Built in Cabinet Questions

[Faustin Baron]

Hi,

I am looking to put some cabinets in the space next to my fireplace, I am new to this so the problem I am running into is a design issue. The dimensions are not the same, one side is 58" wide while the other is 48" the depth is only 16". Trying to figure out out how to create symmetry, with the different sizes has me scratching my head.

The initial plan was to:

1. Base cabinets on each side, with full extension drawers
2. Uppers would be simple book shelves with adjustable shelves


Are there any basic rules of thumb for door, drawer and shelf widths? I would prefer drawers on the lower cabinets but not if the 16" of depth is enough or doors would be a better option with shelves. I was hoping someone here who might have dealt with a similar situation could provide some suggestions on what they might have done.

Thanks..

[Paul Girouard]

I'd go with a two drawer over two door unit in the lower section on the 48" side with the standard open book shelf above , one center divider. ( Equally spaced top and bottom units)


On the wider side , I'd draw up a three section unit with the center section a bit wider than the two flankers.

The center section I'd draw as all drawers , a bank of three or maybe four. You could flip this center section being a door and the flankers beiing all drawers , depending on what use you see the cabinet getting. With drawers you'll have better / more easily organize-able space , you lose a little space due to hardware and the drawer box it self. So those are the differences, with adjustable shelf's you'd be able to cram more stuff into the cabinet , but it won't be a organized.

I'd play with a deep bottom drawer, center drawer mid sized and the top drawer about a 6" drawer front height ( matching the drawer front height on the 48" wide unit. In the three drawer configuration.

In a four drawer configuration I'd go with the 6" top drawer height then divide the three remaining drawer fronts as equal height.

I think some asymmetry with the center section wider will help with the unbalanced width of the two units, resulting a better over all appearance.

You could also draw it up with three equal sections on the wider unit to see what that would look like , either way the book shelf section above would reflex the same widths as the lower unit in either design option.

I draw up things full scale on card board to let clients see what they are getting in the look, seeing your working for yourself just consider your self the client.


A few typical full scale templates,








The real thing ,












The real thing :








Good luck, post some photo's of the project as you get going on it.

[Faustin Baron]

Thanks for the ideas.. I was planning on drawing it out, but the template idea will really help with the visualization. The plan is to have a 40" TV on the smaller side, with shelves above and cabinet below.. But after looking at your pictures another option maybe to go with firewood storage on the bottom below the TV (Just a thought)..

Thanks again..

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[Jeff Mackay]

I just finished a pair of built-ins flanking the fireplace:



I had a similar situation regarding symmetry (39" one one side, 72" on the other), and I decided I just didn't care about symmetry. I needed space for a TV, speakers, and components on one side, and display shelves/storage on the other. Obviously, the design was constrained by room and fireplace dimensions. I did go to the effort to integrate the tops of the cabinets with the mantel, but I knew I was doing this when I did the finish carpentry in the house.

Carcasses are birch plywood stained with Minwax cherrywood stain, tops are cherry plywood, everything else is solid cherry to match the woodwork in the house. I did do an applied panel on the left side of the left cabinet. Other sides are hidden. All the solid panels in the doors and cabinet side are book-matched. No drawers--mainly because I was lazy more than anything else. Speaker covers are attached with magnets, other doors are hung with Blum Euro hinges. The depth of the left cabinet is at 21", the depth on the right cabinet ranges from 21" at the left side to 36" at the right side. The biggest challenges were building a cabinet with the front angled at 15 degrees (which also required building a set of speakers with the same angled front), and integrating the cabinet tops with the mantel.

I think the choice of doing drawers, doors with adjustable shelves, or doors with pullout shelves depends on how you want to use the cabinets, and how you want them to look. Personally, I believe that drawers are better suited to kitchens and bedrooms, but that's just me. Blum sells 15" and 12" Tandem slides. If you only have 16" of depth to work with, the 15" slides might work, but unless you build frameless cabinets, you'd probably be stuck with 12" slides. You could probably find other drawer slides that would fit your needs better.

[Paul Girouard]

Nice work Jeff, the asymmetry works very well.