1. Home
  2. Plan Catalog

Corner Cupboard

|save this plan
Submitted by Ana White on Mon, 12/27/2010 - 19:44
Difficulty
Intermediate
| Print this plan

This corner cupboard can turn an empty corner into a storage and display spot. Cleverly designed to minimize board waste and to be easy to build.

Special thanks to Tamara for sharing her photos with us.

Thank you Mamma_joy for not only requesting this plan, but actually believing that I might have the ability to come up with a simple way to build it.  So many of you have requested corner cabinets, and I've been listening.  But like Erin says in her project suggestion, how would we build this one without beveling the sides, requiring a table saw?  Definitely required some deep thinking, and I'm so proud to publish this plan AND also say, it's pretty simple, totally buildable, and you don't have to have a table saw at your disposal.

I tried to keep the dimensions close to Erin's suggestion for the plan

But it's a no brainer to modify the corner cupboard to be a little wider

Just use a 1x12 for the back instead of a 1x8 as the plan calls for.  For both plans, the shelves are made of 1x12s, so the shelves will only be approximately 11 1/2" deep.

So go measure your corner.  Do you have 21 1/2" of space?  Then the question is, do you have some beadboard?

Dimensions
72" tall. Width and Depth can vary as built.

Preparation

Shopping List

2 – 1x12s, 6 feet long
1 – 1×8, 6 feet long
1 – 1×4, 6 feet long
1 sheet of beadboard, preferably 1/4″ to 3/8″ thick
3 – 1x3s, 8 feet long
1 – 1×2, 3 feet long
1 – 36″ long crown moulding or other moulding

Cut List

1 – 1×8 @ 72″ (Back)
6 – 1×12 @ 30 1/2″, both ends cut at 45 degrees off square (see step 1)
2 – 1×3 @ 72″ (Front Side Trim)
2 – Beadboard @ 16 1/4″ x 72″ (Measure for exact fit)
2 – 1×4 @ 26 1/2″ (Top and Bottom Trim, measure for exact fit)
1 – 1×2 @ 26 1/2″ (Tabletop trim, measure for exact fit)
top moulding – measure to fit
Doors – see step 6.

Instructions

Step 1

Cut Shelves

This step would be really straight forward if widths of boards didn’t vary so much depending on where you live. So take your 1×8 pine boards and measure how wide they are. Can be anywhere from 7″ to 7 1/2″. Note this then start cutting your shelves by cutting one end of the 1×12 at 45 degrees. Then measure the width of the 1×8 (in the example above that is 7 1/2″) and a 45 degree cut PERPENDICULAR to the first cut. Then continue making cuts to make all your shelves. In this manner you can easily adjust the width of your back to the width of a 1×12 or 1×10. You will need to cut six shelves totally.

Step 2

Back

Now mark the back as shown in the diagram above. All shelves need to be fixed. Predrill your holes or pocket holes and apply glue. Attach back to shelves with 2″ screws and glue.

Step 3

Front Side Trim

Mark the front side trim 1/2″ in all the way down the length of the back side of the side trim. Then mark all shelf locations as indicated in the above diagram. Predrill holes. Consider the depth of your screws and the angled shelf cuts as you place your screws – 2″ screws on the inside and 1 1/4″ screws on the outer edge, 2 screws per shelf. Use glue. Don’t stress this one too much, the sides are going to get beadboard (super strong) over them. The main thing is to get these lined up just right.

Step 4

Beadboard

Measure the width of the open spaces on the back sides, and cut your beadboard to fit. Shown above is the perfect dimensions for 1x12s that measure 11 1/2″ wide. Try to get a nice tight fit. Apply glue to the shelf edges that are exposed and use 1 1/4″ screws to attach the beadboard to the shelves. Keep the beadboard first and foremost flush to the back 1×8, as this is the seam that will be most visible. The front seams are hidden behind the front side trim.

Step 5

Step 6

Top Moulding

Measure the top and tack the crown o

Step 7

Doors

The doors are the most difficult part because most of us don’t have routers or tablesaws. If you do have a router or table saw, you can build your doors inset as shown above. because of the shelf behind the doors, the doors must be no more than 3/4″ thick, so you will have to inset the panel in the frame of the door. There are other options.

Step 8

You can build an overlay door. Simply build a frame out of 1x3s, either using a Kreg Jig™ or 3″ fine screws to build the frame. Then tack beadboard to the back, but make sure the beadboard would fit in the opening in the shelf.

Step 9

And you would want to add the center post to remove any gaps between the doors.

Project Type
Armoire Plans
Bookshelf and Bookcase Plans
Room
dining room
Kids and Toys
living room
Style
Cottage Style Furniture Plans

Comments

Jessica K. (not verified)

Tue, 12/28/2010 - 09:28

This is so awesome! I have been wanting something similar for my dining room for a long time, and as always, you have something perfect for what I am wanting!

Ana, you are fabulous. Thank you so much! :)

Tara (not verified)

Tue, 12/28/2010 - 09:57

I've been waiting for this one! I think it's great and I will be starting it in the next week or so. Thank you!

Jami (not verified)

Tue, 12/28/2010 - 21:47

So, I looked at this and thought "Wow, Ana, has done it again...Brilliance! But, I don't need this in any corner of my house, bummer. Then someone suggested building it for a TV and I realized this is exactly what I need to modify and tuck my TV away in the corner my bedroom.
Yay for Ana and Ana's awesome friends!

Erin (not verified)

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 18:18

Ana,

I love this design! Do you have plans for a regular shelf unit with doors on the bottom? I would love to have bookshelves in my living room where I could store things in the bottem (and then baby latch) so my daughter can't get to certain things. Would I need a special design or just add doors to one of your current shelves? Thanks! Keep up the good work- You're awesome!

Nan Tovar (not verified)

Sun, 01/02/2011 - 06:45

Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! Ana, you rock!!!
Now all I need is a Kreg jig, supplies and time, and I've got this built :)