We had a nice chunk of butcher block left when I cut out the hole for the sink. (More about the Ikea counters at this post.) The homeowner had the idea of making it a cutting board that would extend from the cabinets to add a little more counter space.
At first, I thought there wouldn’t be enough space above the top drawer on this cabinet. There was about 1 3/4″ available, but the butcher block was 1 1/2″. That would only leave 1/8″ margin above and below. In the end, it was perfect, but it was a tight fit.
The cutting board would be attached using 20″ heavy duty drawer slides. They are supposed to hold 100 lbs which might be nice if someone decided to lean on the cutting board when it was extended.
I started the installation by cutting out the top cross piece so the opening would match the drawer below. Next, I built out the sides to match this opening so that the drawer slides would have a place to attach. After attaching the rails I was ready to cut the butcher block to fit.
The homeowner also had the idea of making the face of the cutting board wider so that it would cover the end of the drawer slides and match the drawers below. This was a great idea, but required some extra thinking before I made any cuts. The board would set back into the cabinet 20″, but would need an extra 1/2″ for the lip on the front.
I made some careful cuts trying to keep everything square so that it would slide right once installed. It took some adjustments, but it did fit and looked great. There’s about 1/8″ clearance between the cutting board and the countertop above. That’s plenty to make sure there’s no interference. These counters overhang quite a bit, so even with the lip on the cutting board it will be hidden until someone needs it.
We’ll have to find some kind of drawer pull to put on the end after I’ve sanded and sealed it so that you have an easy way to pull it out.
It’s fun to work with clients to see their ideas become reality, especially something that will be so functional- as long as you remember it’s there!
-Peter
