Closet Built-In With Desk, Drawers and Oak Doors for Under $600

A builder-grade closet in a kid's bedroom became a three-zone custom built-in for under $600, according to Beau Builds. The second video in a series on his son's room, it follows a Star Wars themed floating bed build.

The plan

The closet had a lot of wasted space in the corners, and the son does not have many hanging clothes. The creator took design ideas from Pinterest, liked a two-tone look, sketched his idea and ran it through Gemini to get a render. He had about 28 in. of depth to work with and made the units 24 in. deep to save on plywood. He split the build into three separate zones: a cabinet, a desk area with a cabinet above it, and another cabinet, later described as four cabinets in total.

Demolition

Using a laser level and painter's tape, he made a straight line and cut the drywall with a utility knife, which he calls the least dusty way in his experience. He moved an outlet to the other side of the wall and tapped into a line to add lights to the unit.

Cabinets and drawers

The two main cabinets are 24 in. wide by 24 in. deep, and he puts the cost of all the carcasses at around $200. Scrap 2x4s add structural support, and blocking positions the middle shelf without measuring. A pre-built face frame of 1 1/2 in. select pine is glued to each box, with overlay doors that sit on top of the face frame.

Drawer boxes use 3/4 in. plywood, with 12 pocket holes per box. Before cutting all the parts he found his brackets did not fit and the box was too big, so he checked first. Drawer bottoms are Yuka board slid into grooves cut on a router table. He leaves a little room around the slides, since too much pressure keeps them from working well.

Desk and installation

The desk was his son's main request, for homework and Legos. A laminated butcher block from Home Depot, about 130 bucks, stood in for solid butcher block. Because of its 50 in. width he notched the face frame. The left upper cabinet is 66 in. tall, leaving room for longer garments with the next owner of the house in mind. The cabinets were screwed to the studs, and 2x4s lock the units together and form a false wall behind the desk, covered with leftover shiplap. He also put in a dimmer switch and an outlet, and built a hidden drawer from an extra slide.

Doors and finish

Doors use MDF frames with 1/2 in. backer board, made with new router bits that give a slight bevel on the inside edge. The dark color is Urban Bronze by Sherwin Williams, and he says he would spray dark colors next time. He also made red oak doors with solid edge banding and a dark walnut stain, and is not 100% sold on the solid banding. A floating shelf and a rope light finish the build.