Our DIY Ardex Concrete Counter top

I wanted to build a versatile kitchen counter in my workshop,  so we could get some new photos of our plate racks. I feel like i'm the last person on the planet to hear about this stuff, but I saw a tutorial on using Ardex feather finish concrete and I was completely sold.

The main draw being, you can just put it straight onto your existing counter tops. We built ours from scratch, but if you were doing this in a kitchen, I think you'd just key the surface of the laminate or formica first.

I've put together my DIY, but please note, at this stage, it's only for photo shoot purposes and I haven't completed the sealant step yet.  I'm really pleased with the finish of it and found it so easy to use that it's definitely going to be the next project we do in our house.

The first thing we did was build a wall for our backdrop.

I worked out how I wanted the base of my kitchen units to look. It's 16ft wide in total, but made in 3 parts so can be used in different configurations.

We built the kitchen unit….( and hung the racks because I was over excited!)

 Painted the wall.

Then the fun began!
These were the tools I used to mix and spread the concrete.

I put a couple of inches of water in the bucket and added the Ardex powder until I was happy with the thickness. I don't think you can really go wrong,  Just work quickly as the concrete starts setting immediately!

I pretty much emptied the bucket over the counter first as it enabled me to spread it quicker. I used really thin layers as I found it easier to manage.

Cover the whole top as smoothly as possible.

But don't worry too much about lumps and bumps as these can be sanded/ sponged out in the next step. 

At this drying stage,  I used a damp sponge and wiped over the whole surface, it meant less time sanding. It probably made the layers thinner, but I think it helped the overall look and I will definitely do this step again when I'm making the counter tops in my house.

Once it's dry, sand it down!  This was my favourite part as you can really start shaping the corners if you need to.  ( I rushed mine a bit as some patches aren't dry yet, but I don't think it caused any problems. )

A sanded,  smooth (ish) edge.
Repeat with another few layers.  I think I will do 5 or 6  thin layers in my kitchen.

That's as far as I needed to go for my photo shoot counter top! But I found this brilliant tutorial during my research, it might help with the next step -sealing the countertop.

For now,  here are my concrete countertops! And last but not least, the world's greatest  plate racks!

Interior Inspiration

Thank you 'Access London' for featuring us on your website. We love our write up in Keaton's Lifestyle Magazine!  Click here to read in full

Funky Shelving at Homify

Thank you Homify for this feature below! If you've not visited their site before, it's well worth a look. It's full of inspiring houses and is a great source for any decoration projects!

Our Racks !

 

We've been in our new house around 2 months now. It's still a complete work in progress, but we've got our Mighty racks up in our kitchen and i'm pretty happy about it!

Show us YOUR racks

We absolutely LOVE seeing our racks in their new homes! Always makes me want to rearrange mine.
See them up close here...

Feeling a little Colourful

Hanging out with our new colourful racks in the sunshine has got me all colour crazy

I love the pops of colour in this kitchen.

images from the amazing Fjeldborg blog.

The pastel tones in this kitchen are perfect. From this gorgeous blog

Buttercup and Jetty

We've got a couple of new colours up on our website.  A happy, zingy yellow and a lovely  moody blue. Along with old friends, Frangipani White and Seafoam Green.

Mum's the Word

 

I loved putting this photo shoot together. I had a Mother's Day theme in mind and knew I wanted it to be delicate and floral - Luckily, my sister was visiting and made the gorgeous wreath! She popped Wally dog in the sink! I think he stole the show a little bit.

There are exciting floral plans in the making from my sis, watch this space!

The Coral Club

I've got a bee in my bonnet that a dip dye plate rack would look amazing! maybe in coral…Here's my colour inspiration.

1: Castle and Things cushion 2: Hay Chair 3: Ferm Living, House of Money 4:Castle and Things striped pillow case 5:Round cushion, Ferm Living 6: Hay file 7: Ombre foot stool cover

I'm Hung up on You

Sending out a little love from The Plate Rack… Happy February x

see our 'mini' racks here

My Kitchen Shrine

I wrote a little post as a guest blogger for  Heart Home Magazine the other day. It was called 'Put your Plates on a Pedestal' and was about making your everyday objects look really special.  I styled a Plate Rack shoot especially for the post with some of my favourite sentimental things,  getting them out of forgotten drawers and on display!  I mixed  items that perhaps wouldn't normally be found in the kitchen  along with some practical bits and bobs and I think this added real character to the room.  I wanted to share some extra images with you. So below - is my kitchen shrine.

Merry Christmas from Plate Rack HQ

Fire Side

This is exactly what I am after! I can't find the link now, but i'm pretty sure this photo was on  'Design Sponge'  We have a tiny fireplace in our new house that is surrounded by a lot of brick so i'd like to add a mantel piece like this to break things up. I'm being a copy cat and starting the search for this exact one !...

New House New Sheets

I'm planning on sprucing up the bedding in our new house,  I've got the H&M linen bedding below and it's all I want to use now! It's so soft and I like how it's crumpled. Below is my dream linen list.

I saw the Habitat set at a friends house the other day & had to stop myself pulling it off her bed. The picture doesn't do it justice at all, it's really textured and woven and beautiful.

Songs to Pack to

This playlist is getting me through packing hell today. Soooo over it.

Too Much Stuff

Packing up has made me realise how much stuff we ( I )  have. We've moved an entire van load already, but we've barely touched the surface. Each box that i'm packing, i'm trying to be so ruthless, but it's starting to feel never ending.  We've not even started on the attic yet and i'm scared to see what essentials i've hoarded up there over the last few years!

Every cupboard we have is crammed, every trunk is full, every bookcase is double rowed, every hanger double hangered. Little house in London, I love you, i'll miss you, but i've definitely outgrown you. sob.

Heading to Kerala

We're off to Kerala in November with my mum and Stepdad. We're planning on moving around a bit, I think we're staying in 5 hotels in 2 weeks so far & I really hope it's not going to be too much for everyone. Nick and I have been to Kerala once before, but have found it so hard to plan this trip. We want to show my parents all the stuff we loved last time, without staying in exactly the same places and somehow,  knowing what you might be missing or how long & bumpy some of the car journeys will actually be is making it hard! I've had a few people ask about our travel plans, so I thought i'd share it as we book it!

1. The first couple of nights in Cochin , we're staying in The Old Harbour. We have actually stayed in this one before & absolutely loved it.

2&3. We're then staying right on Lake Vembanad for about 5 nights in Vismaya. This place is new to us, but we stayed in their sister villa a couple of years ago and thought it was brilliant and the owners were really nice.

4. Not booked yet, but a trip on the backwaters will fit in here somewhere!

5,6&7. We're heading up to the hills a little way and staying at Serenity, on Kanam Estate for 2 nights. We'd love to go further, but we're getting short of time and don't want to be in the car too much.

The next step of the journey, I think is going to be to go further south than we've been before to the beach at Kovalam. Then back up to Cochin on the train! 

1.

 

2&3

4.

 5, 6&7

Workshop Dreaming...

Nick and I have 2 weeks left in London! We are moving to a tiny village just outside of Bristol & I can't wait!  The Plate Rack will finally have it's own little HQ!  So i'm in planning mode,  thinking about how I'm going to use the new space. So far my Pinterest Workspace inspiration looks like this...

1. Love the chalkboard drawers and central island idea

2. Really simple chip board desk

3. Love the scaffold plank surfaces

4. That long surface! All that space!