How to DIY Living Room Storage Cabinet

(Many of the links in this article redirect to a specific reviewed product. Your purchase of these products through affiliate links helps to generate commission for Storables.com, at no extra cost. Learn more)

The current lockdown has brought out all the chefs, artists, musicians and singers into the limelight. Are you still figuring out what you should be doing in this self-quarantine period? Have you ever had a tough time cleaning your living room, especially when it’s that time of the year (The Spring)? Well, worry not because it is high time you started revamping your home. To get this job done smoothly, we bring you a pool of living room storage ideas to choose from. It is time you brought out your inner Monica Geller and hit it.

It is undoubtedly depressing to see a pile of things always there to be set at the right place whenever you enter your living room. However, living room storage cabinets can be a permanent solution to your problem. There is a wide range of options available depending on the size of your living room. They come in all sizes and shapes. We have living room storage cabinets with glass doors,  tall living room storage cabinets with doors etc. You can color and decorate your life-saving and time-saving living room storage cabinet with innumerable themes and adorn it with hand-painted motifs.

With a few easy and clever steps, you can peacefully read one of your books from the display cabinet on a whacky Wednesday with a cup of Decaf Coffee in your hand and enjoy the evening while your stuff is in the living room storage cabinet. So, put on your red cap and let the work begin! Alternatively, these creative storage ideas may just be what you’re looking for.

How To Build DIY Living Room Storage Cabinet?

So far, you’ve read about the benefits of having a living room storage cabinet. And there is plenty of good reason why you should consider including one in your living room décor. However, an even better idea is to design your very own. By designing a DIY living room storage cabinet, you’ll have more control over the design and building of the cabinet.

Building your own storage cabinet will cost you less and you can design it however you want. With absolute creative freedom over the design and building of the storage cabinet, here are a few things you absolutely need if you plan on building your very own storage cabinet.

The following easy steps will help you build your very own living room storage cabinet:

Step #1: Tools You Need To Have

Here’s a list of all the things you need to get:

1. You will need 3 cabinet grade plywood sheets. It is preferable that you get the sheets in two different sizes. A) Three-quarter inch. B) One-quarter inch.
2. Baseboard molding or trim. For your storage cabinet, be sure to get two sticks of at least 8 ft.
3. Get two sticks, approximately 8ft. in the length of cove molding.
4. Boards of different sizes (You will need 4 (1x2x8) boards and 3 (1x3x8) boards).
5. Shelf pins and Circular Saw.
6. Wood putty and wood glue when you have to join all the parts together.
7. Nail gun and drill.

Step #2: Steps For Building A DIY Living Room Storage Cabinet

Now while building a living room storage cabinet, it is important to figure out what size you want your cabinet to be. However, this storage cabinet’s overall dimensions are 17 ½” deep, 40” tall, and 83” wide.

• Rip, cut and size the plywood

First off, take a ¾ plywood sheet and rip it to 3 strips of 16 inches each. You can use circular saw and Kreg rip cut. Now draw another sheet of plywood and rip a strip of 16 inches.  

Now using these four strips, cut 8 pieces. 4 pieces of 39 1/4” and 4 pieces of 31 ½”.

• Assemble the structure of the living room storage cabinet

Make pocket holes in each of the 4 31 ½” pieces with a drill machine. Now make two carcasses by attaching two pieces together with a 1 ¼” pocket holes screws.

After assembling both sides, go back to step #1, rip two 16” strips and size them down to 15 ¼”, drill ¾” pocket holes and attach both the pieces.

• Add the top

To make the top of the living room storage cabinet, you can either use a new plywood sheet or use the same one if it is enough. So, for the top, you need a plywood piece that is 17 ½” wide and 83” long. Drill ¾” pocket holes into the two cabinet sides and the two vertical middle pieces. Attach the top using these holes and 1 ¼” pocket hole screws. It is significant to have everything square and that the overhang on each side of the top is the same on both sides at this point. You might also want to double-check that the back of the top is flush to the back of the cabinet carcass…there will be about 1 ½” overhang on the front

• Add dividers to the storage cabinet

Cut two pieces from 16” plywood strips at 13” long. Drill ¾” pocket holes in the ends and attach in the center of the two bottom side pieces using 1 ¼” pocket hole screws.

• Build your face frame to fit your exact measurements for your carcass.

If you think you slightly messed up the measurements then it is fine but the face frame must your carcass. Once your frame is assembled, you may use a nail gun to nail it onto the front making sure everything is lined up and square.

• Add back and trim

Cut ¼” plywood to fit over the two outside openings. Better leave the cubbies and the middle section open. If you want to out the backing here, you can. Just staple the plywood in place.

