Let's Hear it for the Soft Closer - No More Kitchen Door Slamming!

If there were a Nobel Peace prize for bringing harmony into the kichen, it might have to go to the inventor of the Kitchen Door 'Soft Closer'. This ingenious little item can be easily fitted to doors and drawers to top that awful slamming sound that you hear so frequently either when you're in the kitchen yourself - or when you're trying to relax in the lounge and all you hear is the constant 'thwack' as another kitchen cupboard closes while your supper's being prepared (how irritating is that!!).

What's even better about these quiet little gems is that relatively inexpensive - and straightforward to fit. Let's start with the simple plastic soft closer that can be fitted inside your existing cabinets. Pictured here on the right, this shows the soft closer pressed into a 10 mm hole - so that's all you need do to fit it, drill a nice even 10mm hole into the wall of your kitchen cabinet and then press in the plastic closer. It's a simple enough principle, as you push the door closed, it meets the end of the closer, which 'dampens' the momentum of the door - and then the pressure of the door on slowly pushes the piston of the closer back into its housing. Leaving a quiet, slow, gentle door close. Aaaaahhhh.

When you open the door again, the piston pops out - ready for the next time you close the door.

Using this method, you need only fit one per cabinet and they are a little over a couple of pounds each - so a typical kitchen will set you back a little less than £30 to fit on all doors. Not much to pay for a bit of peace and quiet is it?

They work on drawers too, so for an even quieter life, fit those too.

Now if you don't fancy drilling the hole into the cabinet, for an extra £0.18 per fitting, you can use a surface mounting unit to house the soft closer which you fit on the inside of the cabinet.

Then on the slightly more sophisticated level, there is the soft closer unit that fits onto your clip on concealed cabinet hinge. It will need to be the 170 degree example shown on the link, which opens sufficiently for the bit to clip onto the door piece of the hinge. This particular soft closer

(shown on the left here, looks a bit more sexy don't you think?) is even less obtrusive than it's plastic sister above.

But please be sure you have the right type of hinges (or are fitting the right hinges for example in your new replacement doors!) before you plunge in and buy. These little marvels will set you back all of £2.56.

There are few other variations to look at, but you'll find lots of information if you take at out soft closer section - and be sure to download the various pdf documents available.

So now the quiet secret is out, isn't it time for peace to break out in your kitchen?

Sagging Drawers? Hitch Them Up With New Kitchen Drawer Runners

Sagging drawers is a very common problem - and one that gets worse with age. BUT you'll be relieved to know that there is a simple and generally inexpensive solution.

First of all, given the title of my blog, I realise that this isn't the sexiest subject - and not very hot. But given we get so many people visiting our website in search of a solution, I felt the usefulness of the information warranted a diversion away from the more glamorous aspects of the kitchen.

So, back to the drawers. It feels fairly fundamental when the kitchen drawers start to fall away from the runners or the runners depart from the side of the kitchen cabinet (or kitchen carcasse as it is known in the trade(winks!!)), but it is often an eminantly fixable DIY job. All you need do is replace the runners. The difficulty is often in identifying where to buy the runners - and which ones to buy. That's where http://www.mykitchenstore.co.uk/ comes into the equation. We have a large selection of all types of kitchen drawer runners, from the most basic plastic drawer runner to the more specialised heavy duty zinc plated stainless steel runners (who said it wasn't sexy?). The fomer - more common- variety are very cheap (less than a quid), whereas the latter will set you back a bigger chunk. But generally speaking you will be able to perform a refit and fix your porblem for just a couple of pounds.

The best way to find the one you want (if you aren't an expert kitchen fitter or kitchen drawer runner spotter of course), is first to measure it and then probably to try a bit of picture comparison work. Remove the runner and hold up against the computer screen to judge best match if necessary (but possibly not if you're intending to go to an internet cafe to conduct your search!). Pretty much all runners come in pairs so you probably just need to buy one unit.

Then as long as the fixing points are sound, all you need do is take out the old ones and fit the new ones. The simple, straightforward and painless solution to saggy drawers - go on, you know you should, because leaving them like they are... well, that just pants isn't it?!

Getting a Handle on Quick Kitchen Makeovers

With the credit crunch biting and the housing market pretty stagnant, folks are turning towards a bit of DIY both to make their living environment more enjoyable and to potentially maximise the value of their property when the time does come to sell again.

John Lewis recently reported an uplift in sales of kitchen replacement and refurbishment products in lieu of investment in complete new kitchens - and several reliable sources in the DIY market reckon to have had an increase in sales too. So here are a few tips on giving your kitchen a bit of a makeover to help brighten your day.

