To do this we are going to use 2 four-inch butt hinges as these will provide a good deal of fixing area and space. One other consideration here is that you also have to ensure that you have enough height in your existing work surface so that your new dropdown section can indeed drop down without fouling the floor. If you are going to use a handsaw the best methods to get a straight and level cut is to mark your cutting line and then clamp some straight timbers either side of your cutting line, leaving about a 2mm gap to allow the blade to travel down top and bottom to create a channel guide and then simply cut between the guide lines. Before installing any new dropdown worktops or breakfast bars the first job is to decide where your new surface is going to go.

Put the hinge to one side and then use a 2mm pilot drill to drill out some pilot holes taking great care not to drill in too far and pierce what will be the top surface.

Gather around the bar table

Who says you have to have a grandiose dining table at home? No one. A bar table is just as great to gather around, both for home parties and family dinners. Get yourself a designated bar table or use a high table for bar-related activities. A private bar in the kitchen

To gain the maximum amount of usable space in our example here we kept the dropdown section to its standard width of 600mm. If you have opted to use a laminate work surface changes are you have some bare edges that could do with covering over and finishing off. Why not place the bar table in the living room? It creates a relaxed atmosphere and makes for cosy family dinners. And the proximity to a living room sofa is much appreciated when you need to lie down after a big holiday meal. If you have space, you can choose one of our larger tables that can accommodate larger groups of people. Match and make for the bar table’s sakeIf however you have opted to go with a solid wooden worktop, to ensure it stays in tip-top condition and remains water and stain resistant you should treat it with a decent quality Danish Oil. This should be repeated every few months or so.

Once marked, position your support leg in place and ensure it’s central to the width of the dropdown by using a tape measure. Once positioned mark all the fixing holes, drill pilot holes and then fix the support leg in place. Regardless of how big your home is you never seem to have quite enough space for storage, for preparing food, for dinning etc. Somehow whenever you create a little space for any of these tasks there’s always something waiting in the wings to fill it and once in place there it remains. When it comes to working in the kitchen and preparing food often chopping boards are placed on cookers etc. or when dinning this often means the only option is your plate on your lap on the sofa.Once you have completed all of the major construction work for your new dropdown breakfast bar there are a few finishing touches that should be completed. The next job is to decide how big your new work surface is going to be, In most cases this will be the length as pretty much all work surfaces come at 600mm width, so unless you require your worktop to be less than 600mm in width you will just need to settle on how much of your existing work surface your new surface is going to be attached to you want to cover. Fortunately when it comes to worktops designs don’t tend to vary too much and even though you may not be able to find an exact match you are pretty much certain of finding something very close. Where is Your new Breakfast Bar or Surface Going to go? In the case of our example here as the existing work surface we are attaching to is rather small we’re only going to make our dropdown attachment 450mm in width. Once you have settled on exactly how big your new dropdown breakfast bar or work surface is going to be the next job is to cut them to size. If you’re using a solid wood worktop then this can be done using a handsaw ( how to cut timber using a handsaw), jigsaw ( ) or circular saw ( ).