Using a Sit / Stand Desk for a Kitchen Shelf, Yes We Did!
by
Cat Shaw
1 Material
$350
30 Hours
Advanced
Hi guys! Hubby and I are at it again. What started as a pot rack turned into the coolest electric shelf right smack dab in the middle of the kitchen! Here's the latest in our strange little kitchen remodel...
So I used to be a chef and my place is still in the kitchen. It's where I am happy, creating food for my husband and friends. We're in the process of remodeling our kitchen ( countertops, walls, floor, new sink, new pantry, the works!) And I said to hubby that I would love to have a pot rack. My talented and mechanically inclined hubby says, "how about a hydraulic shelf"? And that's where it all started. We researched and shopped and put our heads together finally resolved that the hydraulic mechanism was out of our league knowledge-wise. We knew there was something out there that we could use that wouldn't break the bank. We we thinking along the lines of a retracting projector mount or perhaps something used for big screen TVs. Do you have any idea of the cost of those?!?! We're talking upwards of $2000!
Somehow we came across an electric sit/stand desk. Using the legs and the hex bar, was the perfect solution! We used industrial grating for the shelf itself. We started this project by cutting holes in the ceiling. We didn't want anyone to hit their head on the shelf when it was fully retracted so we had to raise the legs into the ceiling. Hubby then welded a metal bar onto the side of the legs to mount them into the side. Here's a couple of pictures showing the legs and how they are mounted. We did a lot of cutting into the ceiling to also accommodate the hex bar. That's the bar the connects the legs to the motor which allows the shelf to move up and down. We had to extend the length of the hex bar, after all, it was made for a desk, not a shelf 😉. Hubby did this by spliced in a piece of metal tubing and welded the ends together. The grating comes in 4×8 ft sheets and our shelf was going to be 4×6 ft so we used a hand held grinder to cut off 2 feet of the grating. Because we cut into the ceiling, we needed a way to reinforce the ceiling where we hung our lights so we mounted the 2ft section of grating on the ceiling, painted a piece of wood black, and hung up the lights. These pictures show the ceiling with the grating and the legs of the shelf.
The next step was to mount the grating for the shelf. Hubby drilled into the base of the legs and we used steel nuts,bolts and washers to connect the ends of the shelf. Because the shelf is 6feet long, we needed to use something along the inside and outside to keep the shelf from sagging. We found some Aluminum angle with pre-drilled holes and mounted it on the grating again with steel nuts,bolts and washers.
We needed the center of the shelf to be open to accommodate the lights so once the shelf was up, we used a pair of tin snips to cut out the center of the shelf.
We measured carefully and used the grinder again to cut the length of the aluminum angle and mounted it onto the center of the grating. We cut out the lip to accommodate the steel bars we used to reinforce the center of the shelf. The bars go between the lights.
Hubby spliced in some Romex to bring in power to the motor from an existing source. He installed a plug-in close to the motor so it could be plugged in. And now we have an industrial shelf that moves up and down by the press of a button! Stat tuned for more of my strange little kitchen remodel!
Check out my video link to see it in action!
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Comments
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2 of 38 comments
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Nice job! When you think about it, all the space above in homes, is unclaimed usage. I would have to make this accordion style pull down, because I don't have a hubby or electrical knowledge.
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I'm in my newest "project", a former 1-room school house (from 1890's, that was rolled about 10 miles on logs to its current location. It has had additions put on, making it a 3/1, but the kitchen is oh-SOOOO-tiny. This might just be THE SOLUTION I've been looking for! Thank you
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Say! What can you tell us about that cool iridescent mosaic tile counter top we see in the foreground??? Pre-fab? Made yourselves? People want to know!!! ( at least THIS people...! )
In the background, ... did you make a room divider from lattice? Clever.