Let's kick off with something simple like kitchen drawer and cabinet handles. These come in a huge variety of styles and sizes and can make a major difference to the look and feel of your kitchen. Traditional and cottage style kitchens can change personality with the use of a different door knob or handle. Replacing a simple wooden pine door knob (which come as standard in so many kitchen designs) with a finely crafted antique pewter style twisted bar handle will lift your room from the ordinary to the extra-ordinary - and believe me it really is quite extra-ordinary that something seemingly to small can make such a big difference. Kitchens require on average around 20 drawer and cupbard handles - so for about £40 you can cheer yourself up with a new twist on your existing style.

If you want to push the boat out when it comes to handles, then solid pewter handles can create a stunning effect. They are more pricey - at around £15 each they are definitely more of a luxury, but well worth it for a superb finish.

For those of you with a little more ambition in the DIY area, Replacement Doors are pretty much like having a completely new kitchen - and they are suprisingly easy to fit. They come in a myriad of styles and colours, contemporary replacement doors tend toward the more sleek and simple designs in a variety of colours and wood effect finishes. Classic doors have more detail but retain the simplicity that makes them timeless favourites and traditional replacement doors are more elaborate and tend towards the wooden effect finishes than colour.

So what's involved with fitting replacement doors? Well in most cases, it's really very simple. The vast majority of kitchen cabinet doors come in standard sizes in width and height and are secured using standard fittings. If you open your kitchen door, you will generally find two hinges on the inside; these will usually be concealed cabinet hinges (also often known by a well know brand, Blum hinges). The hinges fix via a small back plate that screws onto the wall of the cabinet plus the hinge itself which in most cases sits inside a 35mm drilled hole in the door, secured using a couple of small screws. The hinge part fixes to the back plate part either by sliding on and securing with a single screw, or by clipping on. To release the door from the cupboard, all you need do is either flip the clip or undo the screw.

Once you've removed the door (and please don't be worried about doing so, it's very easy to put back on!), then you can take a look a the condition of the hinges. As long as they are working ok and still nice and clean, then there's no need to replace them, just use them again on your new doors. If not, you'll need to buy the same style and quantity to refit with the new doors. You can see Clip on Concealed Cabinet Hinges here and download a more detailed guide to replacement doors and fittings by visiting this link and downloading the pdf on the link labelled Replacement Door Guide

So, the next step is to measure your doors, width and height. (Click the following link to see standard sizes for replacement kitchen doors are shown in the table on this page. Then you have a choice whether to have the 35mm holes for the hinges (mentioned above) pre-drilled into the doors when you order them. To do this you will need to provide the supplier with the exact locations of the holes by measuring the distance from the top and side of the door to the hole centers (this is covered in the guide you can download above). If you want to DIY it, then you can use a 35mm Forstner bit (pictured right) attached to your standard drill. There is some leeway for adjustment both vertically and horizontally in the concealed hinges, so get it as accurately centered as you can, but you can make adjustments if necessary.

So you've measured all your doors and drawer fronts and assessed how many cabinet hinges you might need - now you just place your order!. When the doors arrive, fix the hinge part of the concealed hinges into the 35mm holes in the door, and simply attach them to the back plates affixed to the inside of the cabinets.

That's it! New look, new feel kitchen in a few easy steps. Of course if you have any doubts at all, contact a local carpenter of joiner, or kitchen fitter for advice. And if you have a bespoke kitchen you may need to contact your supplier to discuss your requirements.

Please note! The above tips are provided for guidance only and I take no responsibility for the success or otherwise of your project (unless of course, you are truly ecstatic with your new look kitchen and want to express your undying gratitude!!)

How To Handle the Kids....

... no this isn't a masterclass blog in pre-adult management, its about where to find handles that are great for kids - door handles. !

Actually these are great fun and whilst you might not strictly want them to be in your kitchen, here are our lovely, bright range of door handles and knobs for your children's room: Cute aren't they? Vividly painted ceramic. Visit our website to take a look at these little gems!

We've also got a great range of chrome door handles, wooden door knobs, pewter handles, stainless steel pulls, tasteful ceramic knobs - which are absolutley right for the kitchen. Visit http://www.mykitchenstore.co.uk/ for a closer look.

Are you wired?

... that's wired in the kitchen sense of course.

