Computer Desk and Cabinets

This was a really interesting built-in I made for Joe and Pat from Belmont.  It's a combination computer desk and bookcase/cabinet set.  It really illustrates the beauty behind custom built-in's, where I can modify the design to meet the specific needs of the individual.

Pat and Joe had some particular needs they wanted fulfilled with this cabinet set, and had some interesting problems we had to overcome in order to make it all work.

Joe and Pat moved into their new house as a downsizing measure, and the room where the computer was had to take the place of three separate rooms from their old house.  The room was to be a workout room, an office, and a guest bedroom.

We started off by replacing two cabinets that were similar to the bookcase/cabinets that I built on the left side of the unit.  Pat liked the layout of the old cabinets, but found them to be too small.  The lower portion of the original cabinets were not deep enough to store Pat's precious photo albums.  So I built the new cabinets deep enough to fit her biggest album.  But, by solving that problem, we created a new one.

The couch that you see in the picture is also a fold out bed for guests to sleep in when visiting, and is an essential part of the room.  However, by making the base cabinets deeper, they were now too deep to allow regular cabinet doors to open with the couch there.  We solved that problem by installing sliding doors instead of hinged doors.

Joe wanted a new computer desk, but he needed to have enough room for all of his peripherals, such as scanner, printer, etc.  He wanted to utilize the space up the wall for those, plus, he also wanted to have storage space for ink, paper, disks, and such.  So I made the extra tall cubbyholes over the main work area to accommodate his printer and scanner,  and then made standard cabinets with hinged doors over them for storage.

He also had an old file cabinet that he wanted to replace, so I built him a new one as part of the desk, which is to the right but covered up in the picture by the chair.


The entire unit was made of cabinet grade birch plywood with routered pine trim.  The doors were ordered from one of the cabinet door supply companies I use.  It was finished in latex enamel by Rocky, from Tommy Williams Homes.

All in all I was very proud of the creation we made here.  It turned out to be a great combination of beauty and functionality.  Too many times looks have to be traded in for utility, or vice-versa, but in this situation, that wasn't the case.

This has to be one of my favorite creations to date!