Continuing our series on the Pottery Barn Cameron Storage Unit inspired kids storage system, our next phase of the project is to build the upper units.  We want to go with a setup which is three base units wide, with a single layer of upper cabinets.  The outer two upper cabinets will have doors, while the center upper cabinet will be divided into four smaller boxes.

These plans focus on how to construct the upper units with doors, but the main box construction for any of the variations of the upper units is exactly the same.  The only difference being if you want to add doors, or if you want to add a variation of shelving.

Materials Required

• 4′ x 8′ x 1/2″ plywood sheet
• 3/4″ x 2″ x 12′ poplar board
• 2′ x 2′ x 1/4″ plywood sheet
• 4 full inset hinges
• 2 door knobs

Tools Required

• Saw – table or circular
  • Dado blades for your table saw are useful
  • Or a router with a 1/2″ and 1/4″ straight bits.
• Nail gun and nails
• Drill
• Tape measure
• Square
• Wood glue
• Sandpaper
• Wood putty or edge banding

Step 1:  Cut the pieces from the 1/2″ plywood

Just like the construction of the base units, it is easiest to cut all of the plywood pieces for these Cameron Storage upper units at the beginning.  Remember, if you are planning on building multiple upper units, even if they are all not going to have doors, it is also better to cut all of the pieces for all of the units at one time to help ensure you measurements and tool settings are exactly the same for all.

For each of these units you are going to cut six pieces from the 1/2″ plywood:

• Bottom panel: 29 1/2″ x 16″
• 2 Side panels: 23″ x 16″
• Back panel: 29″ x 23″
• Lower Top: 29 1/2″ x 16 1/4″
• Upper Top: 29 1/2″ x 16 1/2″

Step 2: Cut the rabbets in the sides

Once all of the plywood pieces are cut, it is time to cut the rabbets in the back edge of the side panels.

You can either use a dado blade on your table saw, or a 1/2″ straight bit on your router. Either way will work just fine, and there are other methods for accomplishing this task but I won’t go into those here.  For cutting these rabbets I typically use an oversize dado stack and then bury part of the stack in my table saw’s sacrificial fence so what is left sticking out to cut is the exact width of the plywood panel.

Once you have your setup dialed in, cut a 1/2″ wide by 1/4″ deep dado in the back edge of both side pieces.

Step 3: Assemble the box

Once you have all of your panels cut, it is time to assemble these upper units.  The assembly is only going to use wood glue and nails, but you want to take your time and ensure you are keeping your box square as you assemble each piece.  I highly recommend using right angle corner clamping jigs in order to ensure the corners stay square.

TIP: It is a good idea to paint or stain the inside of the upper unit (including the inside of the back panel), before you attach the back panel.  Painting before the back panel is attach the back panel allows easier access to the inside corners.

Step 4: Cut the rails and stiles for the doors

Once you have your Cameron Storage upper unit boxes assembled, it’s time to start making the doors.  I’m using standard shaker style doors, built using mortise and tenon construction.

Each door consists of two rails, and two stiles.  So if you are building one cabinet, you’ll need four rails and four stiles.  If you are building two upper units with doors, you’ll need to cut either of each.

Using your 2″ x 3/4″ poplar, cut:

• 4 Rails: 11 1/8″ long
• 4 Stiles: 23 3/4″ long

Once you have your pieces cut, use your table saw or router to cut a 1/4″ wide by 1/2″ deep groove down the center of all eight pieces.  Next cut the 1/2″ long x 1/4″ wide tenons on the ends of each rail.  Dry fit all of the pieces to ensure the mortise and tenon joinery fits, but is not loose

Alternate Method: If you are not comfortable with cutting the mortise and tenon joinery, you can opt to cut your rails to 10 1/8″ long and use a pocket hole joinery to attach all of the pieces.

Step 5: Cut the panels for the doors

From the 1/4″ plywood, cut one panel for each door at 11 1/8″ x 19 3/4″.

Step 6: Assemble doors

Dry fit all of the door pieces again to ensure the door panels fit in the rails and stiles.  You may have to shave 1/16″ from each dimension of the panel to allow the panel to fit inside the frame.  Once you are happy with the dry fit, use wood glue on the tenons only.  Do not glue the panel into the frame, it should float freely.\

Remember to double-check for square as you are gluing up your doors.

Step 7: Sand and paint or stain

Now that your doors are assembled, sand and paint or stain them along with the rest of the Cameron Storage upper unit.

Step 8: Add hardware and attach the doors

The last steps are to add your hardware. In our case we are using standard knobs set in the middle of the inner stiles, so we only have to drill a single hole.

For attaching the door we’ll be using two full-inset hinges per door.  Follow the directions provided with the style of hinges you chose for attaching them to the doors and to the cabinets.  Given the measurements we’ve provided, you’ll want a gap of about 1/16 – 1/8″ between the doors and the cabinets, and a similar gap between the two doors.  I find that using standard playing cards as shims helps ensure these gaps are consistent all the way around the doors.

And that’s it, your upper units with doors are complete!  Don’t forget to check out the rest of our series on building a Pottery Barn inspired Cameron Storage unit.

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