I’m back from our crazy, busy weekend and I have a project to show for it! I am continuing on with the Pottery Barn Storage System that I found over at Ana’a Blog ~ Knock Off Wood. Last week I completed the open cubbies. If you missed that tutorial you can check it out HERE. My goal in this series of projects is to prove to you that you CAN do this too! I have very minimal carpentry skills and just like many of you, I have NEVER built a piece of furniture from scratch. Well, now I actually have and I am ADDICTED!
This week I moved on to the media base and you can see the plans I used for it HERE. (It’s the part the TV stands on).
I started by drawing out a cut layout on a piece of graph paper so that I could maximize the amount of cuts per sheet of MDF. I then took the layout to Home Depot where they cut all of the boards for FREE! ( I know some of you mentioned that your Home Depot would not cut or charged per cut. I did ask this time and it turns out that my Home Depot cuts the first two cuts for free and then it is $0.25 for each additional cut. They were very nice and still did not charge me for any of the cuts…hopefully I will get this lucky everytime!)
This is a close-up of the cut layout for the 3/4″ MDF, which I used for the top, sides and back of this piece.
Here is a close-up of the cut layout for the 1/4″ plywood that I used for the back. I had to use plywood because they did not have a long enough piece of 1/4″ MDF:( I bought the longest piece available and added a few cuts for the backs of future pieces to get my money’s worth. The cut needed for this piece is the top left cut. (Feel free to copy my cut layout and take it with you…I just handed it to the Home Depot guys and they cut it while I shopped around.
Make sure to line each edge with Gorilla Glue Wood Glue before you secure them with screws.
Most of the predrills are blind so I draw a line to guide where I should place the screws. 3/4″ is not very thick so a bad angle or placement of a screw could make it tear through the surface. (If this happens, no worries! You can sand it and fill it with wood filler and sand again. Good as new!)
Using a drill bit that is a tad smaller in circumference than the screws you are using, predrill at least three holes (make sure to start at least 1″ from the edge to protect the wood from splitting…I use three fingers vs. measuring). I also predrill the first hole and then add the screw before I predrill the other holes so that the boards stay still.
Here are the screws I have been using.
Drill the screws in until they are below the surface just a little. You can fill in the gap later with wood putty for a more finished look.
After the first steps.
and another…
Almost done!
Next, I used 1″ wire nails and hammered the piece of plywood to the back side.
I used Gorilla Glue Wood Glue and wire nails to attach the top trim and base molding. I then hammered the wire nails to secure the back piece of plywood.
Finally, a little Elmer’s Wood Filler in each screw hole..
and pack and smooth. If it is not flush you can sand it down with a light grit sand paper.
Done!
This part of the Storage System was definitely harder than the open cubbies because of the shelves but it was still easy. Total cost was about $45 and it took me about 2 hours to complete. If I can do it ANYONE can! Just do one piece at a time. You will be amazed at what you can do when you set your mind to something. Check back for the next piece to my Storage System!!!
TO BE CONTINUED….
~Ashley
You just gave me a wonderful idea! We're doing a diy home theater room and this piece would be PERFECT for underneath the projector screen – it would make the room look finished and hide the speaker wires currently running along the baseboards. I've emailed this page to dh so we'll see what happens. Thanks a bunch!
Love what you are doing. I'm going to take a stab at doing the farmhouse table. I'm so excited to try! Now if only I could build a couch! 🙂
That is one big project but make it sound like it's a breeze. Can't wait to see the finished piece.
I just spent 2 hours on her blog! What awesome stuff- I have plans to build a few of those things soon. My daughters need beds and my photography studio could use some of those storage cubbies and bases. Hooray!
Awesome. I didn't know there was a Gorilla Wood Glue! Her site is amazing and you are doing a really great job. I can't wait to see the finished product.
Hi Haley,
I could not reply to your email because you have to allow for response when you leave a comment. I did use the exact cut list that Ana offers. I went back and double-checked just now and it is the same. I added one extra cut for a future piece to this so I didn't waste any wood ~ maybe that is what is confusing? Hope this helps:) ~Ashley
It looks like your cut list is different than the one on Ana's blog. Did you change the plans or am I missing something? We're going to make the TV stand part of it so I was just wondering why your numbers are different than hers. Thanks!