Which at the moment means have you got the latest chrome wire baskets in your ever-so-trendy kitchen? No? Then what are you waiting for? This, for kitchens, is like adding a spoiler to your sports saloon - they make things a bit faster, a bit sleeker, a lot more polished (we're talking the subtle, stylish spoiler type here, you understand...) . I mean if you look at my first example image here, you could be forgiven for thinking it was an upside down spoiler right? But what this beautiful polished chrome wire basket actually does, is make your kitchen storage more efficient. What you do is install them inside your kitchen cupboards rather than the staid old lumpy shelves you currently have - and because they are on runners either side, you can then pull them out of the cabinet to put in/take out your stuff. They come in standard sizes to fit inside pretty much any size of kitchen cabinet (or kitchen carcasses as we in the know call them ;) ). What's more, you can usually get two of them inside a cupboard (which is handy because we generally supply them in pairs), meaning you can have two storage levels without bending all the way down to the floor and scrabbling around in the back of the cupboard. Marvellous!

And there's more... Just like spoilers, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. There's the plain pull-out chrome wire basket set for your cupboards. (remember, cleaner, tidier, saves all that bending down and back pain). Then there's the 'Under The Sink' variety that means your unpleasantries such as cleaning stuff can be given tidied neatly away into a wire drawer that pulls out from under the kitchen sink. There's even an industrial strength, lockable pull out unit which, all joking aside, is absolutely brilliant for keeping nasty cleaning fluids away from the exploratory hands of the children. It's less a chrome wire basket and more a cage, but it absolutely does the job it is designed to do.

The other things about these handy items (apart from the fact that they're brilliant if you have back problems or if you generally find bending down is a form of exercise you'd rather not indulge in), is that they are remarkably easy to fit. They come with runners to fit on either side of the cupboard (like your drawer runners), fit them with a few screws (also provided) and you're ready to go. So very DIY - or DFY if you prefer.

So there you have it... one of the biggest trends in storage right now means fitting a polished chrome wire basket. Take a look at our options on http://www.mykitchenstore.co.uk/ - you'll be spoiled for choice!!

If You Can't Stand The Heat - Visit mykitchenstore.co.uk

... because that's where you'll find what's cool in the kitchen!!

Despite the gloomy picture being painted by our British press, there are glimmers of hope (aside from the sparkle of an Olympic medal), to keep us bizniss people optimistic. For instance, the fact that peeps are spending more time on sprucing up their houses given the gloomy fact that they're not likely to sell them right now.

So this blog will be dedicated to letting you know about all the great value kitchen gadgets, great value fancy fittings, great value makeover products, great value new space saving kitchen storage items and many more (did I mention great value?) kitchen items to make your life easier and - er, prettier. All these marvelous items can be found at http://www.mykitchenstore.co.uk/ which has thousands of trade and consumer products.

I'm going to start with a bit of DIY help (because its not just about the pretty things, we can be practical about kitchen DIY too).

Do you know what a Blum Hinge is? You do? Good. If you don't , it's a trade name for the hinge that you find on the inside of the door of your kitchen cabinets. Many people struggle to find this little DIY gem when they need it. Well you'll find them at mykitchenstore - and for far less than you would spend in B & Q. Now 'Blum' is actually a brand name ( a bit like Hoover, it has become synonymous in the trade with this type of hinge), but actually what you are looking for is a concealed hinge and they are available in many other brands other than Blum. So if you need to change or fix a kitchen door (which is really very simple to do, more on that another time), then this is the type of hinge you want.

Now for a little bit of magic - actually a magic corner. I found out about magic corners myself when I had a sticky problem in one of my kitchen cupboards. You might be familiar with it. The cabinet in question was in the corner with that awkward blind area that you can't see into or reach properly. I put my hand in to grope around for a jar of honey - and put my hand straight in it - the honey that is, which had leaked from the jar on its side and settled in a sticky, furry pool on the base of the cupboard. Sweet - not!! Yuk and double yuk. So in searching for a way to improve access to the cupboard, I came across a magic corner: which looks like this picture. It's a great thing! It very cleverly fits onto the kitchen door and when you close it disappears into the unreachable area of the cupboard. It makes it easier for me to get the stuff I need (I often don't even need to bend down, let alone dislocate my shoulder to get round the corner). It's also easy to fit - it must be, I did it myself!

Anyway, some time along and now with my very own kitchen store, I can highly recommend these fabby items - and what's more, we have 25% off magic corners until the end of September 'o8. MAGIC!!

By the way, if you fancy working from home and earning money running your own kitchen store, check out ReadyStore.

Phew, I'm a bit hot now, best get out of the kitchen for a while! If you want to ask any kitchen DIY or kitchen refurbishment questions, feel free to do so; if I can't answer them, I know someone who can.