Remember the gaming table?
We bought a mini fridge to keep all the snacks and drinks in a designated space in this room but it was screaming for a cabinet to call home!
A tabletop would make the space great for laying out a spread of foods so I decided to make a buffet. I wanted to contain it to the space between the door and the window so it had to be pretty small. I thought a trash can area and a cabinet area on either side of the fridge might work well and I started out by making a sketch with dimensions.
I had to change a few measurements as I went along, but I'm really glad I drew the plans and calculated how much I needed to buy. I'm terrible at keeping rip cuts (lengthwise cuts) straight so I asked an employee to cut them for me when I bought the plywood sheets. One day I'll either buy a rip cut guide or make one. For now, I don't need them done so often that I can't ask for them to be done at the store before I bring them home. Once they were the right widths, I started cutting them down for each piece of the buffet and connecting them.
Before connecting the two dividers on the right, I added holes for adjustable shelves.
Since the gaming table is painted black, I decided to paint this buffet black to match.
For the legs, I chose sofa "bun" legs. I painted them black as well. For stability, they need to be screwed into the special leg hardware that is attached to the bottom of the piece.
Since the mini fridge was going in the middle, I needed 6 legs to make it sturdy enough.
Once the legs were on, I flipped it back over and decided to paint the inside of the trash can side and the shelves on the right side red.
I made some plain doors that are black on the outside, red on the inside and have cool dragon handles. I'd like to add more trim or something because I don't love how they look but, for now, they function just fine.
I've always wanted to make a chevron table top and I decided this was going to be my first try. I started by adding leftover plywood to the top of the cabinet and then I cut 1 x 6s at a 45 degree angle and started adding them to the top with wood glue and brad nails.
Once all the pieces were on, I cut along each side to even them all out. It turns out a did a terrible job but more on that later.
All of the spots are where I put wood filler over the nail holes.
Next, it was time to sand. And sand. And sand some more. I think I worked on sanding this table top for about 3 hours, altogether. It was worth all that time because it looks and feels great!
Here's where I realized that I messed up when I cut the rectangle. One side of the front was cut back further than the other. It was obvious once I put the doors back on after sanding. In the first picture, the entire depth of the right-side door can be seen. In the second picture, you can see just a small amount of the depth of the left-side door. I marked where I needed to cut it in order to square it properly. I had planned on putting trim around the top anyway since the 1 x 6 boards are only 3/4" thick so this will be covered once I fix it anyway.
When I got the top squared, I started adding the trim.
It turns out I still need more practice or some tips on how to get mitre cuts to line up properly. I've learned a few tricks on how to make the bad cuts work out in the end though. It's not perfect but I'm okay with not perfect. First, I used my nail gun to pull the edges closer together. Then I added lots of wood filler. Then I sanded and stained it.
I really love the stain color and I am over the moon in love with how the chevron pattern turned out!
I've taken dozens of pictures but none of them show the true beauty of how this piece turned out. Before I made the top, I was starting to question my design. I was worried that I wasn't going to be happy at all. I'm so glad I followed through with the plan.
One day, I'll start on the rest of the decor in this room. I'm looking forward to it. I've already picked out the faux brick wall panels and the paint color. I'll let you use your imagination until I get around to it! Now, where's my sander?
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