One Room Challenge Spring 2024 | Week 5: Build! Build! Build!

One Room Challenge Spring 2024 | Week 5

Build! Build! Build!

This week of the One Room Challenge was all about building and I’m so excited we did this! I’ve never built custom cabinets or bookshelves and this was on my DIY bucket list because cabinets are expensive and I have so many places I want to add them for that custom look. I was eager to see what we could do with some paint grade plywood and our tools.

With that in mind, we set off researching the how-to’s and found a million videos. Depending on your skill level, you can either go DIY with doing a lot of pocket holes or go full scale professional carpentry, and do joinery. We opted for mostly DIY level, but a few upgrades.

First things first was measuring! With our space we wanted two sets of drawer cabinets that could open out into the room and were set on either end of the wall. Based on the location of an outlet, we could not make these cabinets any deeper than 14” so that outlet was still accessible and the drawers could open. At the same time, we wanted open cubbies for toy display and storage. Most cubby systems use 12” x 12” storage cubes, so we decided we would do these cubbies at a 12” depth creating a slight recess from the drawers. What we liked about this was that it provided some visual interest with the depth change.

Once we had these spaced out on the wall, we realized that we had some extra room, so I wanted to add some hidden pull out drawers on the side that could be used as vertical storage for things like wrapping paper and craft items. Once we had the general idea, it was time to get visual and do a lot of math.

We were recommended to use ¾”  plywood from either birch or white board. We went with white board since we were painting it and at the time of this project, it was cheaper. Once we had the thickness we had to plan out all of the cuts based on that dimension. We used Ana White’s plans as a general idea and adapted them for our measurements. I’m a very visual person, so having everything drawn out step-by-step, made a huge difference in understanding measurements and planning for cuts. Once we had the cuts down, we went to OptiCutter and entered them in, to plan out our actual cutting with the table saw. This website is amazing for maximizing wood and ensuring you’re getting the most efficient results. It labels each cut, accounts for blade thickness, and allows you to make changes as needed, then print everything out. It was a life saver for this! 

OptiCutter Layout Sample.

Batch cuts made easy with the OptiCutter cut layout plan.

With our cuts made, we started on building the cabinets. I notched out the baseboard using a jig saw to remove a 4.5” x 2” piece on all four side panels of the cabinets.

Using our new kreg pocket hole jig, we drilled pocket holes on the outsides of the boards, to later be used for connecting the face frame. We decided we wanted the drawers to be wide so the internal dimension is 18.5” after accounting for the plywood thickness of each side panel.

We cut out 5” x 18.5” panels for connecting the toe kick area and the back bottom area. Two 3” x 18.5” panels were cut to create a front top brace and a back top brace for horizontal bracing. We’ll use the back top bracing to screw into studs on the wall to prevent tipping. After the horizontal supports were screwed in with 1.25" pocket hole screws, we screwed in the bottom shelf of the cabinet. With all of these in place, we have our basic box built. From here, we connect the face frame made out of 1x 2’s based on the drawer spacing we want to have.

For the cubbies, it was slightly easier since we are doing open shelves. We have three 12" x 15" cubbies, so that meant cutting out four 12" deep side panels. For our cabs and cubbies we decided to do a 32" height. Slightly higher than a desk, but not quite countertop height. We have a total 6 cubbies, so we cut 6 pieces of plywood to create the shelves. For the cubbies, we cut out a toe kick, but not as deep as the cabinet bases. We did use horizontal bottom supports and top supports, then used pockets holes to connect the shelves at 12" heights. When it's time we'll nail in the cubby top to finish off the cubby.

We brought the cubbies up to the loft to test everything out and they are looking great! We removed the carpet and made a 3/4" frame for the cabs and cubbies to sit on that will account for the depth in the hardwood floor when those go in sometime in the future.

For the cabinets, the next step is the drawers. The plan is to have two deep drawers and one pull out mini desk or table in each of the drawers. We’ve spaced it out such that our drawers are about 10.5” high on the face frame and 14” deep. I think this is a perfect option to have container organization for art supplies, coloring, etc.  

I had a big vision for this week and felt like we could have accomplished more, but life gets in the way sometimes and we really took our time double checking things every step of the way. We’ve had so much practice now with trim work and crown that making the occasional mistake doesn’t feel so costly. But, when you’re dealing with $50-60 plywood sheets where one incorrect cut means you’re buying a whole new sheet, I’d rather take my time and be extra sure about what I’m doing. Plus, I want these to look really nice.

My plan is to make these look elevated with addition of trim in specific places that will match the rest of the hallway and loft area. I’ve even designed the cubbies to be able to add doors to them later, if we no longer want the open storage. So, it’s worth it to do the planning and be methodical about the process now, so we have great results in the end. Next week, we are focusing on building the drawer boxes. Essentially this means more measuring, and accounting for drawer slides, clearance, and face frames. After the drawer boxes are complete, I’ll focus on the face frames, followed by creating the desktop, the hidden pull out drawer, and the bookshelves. 

It sounds like a lot, but now that we have a groove going, I feel like we’ve passed the hardest part of the project and the rest will be smooth sailing. As always, follow along in stories @LueckyHome for the day-by-day of the One Room Challenge project. I’m hoping in week 6 we can finish these builds and start painting because I still have a lot to do in this area and we’re three weeks away from the big reveal!