I’ve realized one of my favorite things in home design and DIY is not only when something looks pretty, but when it functions well.  When those two components meet, it’s what truly makes a house feel like a custom built home that really works hard for your family.  I remember realizing that in the last house during our DIY kitchen renovation.  I also realized that making a space work for you doesn’t have to be hard or expensive – you just need a little creativity.   So when we moved into the new house with a whole new kitchen layout – I knew there were some spots that needed some re-work. 

One of them was this “desk” area. 

I guess in the 90’s a desk in the kitchen was a good idea.  Now, there is no way I want to sit next to my fridge, in the middle of my kitchen and work at a tiny “desk”.  What in the world.  I’m not sure when that was ever a good idea. 

So when Cabinet Now reached out asking if I had any projects we could work together on, I immediately sent them a photo of this space and said YES PLEASE! 

This is a sponsored post – which means I was compensated for writing this post in partnership with Cabinet Now all opinions are true and are my own, and I was totally going to fix this space anyway, so it worked out to be a perfect match.  Some links in this post are affiliate links. To see my full disclosure policy, click here.

As if the “desk” area wasn’t reason enough to fix this space, the other reason was the fact that my dog gets into the trash can like it’s his job.  The lid doesn’t stop him.  So about the 100th time I was picking up trash that had already been in the trash, I knew it was time to get this project done.  Operation pull out trash can is a go!

I sent the measurements of the cabinet space to Cabinet Now, and because each cabinet is custom made I requested just the size I needed.  They helped me match the door to my existing cabinets and it was off to be made. 

In just a couple weeks I had a fun bit of “happy mail” on the porch! For some reason I was thinking it would come already built – but it makes sense (shipping wise) for them to come in pieces. 

I followed these easy directions they give on their website and had the cabinet box built in no time.  All you need is a little wood glue and a brad nailer.

The pieces fit together like a puzzle, and each piece is well labeled, so there’s no guessing. 

I only ordered one cabinet for this project, so it was no big deal to build it – however this may be quite the task if I had to build a whole kitchen worth of cabinets. 

Once the cabinet was built I removed the “desk” pieces and supported the counter top in the process.  The proper way to do this would have been to take the counter top off, add the base cabinet and replace the counter top – but that’s not how I did it.  I just made sure the counter top was supported at all times so it wouldn’t come crashing down while I shimmied the new base cabinet into place.    

These cabinets are well designed and strong!  I was less than gentle in getting the cabinet in place, and they held up so well.

When the cabinet was in place, I installed the pull out trash cans – I like these double cans because one can be used for trash and one for recycling.  The installation is simple – 4 screws and you are done! 

I used some scrap pieces of toe kick and baseboard to trim in the cabinet and added the door with the same hinges that are in the rest of the kitchen.  I used the same method to paint this cabinet (see how to do it here) added the matching handle – and just like that this project is finished! 

I think it makes the kitchen look so much more complete, it also feels bigger because the trash can isn’t right there when you walk into the kitchen AND the dog can no longer get into the trash!  All of those make this project well worth it!

Where does your home need a little re-work??  I hope this inspires you to make your home work hard for you!

Until next time, 
Jenni