Looking for a stylish and functional entryway cabinet that’s easy to build? This project was designed and created by dk builds. With two push-to-open shelves, four cubby holes for baskets, and two soft-close drawers, this cabinet will help keep your entryway organized and looking sharp.
Materials and Tools
- Plywood panels
- Edge banding
- Soft-close drawer slides
- Push-to-open drawer slides
- Wood glue
- Brad nails
- 1/2″ plywood for drawers
- 1/4″ plywood for drawer bottoms
- Solid maple for drawer fronts
- CA glue and accelerant for shimming
- High-quality paint (Jojoba by Benjamin Moore)
- Wood filler
- Router and flush cut saw
- Hand plane
- Circular saw and table saw
- Kreg jig or similar for pocket holes (optional)
- Paintbrushes and rollers
- Shims (made from scrap wood)
- Baskets for cubbies
Step 1: Breaking Down Plywood Panels
To start, David breaks down large plywood panels using a circular saw before moving on to the table saw. For a smoother finish, rough cuts are often smoothed out with a hand plane when the mood strikes. This technique ensures that the edges are clean and ready for the next steps.
Step 2: Applying Edge Banding
Edge banding is an excellent way to cover the edges of plywood, especially if you plan to paint the cabinet. While there are specialized tools for trimming edge banding, David prefers using a block plane for this task, applying it only to the front carcass edges and visible parts of drawers.
Step 3: Dado Joinery for the Carcass
For the carcass, David uses a dado stack on the table saw, which is rare for him but makes sense for this project since most joints are dados of the same dimension. To minimize tear-out, a sacrificial piece is used, and safety is emphasized throughout this process.
Step 4: Installing Drawer Slides
Before gluing the cabinet together, David installs the drawer slides, which he later removes for painting. He uses brad nails to facilitate assembly with fewer clamps, but the glue is what ultimately provides strength.
Step 5: Carcass Glue Up
After ensuring everything is square, David glues up the carcass and waits for it to dry. During this time, he realizes a mistake: the dado in the top panel is slightly off. He plans to fix this by widening the dado and shimming the top panel.
Step 6: Fixing Dado Alignment Error
To resolve the alignment issue, he uses a shim made from scrap pine, applying CA glue to temporarily hold it in place while he cuts a kerf and finishes the adjustment with a router plane.
Step 7: Adding Back Panels
For back paneling, David utilizes leftover wainscoting from a previous project to save money. He ensures the cubbies don’t extend the full depth to prevent baskets from being pushed too far back.
Step 8: Building the Drawers
The drawer fronts are crafted from solid maple for durability. Dado cuts are made for the drawer bottoms, and David creates a template for the drawer fronts using scrap wainscoting.
Step 9: Finishing the Drawers
After constructing the bottom drawers with 1/2″ plywood, David moves on to the top drawers, which feature dovetail joints. He encounters a minor hiccup when his router bit breaks but quickly finds a replacement to finish the grooves.
Step 10: Painting and Final Assembly
Once the joinery is complete, he fills any gaps or nail holes with wood filler, then applies a fast-drying shellac finish. After priming and painting all surfaces with Jojoba paint, he installs the drawer fronts, ensuring they sit flush.
Step 11: Final Assembly and Overview
Finally, David assembles the cabinet, making sure everything fits perfectly before adding the hardware. The cabinet is now ready for use, providing a perfect organized solution for any entryway.
With a little patience and attention to detail, this custom entryway cabinet can transform any space into a functional and stylish area. For more detailed plans, go here.