Counter-top divider — how to build it
Parts
- Worktop: order one extra length of the same worktop as the kitchen, so the colour and edge match exactly. Cut it to 200 × 30 cm. Standard worktops are about 60 cm deep, so one length gives you the divider plus an offcut.
- Legs: 2 × IKEA OLOV adjustable legs in black, 25 zł each. They adjust from 60 to 90 cm, which covers the 86 cm needed under the worktop.
- Wall end: a concealed steel bracket or a wooden batten screwed into the wall. The worktop also screws into the side of the shortened kitchen counter.
- Underneath: a steel flat bar or angle along the length. On its own, a 200 cm top only 30 cm deep will bend and wobble, especially if someone leans on it. This is the rail drawn in the planner.
- Stools: any 65 cm counter stools.
Who should build it
- Your kitchen fitter (recommended). They'll be cutting worktops and shortening that counter by 26 cm anyway. Adding the divider is about an hour's extra work, and they'll seal the cut edge so it doesn't swell from moisture. Ask for it in the same quote as the kitchen.
- DIY: possible with a track saw (a straight cut 2 m long), edge banding for the cut side, and a drill for masonry. The cut and the stiffness are the tricky parts, so only do it yourself with the right tools.
- Ready-made alternative: Castorama or Leroy Merlin cut worktops to size, but matching the kitchen's black exactly is unlikely.
Before ordering: the IKEA kitchen plan still has the short counter at full length. Shorten it there (96 → 70 cm, which means a narrower drawer unit) and add the extra worktop length, so the order and the fitter's quote include both.
Space: from the kitchen counter front to the bed is 150 cm = 70 cm kitchen aisle + 30 cm divider + 50 cm to get into the opened bed. With the oven door open (~50 cm) there's about 20 cm left behind you.