6 Cubbie Storage

A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to put some of my leftover wood scraps to use.  After my Kentwood bookshelf project, I had some leftover strips of plywood with no specific plan.  I’ve always liked the look of the cubbie-type storage units, but so many of the store bought ones are built with ½” particle board and assembled with large screws and an allen key.  I knew I wanted something more durable so I decided to build one.  I popped into Canadian Tire and picked up three of their large fabric storage boxes.  They're part of their "For Living" collection and they're called "cube fabric drawers".  I knew I wanted to build the cabinet to custom fit these boxes.

I had enough leftover material to build 6 cubbies, but not quite enough to make the unit tall enough to hold 6 boxes.  I decided the bottom of the unit would be fine for 3 storage boxes and the upper shelves would be fine a little shorter and would be perfect for books or display.

The main box and shelves are built with ¾” sanded pine plywood, constructed with pocket hole screws.   The front and back face frames are built from solid white wood.   Before painting, I filled the visible pocket holes with wooden pocket hole plugs, sanded them flush, and then primed over them!  You can hardly tell they're there!

After starting to paint it with a dark blue paint, I realized immediately it didn’t suit it at all! 

So I repainted it in a soft cream and finished it with a glossy clear coat.  SO much better!

This awesome little storage unit really fits into any room you need a little more storage!  I built the project to sell, but after moving it into my living room for pictures, I was debating whether to actually list it or not! ;)   It just fit in so nicely with our other furniture!

Ok, so this one does have to go, but I’m already thinking about the next one I’ll build!

Thanks for popping by!

My Kentwood Bookshelf

I’m back!!!!  After 3-1/2 months of renovation work, I’m thrilled to say the work on the townhouse is FINISHED!  I’ll need a little time to sort through all the photos and get them organized, but I can’t wait to share the big reveal with you.  I’m still amazed at the changes!

While working on this reno, I pretty much put all my personal projects on hold (hence the lack of posts the past few months).  I did manage to work on a couple DIY projects though as we got to the end of the reno and closer to the staging process.   

One of them included a bookshelf for the living room.  With the furniture going in, we were left with a “blank wall” that I felt needed to be filled up and decided I could build something.   I chose to use Ana White’s plan for her Kentwood bookshelf.  While my hubby had a couple guys over to watch hockey one evening, I spent a few hours in the garage cutting, drilling & assembling a bookshelf. 

I changed the plan a little and built it from ¾” sanded pine plywood that I had cut into 11-1/4” panels at the store and used SPF white wood for the “legs” and shelf edges.

While I normally go with a lighter chestnut color stain, I decided to try a darker color and choose Minwax Jacobean.  Wow – definitely darker than I was used to and a little scary applying to the white pine! 

 

Little side note - have you seen these amazing little painters triangles?  Placed under your project, they prop it up away from the floor or table surface and make painting or staining a piece SO much easier!!!

ANYWAY....because we were in a bit of a time crunch, I chose to only apply a single coat of stain and a single coat of wipe-on poly.  I’ll likely add a few additional coats of poly later on, but for now the bookshelf is the perfect piece to fill up that blank wall space.

Thanks for popping by!