How to Box in Over Cabinets

Boxed-in areas over cabinets look cleaner than open tops.

The space above cabinets is often left unused, due to the height of the cabinets and the general inaccessibility of the space. This can lead to unattractive bare space at the top of walls. You can box in over cabinets to remove this bare space and replace it with flat walls that can have clocks or pictures hung on them, or that can be simply decorated to look like the rest of the room.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• 4 sheets of 1/2-inch-thick plywood
• Circular saw
• 3 L-brackets
• Pencil
• Drill
• Wall plug
• 1 1/2-inch-long screws
• 1-inch-long screws

Instructions

1. Measure the height, depth and width of the outside of the cabinets, using a tape measure. Cut two sheets of 1/2-inch-thick plywood to the depth and height of the cabinets. Cut a sheet of 1/2-inch-thick plywood to a length equal to the width of the cabinets minus 1 inch, and a width equal to the height of the cabinets.

2. Cut a sheet of 1/2-inch-thick plywood to the height of the cabinets and the depth of the cabinets minus 1/2 inch. Screw an L-bracket to the middle of one of the height-length edges of this sheet. Stand the sheet vertically above the cabinets, with the L-bracket against the wall. Mark on the wall where the screw hole in the bracket sits, using a pencil.

3. Remove the sheet. Drill a hole in the wall where you marked. Fill the hole with a wall plug. Stand the plywood sheet up again, with the hole in the L-bracket aligned with the hole in the wall. Screw the bracket to the wall using a 1 1/2-inch-long screw.

4. Screw the height and depth sized plywood sheets to the wall at either end of the cabinets, so the sheets are flush with the edges of the cabinet, in the same manner as you screwed in the middle sheet. Lift the height and width sheet above the cabinets, between the two end sheets. Screw the sheet to the end sheets and the middle sheet, using four countersunk 1-inch screws per sheet.

Tips & Warnings

• Paint or varnish the plywood to make it blend in with the décor of the room. This will not only help to make the boxed-in space look less obvious but it will also protect the wood and make it last far longer.

• When cutting wood, always keep your hands as far from the saw blade as possible. This helps to avoid accidental cuts, scratches and potentially even severed fingers due to the wood or the saw blade slipping while you cut.