Built-in Dining Room Buffet with Concrete Counter Top

Mar 23, 2019 | Closets, Pantries, and Shelving

This dining room buffet built-in is one of my all-time favourite projects. The kitchen in this home is small and quite short on cabinet space and the home in general was short on storage spaces. The home owner wanted a classy feature to add to the dinning room area with lots of storage for kitchen overflow. The solution was to add a built-in along the dining area.

Before picture

Just like with most of my built-ins it all starts with some measurements and a design drawing.  Often with projects like these, small changes are made through the built to change the final outcome from the original drawings. A couple of those on this project are the crown moulding change, as well as changing the larger upper doors to a solid panel instead of glass panel , and my personal favorite the lighting that was added in and in-between the upper cabinets.

I believe the most unique and challenging features of the buffet is the counter top. For several years I had wanted to try pouring a concrete counter top and finally the opportunity arrived. This is a high strength concrete polished to expose the aggregate. This process was time consuming but much easier than expected. I believe the final result was well worth the considerable amount of time it took to grind about 1/8” off the surface off and then polish to 3000 grit. Finally, I coated the surface with a concrete sealer to prevent any spills from being absorbed by the concrete.

All the high end touches on this project are what make it one of my favorites of all time. Things like the soft close hinges, Baltic Birch dovetail drawers, high-end cabinet pulls, the full extension drawer slides, and the glass upper doors with lighting.

Thinking back to how a project like this starts with just an idea and how I get to turn it into this beautiful finished project puts a smile on my face and fills me with pride in what I do.