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by
Rick Campbell
photos by Roger Yip |
IT WAS A CLOSET ... NOW IT'S AN OFFICE |
Desktop
Next,
I prepared the 3/4" birch ply desktop and secured it to
the base cabinets using screws and L-brackets. The desktop profile
curves outward in the centre to provide additional room to work
and a place for the keyboard.
Complete the layout of the curved
section by tracing along a thin strip of wood that has been
flexed to form an arc. Cut out the straight sections first,
using a circular saw and a board clamped to the plywood to serve
as a guide, then tackle the curved part by following the layout
line freehand with a jigsaw.
For a finished look, I capped
the exposed plywood edge with thin strips of solid birch.
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| A
curve in the middle of the birch ply desktop makes
extra workspace for the keyboard and mouse |
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Upper
Cabinets
There are four modular cabinets above the desk that are screwed
together to form a hutch, with enough space under the two centre
units to house the monitor. These modules are not as deep as
the lower cabinets, allowing the hutch assembly to be set back
from the front of the desk to maximize the work area.
Drill holes in the side panels
for the adjustable shelf pins before the cabinets are assembled.
The shelves are birch ply, capped on the front edge with wide
birch strips that overhang at the bottom to make the shelves
look thicker than they actually are. Roundover the top and bottom
edges of the strips at the router table before you apply them.
Measure
and cut the hardboard panel that covers the back of the hutch,
but don’t tack it in place until the cabinet modules are
dismantled and moved into position for the final installation.
The hardboard back extends slightly below the level of the hutch
so it can be tacked to the rear edge of the desktop. Install
a cord grommet just above the level of the desk to organize
cables.
To avoid clutter and wasting valuable
workspace with a desk lamp, I chose to light the monitor area
with a pair of low-voltage halogen pot lights recessed into
a melamine panel. The light panel is separated from the underside
of the centre hutch units with 3/4"-thick cleats to form
a wire chase. I concealed the entire assembly behind a solid
birch valance attached with screws and L-brackets.
The face-mounted cabinet doors
were constructed using the same method described earlier; install
them with euro-style hinges.
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| Adjustable
shelf pins are hidden behind the bullnose profile
of the shelves. The pins ensure that the office
can accommodate future technologies, even if they
come in different sizes and shapes |
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Access
Hatch
Cover the opening between the base cabinets with a removable
panel to provide access to cables and wires in the back. The
panel consists of a painted wood frame with grooves cut around
the inside to accept a hardboard insert. Join the frame at the
corners with biscuits and handholds recessed into the top and
bottom rails to make the panel easier to remove.
I installed a standard forced
air grill near the bottom to permit heat from equipment to escape.
Cleats screwed to the base cabinets allow the vent panel to
be held in place with Velcro strips.
Wall and Ceiling Panels
Melamine panels encase the top and sides to tie the unit together
and hide the interior walls and ceiling. Before measuring for
these panels, I screwed a 3/4"-thick melamine spacer board
to the top of the hutch to provide clearance for the cabinet
doors.
I cut holes in the top panel for
three additional recessed low-voltage pot lights and ran the
wiring for these lights, and the ones installed earlier, to
standard household light switches located on one of the side
panels. You’ll plug a cord running from the switch box
into a standard grounded outlet after the unit is installed.
Installation
To prepare for the installation, I rolled back the carpeting
and underlay to provide a solid footing for the unit and ran
wiring for telephone lines, data connections and electrical
outlets to the centre of the back wall so they could be accessed
from the removable panel.
Next, I assembled the modules
directly in front of the closet opening so it would be easy
to see how they would come together and so I wouldn’t
have far to move them. With a the help of an assistant, I pushed
the unit into place.
I secured the side panels to the
wall studs using three-inch screws with decorative cup washers
under the heads. Use a shim behind the screws to fill any gaps
between the cabinet and the wall studs. That way all of the
pieces will fit nice and tight.
With the unit securely in place,
I installed trim around the outside edge, followed by a bead
of paintable caulking to fill any gaps in between the unit and
the walls. I finished up by laying down new tack strips, rolling
the carpeting back into place and trimming the excess to fit.
It took no time at all for our
useful new built-in office to become the most popular destination
in the house. It turned out to be a cost-effective solution
to our household space problems and it has opened the door to
the possibility of adding additional built-in cabinets and nooks
in other underutilized areas of our home.
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| Part
1 | Part 2 |
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