DIY Builtins
We have been slowly renovating our small builder grade home for the last few years. The living room builtins have been something I have wanted to change for ages. About 15 years ago Tony built some cabinetry to sit our television on. Although it was well built and served its purpose it no longer fit with our style.
We were on a mission to turn our living room into a light bright space that can seat more people than it currently does. The DIY builtins were part of that process.
The planning process
To save money and to reduce the work involved we wanted to incorporate the old entertainment unit into the new design.
The solution was to have the doors and drawer covers replaced with the shaker style are have been using in other areas of the home. We decided to have that done by the same cabinetmaker who did our bathrooms and laundry. The next step was to build more cabinetry on top. We wanted to tackle this ourselves for the challenge and to save money.
Tony wanted to upgrade the TV to a bigger size which to be honest, I didn’t really want. However, if you have read my other posts we try to compromise so that we are both happy. We agreed to upgrade to a bigger Samsung Frame TV so that we can disguise it as art 😂.
The size of the TV dictated how we would be able to design the top half of the cabinets. We decided to have shelving on both ends with a section in the middle for the TV that we would bring forward compared to the bookshelves.
First steps in constructing our diy builtins
We removed all the doors and drawer fronts and dropped them to the cabinetmaker so they had the exact sizes needed.
Next up Tony worked out the sizing and design for each of the three units which together would make up the top section. We used tape to mark out ideas on the wall on top of the existing cabinets.
We really took our time in deciding how we wanted the builtins to look. A lot of the beautiful images we found on Pinterest would not work in our space because of the low ceiling. We opted to keep things reasonably simple. The same cornice used in the rest of the house will be carried through here.
To add some features we planned to use VJ board to the back of the shelving units. Adding some trim around the front of the shelves and the unit that would hold the television.
Once we had our design finalised Tony worked out all the supplies we would need and we made a trip to Bunnings to pick it all up.
Buying all the supplies
Unfortunately we were unable to get the VJ board we wanted to use and the alternative was nearly $70 per sheet. Thankfully Tony came up with a solution and made his own. He used one 1200 x 2400mm sheet of 9mm MDF which gave us VJ board for both shelving units.
We wanted the side walls of the book shelves to be fairly thick. To achieve this we used six sheets of 1800 x 445 x 16mm white melamine. We then paired it with sheets of MDF (medium density fibreboard) to bulk the sides out. We purchased one sheet of 1800 x 900 x 16mm MDF and cut to size. One side of the MDF was left the height of the ceiling so that we could insert a bulkhead. See the pictures.
Tony then used a Kreg Pin Jig to drill holes for the adjustable shelves.
Putting it all together
After constructing two shelving units we installed them on either side of the bench. Tony then constructed a false wall between the two units. This will give us somewhere to install the television.
The television was purchased before we started construction. This was to ensure we had the uprights in the right position to be able to hang the television safely.
The next step was to install the plasterboard and cornice.
We used plasterboard cement to glue the sheets and then screwed them for correct installation. The cornice was then installed which apart from where it meets the old cornice was fairly straight forward. Tony had to scribe the new section to fit the old which was a bit tricky, Thank goodness for caulk!!
Finishing touches
Once everything was installed it was time to put some trims up to finish it all off. We purchased timber strips slightly wider than our supports to give the shelving units a little more thickness. We have other mouldings in this room so we wanted these strips to replicate that moulding. Tony used his router to carve a strip out of the centre (see picture below).
Timber trim with a step pattern was used in the television section to replicate the stepped trim used above our large window in this room.
Now for the awful job of caulking!!! If you’ve ever done this you will know what I mean. You can’t skip this job though it’s essential for making everything look beautifully finished.
Painting is the next step and that really does change everything and makes the whole unit look beautiful. We chose to paint the unit a bright white by Dulux called Lexicon Quarter and couldn’t be happier with the colour. We also had the new doors and drawer fronts sprayed in this colour.
Doors and drawer fronts went on next. We had the doors made by someone else because we didn’t want the construction of the builtins to take months!!!
To attach the door knobs Tony built a jig to ensure that all knobs were put in the same position and to avoid any errors.
Fitting the Frame TV to the DIY builtins
The installation of the Samsung Frame TV was a straightforward process as Tony had already made adjustments during the construction process to ensure that he had uprights to attach the brackets to. With the frame TV you only need one cord to go to the TV and the balance of cords for dvd players and gaming stations all attach to a box that we were able to hide behind a speaker for a seamless look.
All that remained was to decorate our newly finished builtins for Christmas. I have waited for this for at least 15 years so I thoroughly enjoyed the process. We are both loving the new TV. I purchased five Christmas prints from Etsy and we have them on a slide show. The prints pop up when movement is sensed in the room.
We found a great old piece of decorative timber that will be mounted in the space above the television. However it requires stripping back so that will have to wait until after Christmas.
See the makeover of the Living room after Christmas.
If you would like to see some of our other DIY’s check out our colonial bars installation post.
