Customize the amount of storage space you need by building your own home office cabinets.
If you are a do-it-yourselfer, building cabinets for your home office will be a demanding but budget-friendly project. Not only will you be able to eliminate home office clutter, you will also be able to design and build your own furniture for a fraction of the price of new store-bought cabinetry. Affordable home office cabinets are attainable if you follow a few basic steps. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Design the Cabinets
1. Pencil in on grid paper the location, type and size of cabinets you want in your home office. Roughly sketch and outline cabinet plans on walls with a tape measure and a level. Mark the layout on carpet with masking tape.
2. Calculate the size of the cabinets, and choose the material for your top (countertop material or furniture-grade birch hardwood).
3. List on paper the name of each part of the cabinet, its dimensions, the number you will need to cut and the material needed to create each piece.
4. Cut plywood panels with a table or circular saw for the sides, top, bottom, back and any interior shelves.
5. Add 3/4-by-3/4-inch dado joints for shelving. Add 1/2-by-3/4-inch rabbet joints to each piece.
Assemble Cabinets
6. Dry fit the box to make sure everything fits. Add a thin layer of glue to the dado joints. Slip in shelving, and tap it into place with a mallet.
7. Attach the back. Add mounting strips to the upper back edge of boxes. Glue and nail the back to the box. Clamp and let set overnight.
8. Build the face frame for the box. Build a solid hardwood face frame to cover the edge of the plywood box, and glue and nail it onto the box.
9. Assemble doors with solid hardwood and drawers with pine.
10. Apply the finish. Nail set all nail heads, and fill with nail filler or wood putty. Cover nail holes with filler. Sand before finishing with 100-grit, then with 120-grit paper. Stain or paint cabinetry.
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