Custom Built-in Closet Wardrobe

The smallest bedroom in my house is tiny, so I wanted to incorporate a dresser into the closet which previously had one of those bifold doors. So I decided to expand my woodworking skills and build a built-in wardrobe. I downloaded a free program called sketchup 2017 which after some youtube tutorials I set to work designing the parts I'd need. I also found a plugin that makes a cut list. That's a game changer. It basically lays out all of the pieces you need to cut and maximizes the efficiency of cuts on a 4x8 sheet of plywood (or whatever).  I'm not going into extreme detail on methods since there are far better explanations on individual techniques online. But if you have any questions, do ask.

Anyway, the first thing was making the boxes for the drawers. I used 3/4" sanded plywood for that so that I could use all the same wood for the drawers themselves and the cabinet 'box'. I probably could have used thinner wood for the drawers but all of the cuts fit almost perfectly on one sheet.

I made a base/plinth for the box to stand on and some simple boxes. The closet has a weird shape to the back so each box is built separate and one is deeper than the other to maximize drawer space. I used some basic (cheap) slides and tried my best to measure 3 times and drill once. I ended up having to adjust them a bunch anyway. After the fact, I picked up some drawer install jigs from Kreg. I've yet to use them but I do not want to be in the same boat next time.  You can see all of the drawer box sides cut above.

I built the drawer boxes with pocket screws. The presanded plywood made cleaning them up a lot simpler. I also used a dado blade for the firs time so that the base of the drawers could be a 1/4 hardboard. That was an interesting process that took a few youtube videos of tutorials before I was keen enough to try. You'll also notice I didn't use a solid top, it would have been a waste of wood and I didn't have any left! It was getting covered with a proper fitting piece of MDF anyway (to fit the odd shape of the closet).

Once that was all assembled I moved it indoors to ensure it fit and was level, and that the drawers still closed properly. I had to do a slight bit of shimming, but the adjustable feet I put under the plinth helped with that. I'll also note that I ripped the carpet out of the closet and moved carpet tack strip (around the edges of the room) to the base of the plinth so that the carpet would stay tight. The plinth actually pushes the carpet down onto it so it won't go anywhere. This was a happy coincidence.

Having tried the dado blades out on the drawers, I then made some shaker-style doors for the upper cabinet. I intended to use some proper tongue and groove joints for the door, but the program I used for my cutlist did not include the 'tongue' so right before I cut the tongues, I measured and realized I was short 1/4" on each side. So pocket holes it is! The hard board panel still was able to go in the grooves I'd cut.

I used the router table I'd built and showed in the last post for the first time, and did some edging for the top and bottom, and put a 45 degree bevel on everything, doors, drawer faces and trim.

Above are all of the false fronts for the drawers. Just basic MDF with a bevelled edge.

 Then I laid everything out to put a coat of primer on (oil based for the MDF trim) and then painted. I didn't want to paint in the house due to fumes and since it was a bedroom, I was a little more concerned than usual.

Once everything was painted with an enamel cabinet paint (for durability) I installed the drawers and the doors. I was delayed waiting for pocket hole plugs so I could paint the backs, since I hadn't planned on pocket holes. In the above image you can see that the drawer cabinets have a table top that fits the closet. This is 3/4" mdf on top of the box frame with an mdf edge on the front to make it line up with the inset false fronts on the drawers.

Once the trim was on around the cabinet, I put the 'fancy' horizontal trim pieces on the top and bottom and called it a day. Actually, I had to take the doors down and remount the hinges on washers since I didn't use a proper jig for the hinges and the spacing was off. But I solved that for next time and picked one up. I definitely came to appreciate that a jig is worth the extra money.