To give a finishing touch, nail on baseboard trim along the bottom and cove around the top.

• Finish

You can use both edge-band and putty along the top edges. You can edge-band along with the plywood too.

Now that you are done building your beautiful and attractive living room storage cabinet, how about you take a short nap and then start the drill? It is time you put all the unorganized stuff inside your hand-made cabinet, get one of your favorite books or play your favorite band, make yourself good coffee and sit in your living room, feel relaxed and optimistic about the future (even if you are not!).

Benefits Of Having A Living Room Storage Cabinet 

While we discuss living room storage cabinets making our lives hassle-free, it is important to know how and in what ways. Below are mentioned the pros of having a living room storage cabinet.

1. Efficient Use Of Space

Having a living room storage cabinet can spare you loads of space. Do you remember the time you wanted to buy that classy recliner but you remembered that you did not have enough room and you dropped the idea? A living room storage cabinet of a certain size can make your materialistic desires come true by efficiently saving you space. Moreover, you can make your living room clutter-free with plenty of time and energy to beautify it with home décor ideas. If you are a bibliophile, you can stock your books in a display cabinet and put it in your living room.

2. Great For Small Homes

Usually, small houses are unorganized because all the important and unimportant, seasonal and unseasonal things are at one place and you do not want to get into the mess because.

• It is time taking.
• It is frustrating when you don’t have a storage cabinet.

Smaller homes are comparatively easier to organize because, with a little planning, motivation and free time, you can adjust showpieces at your display cabinet and put your temporarily unimportant stuff inside the storage cabinet yet manage to have enough space for a recliner.

3. Improved Organization In The Living Room

When you have guests over, it can be quite embarrassing to walk them through the living room, which is more often than not, a complete mess.  With a storage cabinet in your living room, you can easily organize all of your stuff without any hassle. Since storage cabinets come with several drawers and shelves, you can store a large variety of items without having to worry about running out of space. This makes the organization around the living room super easy.

4. Easily Moveable Whenever You Want To Change Things Up In The Living Room

Most of the old-school modular furniture is quite heavy and unmovable. Storage cabinets, however, are easily moveable and don’t require much effort. This excellent mobility is a huge advantage. You can easily change the living room arrangement whenever you want. Modern storage cabinets are designed to fit your living room space with elegance, making them perfect for small homes that may not have a lot of space.

5. Diverse Shapes & Sizes

The living room storage cabinets come in all shapes and sizes. Depending on the measurements of your living room and your house, you are free to choose from a wide variety of storage cabinets. The size, shape, and sustainability of a living room storage cabinet depend on the material of the cabinet as well. Moreover, if you have loads of stuff that you desperately need to put in a place, then a slightly bigger living room storage cabinet would be a good deal to make. Shapes give sophisticated looks to your furniture; you may want to consider that too.

6. Can Hold A Variety Of Items

This is the prime reason we all go after good quality storage cabinets with comparatively more shelves and enough space. All of the living room storage cabinets store a variety of items. With a number of shelves and drawers, you can easily put homogenous items together in a drawer. People, with busy schedules, prefer to name the drawers after what is inside them in order to save time. With a living room storage cabinet in your house, you do not have to rummage through the pile of stuff to find that pair of Bermuda shorts that your mom gifted you.

7. They Add Aesthetic Appeal That Your Living Room Could Surely Use More Of

Storage cabinets allow for optimum utilization of space. Most modern storage cabinets are designed to fit into small spaces quite efficiently and can even complement the rest of your living room décor. You can customize your storage cabinet to suit your living room design. Since they fit right into the rest of the furniture you may have in your living room, you can instantly uplift the overall aesthetic appeal of your living room.

8. Can Easily Hold Seasonal Items That You Don’t Need

Seasonal items are a big hassle. Once the season’s gone, you’re left with piles of stuff you need to sort out and put away. There’s a whole seasonal decluttering session required to get things organized again. A storage cabinet can make your life a whole lot easier because it can easily hold all your seasonal items securely until it’s time for them to be used again. Moreover, if you need quick access to these items, a storage cabinet can make that instantly possible. So, you no longer have to rummage through piles of stuff find items.

9. Easy To Maintain & Access

Apart from their ‘stylish’ living room appeal, they are amazingly easy to maintain and access. Cabinets that are designed for living rooms are specifically designed to be this way. If they were not easy to access, how else would they sell? They are also easy to maintain and can go a long way without weekly dusting and cleaning.

10. Can Complement The Rest Of Your Living Room Furniture

It is human nature that we want things to be aligned with each other. Living room décor items are no different. The more they complement each other, the better your living room will look. Storage cabinets go really well with modular furniture and really help your living room stand out.