Cabinets in Bedroom

MattMull (Guest) · 07-29-2001, 03:56 PM

I am thinking to putting some cabinets in our bedroom up in the corner where the back wall meets the ceiling. This is dead space in our room & we are thinking it could provide some much needed storeage space as well as show off some knick-knacks. I am thinking of making the cabinets roughly 18" deep & 24" high. Also, the two ends wold be open shelves and the middle have doors. Some questions I have would be:
1) Should I build it directly into the wall or should I fasten it somehow (French cleats, etc.)
2) Since the bottom will be exposed, what material should I use for the bottom? I will probably paint it to match the walls, but may go the the natural look.
3) Am thinking of some sort of recessed lighting in teh bottom for reading/additional lighting. Are there any issues I should be aware of?
4) What materials would you suggest? Money is not a factor to a reasonable extent as this is something we will have for many years.

Any suggestions you may have would be appreciated. Thank you.

**woodchuck1954** · 07-29-2001, 10:05 PM

I would recommend you purchase a book or plans for such a cabinet. It sort of sounds like a cross between an entertainment center and a display case. There are books available that will help you greatly,in design. I would consider a module unit. If you ever moved,it would be easy to move in pieces than one big unit. There are simple ways to make a module unit look like all one piece. Again,books WILL help.

**rtompkin** · 07-31-2001, 07:09 PM

I'll only comment on builtin versus moveable. For future sale
value builtins are a problem. A woman, my wife specifically,
would refuse a house where something built in to a bedroom didn't
match her idea of correct decor. She turned one house down when
we were looking because she didn't like the custom closet doors in the bedroom and thought it would be to much trouble to change them.
I'd go with a solid back screwed through to the studs, that way
if a potential buyer didn't like them you could show how to
remove them without tearing up the wall.

**Limey** · 07-31-2001, 08:47 PM

Good Call
:D:D

MattMull (Guest) · 08-01-2001, 11:57 AM

I agree, but how much of an issue is it to deal with the fact that the walls and celing are not at a 90 deg angle to each other. By building into the wall, wouldn't it be easier to hide/correct that problem

**Limey** · 08-01-2001, 05:07 PM

How out of square is it and in which direction ?
Crown moulding can mask a lot of discrepancy.
that is if I understand you problem correctly.
Cheers Limey

MattMull (Guest) · 08-02-2001, 06:41 AM

It is close to square - the top wall to wall dimention is longer then the wall to wall dim along the base boards. I had not thought of crown molding - Thanks for the suggestion! Would you suggest lagging the cabinets into the studs or some other fastening method?

**Limey** · 08-02-2001, 06:31 PM

Hi again,
Lagging the cabinets into the studs
Someone famous described us a two nations divided by the same language.
Confess that I don't understand this terminology...sorry.
Following the suggestion made earlier and I think I understand the proposal was to make it so that it could be removed easily should a prospective purchaser wish to.
Can it be designed so that it hangs on a cleat(s)?
I have successfully masked the appearance of the cleats by ripping a section of 5/8" thick material at an angle of 35 -40 degrees and affixing the top part to the back of the shelf as a discreet upstand and then fixing the cleat that it hangs on under the shelf with fixings into the walls hiding the fixing holes with wooden plugs after the screws to the wall have been tightened.
It will look (from the front like a shelf with a strip of wood at the top and bottom..side view would be a "T" shape.)
Obviously you need to recess the fixing screws in a hole that is the same size as you need for the plug (tapered plugs like used on an old floor look like they should be there ...design feature).
If you can make something with two or three shelves and then affix all the cleats that attach to the shelves, tape the bit that fixes to the wall to the bit on the shelf. Get a couple of screws in place then drill the remainder. By hanging whatever on three cleats the holding power is tremendous.I once did this for a threeshelf book case that hung on the wall with sides to the shelves.
To remove simply lift off and all that remains are the cleats. You can decide to remove these and fill the holes with plaster and no one would ever know that something had been ther.
Hope this is partially understandable and I wish I could post a pic but it's back in UK.
Dropme an E-mail to trebornotlob@prodigy.net with your address and I'll send you a sketch if you like.
Cheers Limey