Home Office Cabinet & Desk

Every now and again I actually get to build something for our home, and this is a project that was way overdue. Our office / harp room has long been a disheveled mess, with a severe lack of organization and good storage space.

This built-in cabinet runs wall to wall in the front of our home, approximately 10 feet side to side. The depth was limited due to an existing double french door on the left side - the placement of the door allowed for only 18 inches of depth, which worked out perfect for our office equipment. Phase two of the project will be to add glass-windowed upper cabinets, which will become home to our fine china and all things breakable.

The cabinet is built using maple plywood on the inside, and is 100% solid walnut on the outside. The top is a solid plank of Walnut just shy of an inch in thickness that I milled and constructed using some phenomenal quality lumber I sourced here in Northwest Arkansas. The drawers are built from Maple (sides) and walnut on the front, joined together using old school variable-spaced dovetails. Included are four cupboards, five drawers, plus a deep file drawer (looks like a cabinet door - just right of the desk).

All cords are tucked away from view using 2" grommets, which allowed us to run cables under the desk instead of over. A short shelf at the back of the space under the desk holds all the plugs and cords in place, out of range of feet.


Species Featured: Walnut & Maple
Lumber: Dimensional lumber & Maple plywood
Finish: Polyurethane
Measurements: Approx. 10' wide, 30" tall, 18" deep

Final stages of construction in the garage

Unit is installed - waiting on cupboard doors and drawers.

File cabinet blends in with cupboards. All drawers are on 100 pound ball bearing rollers.

Dovetail drawers under construction

Variable spaced dovetails bringing the maple sides and walnut fronts together.

Dovetails bringing the maple sides and walnut fronts together. 

Solid Walnut top

Grommets allow for minimal cabling on top of the desk.