How to build
a farmhouse coffee bar cabinet.

How it goes together.

Each picture shows the Farmhouse Coffee Bar Cabinet so far, drawn at 36″ wide: the parts the step adds are shaded, and the ones already built are ghosted.

1. 01Cut
2. 02Top
3. 03Face frame
4. 04Case
5. 05Bays
6. 06Base trim
7. 07Doors
8. 08Finish

1. 

   01

   Cut the parts

   Cut every part and rip the boards that need it: pine 1x boards for the frames, doors, top, trim and cleats, ¾″ finish-grade birch plywood for the sides, floor, divider and shelves, ¼″ plywood for the back.

   Tip

   Cut the longest parts first: if a cut goes wrong, the board is still long enough for a shorter part. Mark each part’s name on it in pencil as you go.

   In the plansThe plans list every part for your size, with a cutting layout for each board and sheet you buy.

2. 

   02

   Glue up the top

   Cut biscuit slots along the planks’ edges, then edge-glue the top with biscuits, ends flush and faces level, clamp it, and let it cure. Then sand it flat, cut it to its finished size and ease its edges.

   Tip

   Alternate the planks’ growth rings (the arcs on their ends) and wipe away glue squeeze-out before it dries, so it doesn’t block the stain.

   In the plansThe plans give the planks’ widths and lengths for each size, cut a little oversize, and the top’s finished size.

3. 

   03

   Build the face frame

   Pocket-screw the top rail between the stiles from the back. There’s no bottom rail: the doors close down to the base trim. Check the frame for square by measuring its diagonals.

   Tip

   Clamp each joint flat to the bench while you drive its pocket screws, so the faces stay flush. Everything else is built off this frame.

4. 

   04

   Assemble the case

   Pocket-screw the plywood sides to the face frame. Glue and nail a cleat inside each side and screw the cabinet floor down onto them, then glue and nail the base backer under the face frame.

   Tip

   Assemble the case on a flat floor or bench so it doesn’t rack, and check it for square before the cabinet floor goes in: once it’s screwed down, the case stays the way it is.

5. 

   05

   Divide it into two bays

   Fit the center stile behind the doors’ meeting edges, with the plywood divider glued behind it. Fit two fixed shelves in each bay, then nail on the back and pocket-screw the top stretcher between the sides.

   Tip

   Cut a spacer block to a shelf’s height and stand each shelf on it while you screw it, so the shelves in both bays come out level with each other.

   In the plansThe plans give the shelves’ heights and the divider’s size for each size.

6. 

   06

   Add the base trim and door stops

   Glue and nail the base trim around the bottom: the front board over its backer, then a board along each side, mitered to it at the front corners. Then glue and nail a door stop behind the top rail for each door.

   Tip

   Cut each miter a little long and creep up on the fit with the trim held against the case.

7. 

   07

   Build and hang the doors

   Build the door frames and finish them. Staple the welded wire across the back of each, then hang the doors on black T-hinges with an even gap all around, with a pull and a magnetic catch for each.

   Tip

   Wear gloves to cut and handle the wire: its cut ends are sharp. Set each door on ⅛″ spacers all around while you mark and fit the hinges, so the gap stays even.

   In the plansThe plans give each door’s frame sizes and the size to cut its wire.

8. 

   08

   Finish and attach the top

   Take off the doors, then sand and finish the case, and the top on every face. Once it’s dry, rehang the doors and attach the top with figure-8 fasteners, never glue, so the planks can move.

   Tip

   Test the stain on an offcut first: on pine, a pre-stain conditioner evens it out. Wear a dust mask to sand, and finish with good ventilation. Rags wet with stain, oil, finish or solvent can catch fire on their own as they dry: spread them flat outdoors, then keep them in a closed metal can of water.