Pottery Barn Kids inspired cubby

About This Project

This plan for a cubby is a favorite of mine.  It was the first piece of furniture that I built specifically for my daughter's room.  It's made almost entirely of MDF, which means that it will be strong, easily paintable, won't warp, and best of all inexpensive.  This cubby was inspired by Pottery Barn Kids' Cameron cubby.  Hope you enjoy!

$160 = Furniture Store Cost
- $75 = Your Approximate Cost
$85 = WHAT YOU SAVE!

Tools and Materials

• Circular Saw
• Dovetail Hand Saw (or other fine-toothed hand saw)
• Jig Saw
• Finishing Nails
• 1/4" wooden dowels
• 1 1/4" #6 screws
• Wood glue
• 3/4" MDF
• 5/8" MDF
• 1x1
• finishing supplies

Cutlist

Step 1

 

This is how it should look when we get finished! Excited yet? Let's get started!

Step 2

Attach 13 1/2" 1x1's to the tops of the sides with 1 1/4" screws, keeping them flush with the back and tops of the sides.  There should be a 1/2" difference between the front of the side and the front of the 1x1.

Step 3

Attach 2 1x1's to the top with finishing nails for now, aligning them 5/16" from the midpoint of the top and flush with the back.  This will later hold the center divider in place, and we will add screws then.

Step 4

Make center divider out of 5/8" MDF.  Cut a 6 1/2" slot directly in the center of it.  This will hold the shelf from the next step.

Step 5

Cut out slot in the shelf that is 5/8" wide and spans 6 1/2" from the back.  Then add dowel pins to the side.  Drill the holes 3 1/2" in from the sides of the shelf.  Make sure to try and keep the holes as straight as possible.  The dowels should stick out about 1/2" or a little less.

Step 6

Use dowel centering pins in the shelf to align holes directly in the center of both sides.  These will hold the dowels from the cubby shelf.  Be careful to only drill the holes about 1/2" deep.

Step 7

Dry assemble the cubby with the dowels inserted.   Starting from the top outside 1x1's, drill pilot holes and secure them with 1 1/4" screws both to the top and sides of the cubby.  Then attach the center 1x1's the same way, ensuring that the pieces are square and that the back ends and sides are flush.  After the top, sides, and center divider are attached through the 1x1's, flip the cubby over and attach the bottom panel with screws drilled in through the bottom.  Be sure to drill pilot holes first, as MDF cracks easily.

Step 8

Attach edging strip to the front top of the cubby to hide the 1x1's, then secure from underneath with 1 1/4" screws.

Step 9

Attach 1/4" particleboard for back, then sand and finish as desired.  Since the project is made of mostly MDF, I decided to paint it white.  For finishing tips, read this article from Fine Woodworking.  If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment and share it with someone you know, or online.

Happy Building!
-Josh

By Joshua Cook with No comments

Side Table inspired by Pottery Barn Hyde Collection

   Cut a 2x4 into 6 15” strips.  It is better to cut them a tiny bit too long rather than too short at this point.  Lay them side by side, and then glue together.  After glue dries, cut ends off so that the piece remaining is 18” wide.  Sand ends of boards so that they are flush with all adjacent boards and 15” in length

 Add 2x2’s to the sides of the 2x4 top, so that it makes an 18” by 18” square.  Make sure all edges are flush and square, and then glue together.  Allow glue to dry.  

 Cut 4 25” sections of 4x4, then use a circular saw with a ripping guide to cut down to 2.5 x 2.5 inches. 

 Near the tops of all four legs, use a 1/2" chisel out two mortises for mortis and tenon joints.  These will accept the tenons from the side aprons, which we will cut in the next step.  The mortises should be 1/2” from the top along the centerline and 3/4" deep.

 Next, cut all four aprons out of 2x4's each piece should be 12 1/2" long.  Then cut tenons into both sides of each apron with a fine-toothed saw like a dovetail saw.  The tenons should be centered on the board 1/2" from either side of the aprons and 1/2" from the top and bottom of the aprons.  Cut them so they are 2 1/2" long, 1/2" wide, and 3/4" deep.

 Connect the aprons to the legs of the table using the mortis and tenon joints.  Once you ensure a good fit and that the tops are flush, add glue to the joints to solidify the joint.  Allow glue to dry.

 Align the tabletop so that it is centered over the legs squarely.  Connect top by drilling screws in from the bottom of the aprons.  Start by drilling oversized holes about 2" into the aprons so that the screws will be able to reach the tabletop.  Then add a pilot hole to the center of the holes.  Drill #8 2.5" screws into the holes to firmly connect the top to the aprons and legs.

Fill in all holes.  Sand and finish as desired.


That's all there is to it.  If you enjoyed this plan, please share it with someone else.  Happy building!

By Joshua Cook with No comments