Home office built inside a wardrobe

Remarka6le

This clever project turned a built-in wardrobe into a multi-function home-office station.

The project
Tools and materials
The build
More inspiration for your home office

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The project

My father had already partially converted this wardrobe into an office space by installing a long benchtop with some shelves and cupboards above it. I wanted to add cabinets underneath to store office supplies and other work-related items.

Tools and materials

Tools used in the project:

Measuring tape and marker
Level
Sliding mitre saw
Drill driver.

Materials used in the project:

Various L brackets
Wallmate plasterboard anchors
Various sized screws
30mm x 12mm Pine
120mm x 19mm Pine
70mm x 35mm Pine
A cheap drawer set (I was going to build one but found one for $10 at Officeworks)
Black spray paint
Melamine for shelves
Melamine edging tape
4 x soft-close hinges
Door handles.

The build

Step 1

I measured the interior of the wardrobe and decided how high I wanted the bottom and middle shelves to be. I then put together the Officeworks drawer set to determine how much of the 120mm Pine I needed to cut down to fit. To my absolute amazement, the drawer set actually fit perfectly on top of the Pine (which I had spray-painted black).

I then created the base for the drawers to sit on and connected the unit to the 30mm Pine at the back, which would also support the Melamine shelves. (The Pine can be fixed using Wallmates or by screwing it directly into the studs).

Step 2

Once the bottom was completely secure, I slid the drawers in for a nice, snug fit. I secured it to the top bench using L brackets. I attached 30mm pine to the sides of the drawers to create the final lip that the Melamine shelves would rest on.

After ensuring everything was level (again), I cut the Melamine to size and carefully placed the shelves in, flush to the front lip. These were then secured in place by L brackets at the rear (for the bottom ones) and underneath the middle shelf inside the 30mm Pine lip.

Step 3

I then had the issue of doors, which is something I learned I should have done first as the positioning created issues. I ended up cutting two Melamine doors to size and used some edging tape to make it feel nice. I used some spare 70mm x 35mm Pine to secure the doors onto, ensuring they were flush with where the drawers were. I then added the door handles.

The bottom cabinet doors were originally kept closed just by the hinges, but after our kid was born I went on a child-proofing spree and installed some neodymium disc magnets into the door and inside the cabinet to hold it shut – at least enough for a young child to not open.

And that's that!

The drawers and storage were great for my work efficiency and my wife. Along with my other home-office projects has been brilliant for my home-based employment throughout the Covid crisis.