How to Make a Built-In China Cabinet

China cabinets are beautiful additions to any home. They allow owners to display their fine china, stemware, dishes or even guitar pick collections. You can purchase many types of china cabinets, but building your own into your home is quite often more satisfactory and a more permanent solution to your display needs. You can easily build a nice china closet into an existing unused closet.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Unused closet
• Hammer
• Pry bar
• Saber saw
• Hemlock or oak boards
• Nails or wood screws
• Drill
• Sandpaper
• Carpenter's square
• Carpenter's level
• Wood putty
• Molding spackle
• Paint or stain

1. Remove the door to the closet using the hammer, screwdriver, pry bar and any other utensils required. At this time remove any existing shelves or clothes hanging bars.

2. Pry the door jam and trim from around the closet opening. Use a saber saw to trim back any wall to ensure that the opening is the same width as the closet. This includes cutting through the drywall, possibly some 2x4 studs and the drywall located inside of the closet.

3. Nail 2x4s to the inside if the rough opening you created. Measure the resulting dimensions of your opening.

4. Cut plywood or other 1" thick boards to build the sides, back, floor and ceiling of your china cabinet. Build the box in front of the closet, rather than inside of it. You are building a box to slide into the closet, rather than using the full depth of the closet. Sand each piece smooth.

5. Nail, glue and screw in the shelves or drawers that you want in your cabinet. Use the carpenters square and level to ensure that the box and shelves are secured both square and level.

6. Use finishing nails to add trim to the outside of the open side of the china cabinet. Decorate the top of the china cabinet with an arch or some more elaborate scroll work. You can shape this piece using a jig saw out of another 1x6 or 1x8 board. Sand this top molding and affix it to the top of the cabinet.

7. Slide the cabinet into the opening in the wall. Use finishing nails to securely attach the trim to the wall. Fill any nail holes with putty and use spackle to fix any holes in the drywall. Paint or stain the wood surface of your built-in china cabinet.

Tips & Warnings

• When creating any built in furniture, be aware that any future residents of your house will have to live with your choice of location, color, and style. Choose wisely before you start building.
• If the closet is located in a load bearing wall, then you must consult a contractor before starting your construction project.