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How I Built Cabinet Boxes for My Whiskey-Inspired Office

Building cabinet boxes doesn’t have to be hard. There are several ways to approach it, but this method using pocket hole screws is perfect if the cabinet sides will be visible, as all pocket hole fasteners are hidden.

There are two types of cabinet boxes: frameless and face-frame. For this particular build, I’m creating face-frame cabinets (to be covered in a separate tutorial) and building the toe kick separately. This tutorial focuses on the basic box construction.

The box’s bottom, sides, and cleats are made of 3/4” plywood. A sturdy wood like birch is ideal. The back of the cabinet box is built with 1/4” plywood.

To start, cut your 3/4” plywood to your desired dimensions. In this case, my total cabinet is 36” wide, 30” tall, and 30” deep. So, I’ll cut two side pieces at 30” deep x 30” tall and a bottom piece at 34.5” wide x 30” deep. Since I want the cabinet to be 36” wide, I’m deducting 1.5” from this dimension to account for the two side panels. I’ll also cut three cleats at 34.5 ” wide x4” deep each—these will go across the top and back of the cabinet for stability and wall attachment.

Get the Look

Next, create pocket holes on the bottom panel, starting 2” from each end. Attach the bottom panel to each side panel using wood screws (I used these screws: link). For a stronger joint, I also used wood glue and 95-degree clamps to ensure the box is square.

While the cabinet is still lying down, attach the cleats using pocket hole screws, as shown below.

Once assembled and confirmed square, attach the back of the cabinet. Cut the 1/4” plywood to the desired size; here, the back is 36” wide x30” tall. I then attached the back panel with wood screws, ensuring no gaps between the frame and back piece.

*Note: Using this method, the back panel will be visible from the sides. If this doesn’t align with your design, set the back cleats in by 1/4” and recess the bottom by 1/4” so the back panel rests flush (see illustration below).