry thoroughly. Varnish dries slowly. So be patient.

Narrow rolling kitchen cart: Perfect for in-between gaps

4. When dry, sand the holes to remove any excess varnish. I used a Dremel but you can use anything suitable you have at hand.

Narrow rolling kitchen cart: Perfect for in-between gaps

5. Next is to build the bottom board. What you need to do is to add something to stop the tubes from going further when inserted into the holes. I used Meccano metal bits (but anything else like this will do the job). Screw them firmly into the board as they will support all the weight from the upper boards.

6. Add casters to the corners, at the widest possible area.

Narrow rolling kitchen cart: Perfect for in-between gaps

7. Slot the boards through the copper tubes. Use a level to make sure they are straight, then seal them in place with hot glue. Or something else if you have a better and classier idea!

Narrow rolling kitchen cart: Perfect for in-between gaps

8. The finishing touch is to form the ledges to prevent stuff from falling off the board. However, we can only add the ledges to one side of the board as the BEKVÄM only comes with one rod each.

Narrow rolling kitchen cart: Perfect for in-between gaps

9. Sand one long side of the ledge so that the rounded bits become flat, as we’ll need it to stand on the boards. Cut off the end bits as we won’t need them. Glue the ledge to one side of each board.

9. Once it’s done, slot it into place and fill up your narrow rolling kitchen cart.

Narrow rolling kitchen cart: Perfect for in-between gaps

~ by ryancey