Caron needs ideas for a hidden kitchen. Share your thoughts.
Any ideas for a “secret” utility area, which could also be used as an occasional kitchen?
It’s in an alcove off a corridor that links a living room with bedroom and bathroom. So, when not in use, I’d like it not to look like a kitchen – just like a flush wall of doors, with the worktop visible only when they are open.
I’m trying to fit in a full-sized washing machine and separate tumble dryer. Also a tiny sink and a fridge (maybe table top).
The floor plan, top view, below:
The alcove is 2210mm long, 715mm deep and 2180 mm high.
Running alongside there is a corridor of 760mm wide. (There is a further alcove on the other side of the corridor which I intend to fill with reduced depth wall units, for general storage, from floor to ceiling).
Many thanks
~ by Caron
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Hi Caron
Pocket doors that tuck into the sides of the kitchen cabinets will be perfect for this but IKEA doesn’t offer them.
So, let’s see what else we can do.
Hidden kitchen behind sliding doors
The first option is, of course, hiding the row of kitchen cabinets and appliances behind PAX sliding doors. Push the doors to the left or right to reveal your kitchen. Here’s a post on installing the PAX sliding doors as a built in.
A project by Gray Organschi Architecture. Photograph by Mark Mahaney. (Via)
Lift to reveal kitchen
I also like doors that lift upwards to reveal the worktop. The drawback — you can’t have a long open countertop, as the hinges for the doors will need to be fixed onto frames.
Unfortunately, IKEA doesn’t have a hinge that lifts the door upwards. It does sell the UTRUSTA hinge for horizontal doors. It’s a less elegant solution that flips the doors upwards, but it works.
Another issue would be the height of IKEA’s horizontal doors. One door would not be wide enough to cover the gap from the worktop to the bottom of upper cabinets. It will need two IKEA horizontal doors.
I previously did a hack for my IKEA kitchen cabinet — joining two horizontal doors as one unit and hanging it from one set of hinges. This was to cover a 60cm tall cabinet frame which does not have a horizontal door option.
I used butt hinges to join the two doors together. And glued on magnets to hold the smaller door to the top piece when in folded position. Three years later, it’s still holding up.
My hack wasn’t to cover up the countertop space. But I believe you can modify it to cover the space between countertop and uppers.
Flip down for kitchen
Another idea … if you don’t want to flip it up, you can also flip it down. And the door becomes the worktop, like this BILLY bar. But it probably won’t hold a heavy load.
Hidden kitchen behind swing doors
A hidden kitchen by Masseria Alchimia in Puglia. (Via)
Lastly, a simple hinged door will work too. Once closed, it will look like a wall of cabinets.
Hope to see what you do with your alcove.
Anyone else with ideas for a hidden kitchen? Please do share with us!
Happy hacking,
Jules