Custom Home Office Cabinetry
Home Office Cabinetry Project
This project’s client had quite a number of requests for her Home Office Cabinetry. Adding to the function of the new design of her Home Office Cabinets. The most notable was as much book shelving as possible. Aiming to get rid of store-bought bookshelves packed full of books.
Due to the nature of the work she does from home requiring very specific placement and sized areas. Application and use of a range of equipment. Work such as reading a large number of documents, notes, and reference materials. Having all that material visible and arms reach.
Solutions to cover a large number of file folders and other storage. Keeping all office supplies and objects accessible and hidden. For a clean-looking space. The same holds true for networking, computing equipment, and cable management.
A desire for storage of banker boxes and other larger items, as much as possible. Add large pullout trays/tables for crafting, hobbies, and grandchildren. Plus a work surface that is stain-resistant, scratch-resistant, and solvent resistant. Allowing her to perform a wide range of hobbies.
Home Office Cabinets Design
Basic Cabinetry Details
Our design for her Home Office Cabinets met all the requirements. Requirements guiding the design of the cabinetry. The structural construction choice was plywood. It has less deflection over time and more strength than engineered sheet goods. A raw wood interior which was the client’s preference. Plywood graded B-C (paint grade) with birch veneer and import core. A choice that kept the project under budget. If you are curious about plywood terminology? Check out this link explaining some basics about plywood .
We used Hardwood face frames and plywood veneer species of close or closed grain. Working very well with a high grade solid color top coating. Only a hint of the wood grain is visible upon closer inspection. Avoiding synthetic plastic feel and look. Compared to Open and coarse-grain wood. Such as oak where the grain is very obvious. Often not aesthetically pleasing in many solid color circumstances.
Alexanders’ standard solid coat is General Finishes Enduro Water Based topcoat. That top coat can match any number of stock-chip paint colors. Use this product is very compatible and flexible for many styles. The stock white was the best choice for the client, this time. The house trims are similar in color and sheen, so the cabinetry blends well visually. Side note:
We have a long history of using General Finishes products. And a decade ago felt confident that their water-based products were the best choice. A choice based on the quality of the product and water-based efficiency. Such as thinning and cleaning with the ever-increasing costs of solvents. Eliminating spraying of lacquer-based products, and solvent fumes. Is not a terrible thing either.
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Home Office Cabinetry Project Detials
The fabrication was typical of how we do face frame cabinet construction and 5 piece doors (with panels). The first challenge was not having the countertop during installation. Pretty common to not have the tops actually. Most countertop fabricators will not start without the base cabinetry in place for measurements and templates. We utilize a couple of tactics to ensure a tight fit or quality appearance where the cabinets sit on the countertops.
The second and real challenge is always fitting and placing cabinetry between walls. The unfortunate reality is walls not being plumb and floors not being level. It’s one thing to fit a round peg in a square hole an entirely different placing square objects in a trapezoidal rhomboid rectangle. Makes everything, even the perfectly square cabinets, appear crooked. The best way to eliminate the visual cues that tell our minds things like that is a cabinet scribe, fit to the wall. And when that is not possible a scribe trim to cover gaps that are not adequately small, for a clean caulk joint. The best profile and dimensions for scribe molding are induvial project based.
One of the elements of the design was uniform-width face frames. Most often when two cabinets are placed side by side the face frames double up in width, visually. This assembly was designed with a middle cabinet (carcass) that would sit in the back of the adjoining cabinet face frames. Visually making it appear as 1 piece rather than the 3 pieces it was built in.
At the end of the day, installing it worked as planned and accommodated all the real-world variables. Variables that happen on every job. The cable protector cover and keyboard tray were also fabricated for how those variables affect spaces between cabinets. We fabricated the countertop from a product similar to Corian. While that type of solid surface is passe’, its qualities were exactly what the client wanted and needed.
The countertop fitting and installation, are just about the worst-case scenario for walls being bowed and trapezoidal. Another tale for another time. While that’s being churned out head on over to our cabinetry pages, for home office cabinet and custom cabinetry information. Have other smaller projects around the house check out our Architectural Woodwork and Trim carpentry pages.