With Shiplap Cabinet Doors!

The Design

        This project began with a list of necessities, the current space was just a table on a blank wall and the client wanted to really make it home. They work from home a majority of the time and really wanted to turn this space into a place they enjoy being and create some storage. The client decided on the thick shelving unit and wanted to keep the entire top portion of the piece all wood stained. The bottom portion made up of base cabinets would have some roll out shelves and a pair of pencil drawers with power run to them so they would have the ability to charge items inside the drawers. Lastly the client sent me a photo of shiplap cabinet doors and asked if I could do that, of course I said yes so shiplap doors were on the agenda as well.  

       The Process

  The building process begins with breaking down the plywood and prepping it for cabinet boxes. This project I built the cabinets using the dado stack for some extra strength in the joinery. A dado is cut out of the lower portion of the side panels where the bottom panel will sit, then a second dado is cut vertically about an inch from the back of each panel where the back panel will sit. Once the dados are cut the boxes can be assembled. Next we will cut the pieces to assemble the face frames for the cabinets. With the cabinets prepped we can move on to the glue up of the countertop. 

             The countertop was made of solid white oak. I begin like I do with most projects by doing some minor milling on some S3S lumber. That process is simply ripping the boards to relative size, planing those pieces to a true ¾”, and finally add some biscuits and glue it up. The next thing is to work on the shelving; this consist of ¾” white oak ripped down to size and will house the 2-½” white oak shelves. The shelves are made with ½” white oak and some S3S white oak. I will be writing a full article on how I build these floating shelves, so be on the look out for that article in the next couple weeks. 

          The shiplap cabinet doors are actually quite simple. They are made just like my standard shaker style doors (How I make Shaker Style Cabinet Doors https://youtu.be/xCehyMitqk4), but before adding the floating mdf panel to the doors, I take that panel and bring my table saw blade down to ⅛” height and I run the panel through at 3-½” increments. This gives the appearance of the shiplap look but avoids having to add the thick shiplap to the doors. The next thing I begin working on is the pencil drawers. These drawers will go under the desk where the client will sit. Simple ½” plywood construction and a ¼” bottom panel. 

           Once everything is stained and painted it’s time for install. One trick that I used in the install of the desk that I believe would be helpful for many of you reading is the use of a template. This nearly 14’ long desktop was going between two walls and was in a room that was going to be difficult to get the desktop into in the first place so I didn’t want to be taking the top in and out several times to cut it to fit the drywall. So I brought a few pieces of scrap ¼” mdf with me and glued them together. I then scribed those pieces and cut them to fit the drywall. Then I simply took that template out to my desktop and followed that line with my jigsaw to cut the desktop to fit. When I brought the piece in it slid right into place with no gaps. 

          The final piece is a beautiful office space, white oak desktop and matching shelving, shiplap cabinet doors with plenty of storage, and pencil drawers with integrated power for charging devices. A very fun project with a new twist on the cabinets that adds some character to the piece that makes it unique. 

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