The Highland Study is officially under construction! If you missed the kickoff, catch up on the full basement home office renovation plan here. In short, we’re turning a long-neglected corner of our basement into an office and library for Adam, inspired by his Scottish heritage.
When I started designing this space, I knew I wanted to use my favorite wood species for both the built-ins and the wall paneling: beautiful black walnut. Huge thanks to 84 Lumber for providing the walnut hardwood plywood for this project! This year, 84 Lumber is celebrating its 70th anniversary – seven decades of high-quality building materials, trusted partnerships, and reliable service. I’m proud to partner with them on The Highland Study.
Today, we start building the wall of built-ins, starting with the base cabinets. First up is the simplest box in the run: a single-door DIY cabinet. I’m sharing the full plans so you can build one (or two, or ten) for your own home. Each cabinet and bookcase will have its own set of plans, and I’ll share them one at a time as we build. The single-door cabinet is the best place to start – it’s small, straightforward, and teaches you every technique you’ll need for the larger components.
The Highland Study Built-Ins at a Glance
- A three-drawer cabinet in the center
- A pair of double-door cabinets flanking the drawer bank
- A pair of single-door cabinets on each end
Bookcases will sit above, and fluted pilasters and trim will tie the whole thing together so it reads as one piece of furniture. Here’s a rough rendering that ChatGPT created – it’s not completely accurate, but this will give you an idea:
My Favorite Trick for Building a Wall of Cabinets: Label All the Parts!
With an entire wall of built-ins, there are A LOT of parts, many of which are nearly identical. Every part gets a strip of painter’s tape with the cabinet, part name, and dimensions. It takes a few extra seconds per piece, but it’ll save you a ton of head-scratching when it comes time to assemble.
I try to place my pocket holes in places where they won’t be seen – like under the bottom panel and on the top of the stretcher (since the countertop will cover them up).
Instead of nailing the back panel to the cabinet, I like to cut grooves into the side and bottom panels so the back panel slides into place. I do this with my table saw outfitted with a dado stack. You can also use a router table to achieve this. I cut the grooves 1/4″ deep, 3/4″ from the back edge.
The PDF plans walk you through every step with 3D diagrams, but here’s how easily it came together in the workshop. First, I attached the bottom panel to the side panels (hiding the pocket holes under the bottom panel). Whenever possible, I flip my workpiece so that I can use gravity to my advantage and drill down.
The nail strips go in at the back of the cabinet. You’ll screw into these to anchor the cabinet to the wall studs during installation.
Once the sides and bottom are assembled, the back panel slides right down into the grooves. The back stretcher goes on last and captures the top of the back panel in its groove. The pocket holes go on top of both stretchers so that the countertop will hide them later.
And just like that, two cabinet boxes are constructed and ready for face frames and doors! I ended up ordering my cabinet doors online, but you can build them if you’d prefer – the plans include a basic shaker-style frame-and-panel door assembly.
What’s Next
Next up, the double-door base cabinets and the three-drawer centerpiece! After that will come the bookcases, trim, and yes, the secret storage feature. Be sure to follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for even more info!
If you’ve built your own built-ins, what’s the one thing you wish you’d known before you started? Tell me in the comments!
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