Creating Faux Varied Height Cabinets and a Shelf Over a Stove

Want to give builder grade cabinets some character?

Creating faux varied height cabinets and a shelf over the stove

can help take basics to ba-bam!

Brace yourself, dear reader. This is a long tutorial. I just couldn't see a way around it with all the steps needed for this.

{THIS POST IS JUST STARTING, CLICK THROUGH FOR THE REST}>>>

I know I sound like a broken record, but this kitchen makeover has been a doozy. It was because of combined reasons...but, yes. Stick a fork in me. D-O-N-E. Done. Part of the reason it was such a whopper was timing. I have no clue what in the heehaw I was thinking in creating a "one-week" completion timeline. My husband gets two weeks off in the summer. We vacation and play the first week. And we DIY the second while kids are in camp. And I seriously thought we could knock this sucker out in a week. Lies, I tell you. LIES.

So along with this tutorial should go the disclaimer that we're now adding crown moulding to the list of things we should never {ever} install together as a couple...that is, if we want to be a happy couple. The other items on the list include ripping out linoleum and installing blinds. And quite frankly, I'm so over blinds right now. So until that one comes around again, we're good to go for a bit.

The reason I was able to keep my sanity {relatively keep it, I suppose} is that I knew I was getting rid of the oak. From the moment I set foot in this kitchen over six years ago with our realtor, I knew I wanted to paint the cabinets white. So, that's what spurred me on. Oak-ie overload was the carrot in front of this horse.

Over the last six years, the goal extended from white paint to include adding bulkier crown moulding to the tops of the cabinets as well. And then I decided I wanted the staggered-height cabinet look, too. And then, I decided I needed a "stove shelf". If I had waited much longer, I probably would've added moonbeams shooting out from the soffits and glass doors encasing slim-design fish tanks. It's a good thing we got moving when we did.

So, this beast, I'm proud to say, was built entirely by this girl. The one typing. I know, right? 

I was kind of in awe of my determination on this one {determination doesn't always readily appear at my disposal}. It came out of a moment of..."oh, noooo!". That "nooooo" was preceded by the hubs stating that we needed to just hire this job out. And a part of this DIY blogger died a bit inside. While I'm well aware that I don't have all the mad skills of a mega handyman, part of my thang on this little 'ol blog is to let others know that anyone can do these projects and gain the necessary skills to keep trying harder projects over time. Anyone. These projects may take lots of time {weeks, people} and blood, sweat and tears {this kitchen has a nice amount of each of those.}

What I did here was create a 3-sided box out of 1x6 boards, measured to fit the spot over the middle section of cabinets. I attached my crown moulding to it. To see my crown moulding on cabinetry post, click here.

I then puttied like crazy and sanded like a mad woman. And made a mess of the island... but a wipe-able one. No worries.

I then attached it {again, flying solo on this one...wahoooo} to the tops of the cabinets with "L" brackets. Pre-drill those holes to avoid splitting the wood, friend.

This is the actual moment that I realized I wanted a stove shelf. The mess of the cabinet was because we never used it. The lightbulbs were moved to the other lightbulb cabinet. Um, yeah.

Then we cut a piece of the insulation board left over from the Chalkboard Backpack Station {which we were actually working on simultaneously}, to fit the space above the microwave.

I did need the man's assistance on this one. I can fly solo like a champ on the compound miter saw all day, but hand me the circular saw and I pretty much wet my pants and awwwww, FREAK OUT {le freak, c'est chic}.

So, King Tut's tomb was walled up. Don't think I didn't leave some surprises in there for whoever remodels this kitchen one day {I can guaran-tootin-tee you it will not be me}.

Please keep in mind that if you take on this type of project, there's some things to take into consideration. The "grill" above our microwave acts as the outflow vent from our stovetop. If you have a vent that goes through your cabinetry and up through your ceiling, you may not be able to do this...because it could block your access to that vent. We did block the actual plug for the microwave in doing this. But, I created an "escape hatch" through the side of the cabinet to reach my hand through and unplug that thing should we ever need to.

I used my compound miter saw {the one I can work} to cut two boards for the shelf...one the width of the walled-up tomb, the other about 2/3 its length. Your length on the "top" board is the width of the tomb. Is it weird that I just call it that now? And does that length/width thing make sense? In my head, it totally does. But sometimes that doesn't translate, so leave me a comment if you need some 'splainin'.

And this part is purely so you won't do this. I had originally wanted decorative corbels to hold up the shelf. However, the height of most corbels is a minimum of seven inches... which would have been halfway to the ceiling. Ree-DONK-ulous. So I thought I'd make my own. What I should have done was use a 2x4 to cut the traingles...instead I created one by cutting triangles out of 1x4s and stacking them. Why? Because I had already been to the big orange store four times that day. I was determined to not go back. I just created a whole new thing to have to work on in the endless list that was our kitchen. I squirted them with Liquid Nails and sandwiched them together. Stupid. 

Then I spent an hour of my {very limited time} the next day filling and sanding these things. An hour. And they still aren't quite perfect. Really stupid.

I took the smaller of the two long boards and mounted it to the board with wood screws. I made sure to "catch" the screws on the cabinet's wood that's under this front piece we installed. This is anchoring the entire shelf, so I had to get it right.  

I took the longer board and laid it on top of the attached board, at a 90 degree angle. Then I predrilled my holes {as pictured above}, making sure they went into that attached board underneath. Please excuse my arm...I was feeling quite accomplished predrilling and photographing simultaneously. But now, this just looks a little weird.

Then I drilled my screws in. I sunk them in, so I could fill them with spackle later and have a seamless look. 

So, technically, these faux corbels are purely decorative. The shelf is already attached to the board. I just Liquid Nailed these in place.  

And then kept tape on them for 24 hours so they didn't wiggle on me. 

Filled. Sanded. Wiped. Painted {tutorial on the cabinet painting coming soon}. 

 Whatcha think?

Here's how I decorated it for David's birthday last weekend. 

The big four-ohhhhhhh.

And here's my everyday look...as of right now, anyway.

The ceramic doggie was a Goodwill find that I gave a coat of spray paint and a little sanding. The tea cup was from my mom's collection and the recipe box {filled with amazingness} is from my late uncle who was a baker at The Manhattan Cafe in San Antonio back before God was a boy. The plant...is of the faux nature.

Download the above free printable here.

 I originally fell in love with the stove shelf concept when I saw it over at

Less than Perfect Life of Bliss.

Hers is amazing!

{i linky-party here}

and at Coastal Charm and Savvy Southern Style

Neglect your chores like me and don't miss a thing:

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