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Three separate plywood boxes — two tall towers and a bench — designed to sit together as one built-in-looking wall unit, even though nothing about the construction requires them to be permanently joined. Each tower is frameless (no applied face frame), which means the back panel is doing real structural work here, not just closing up the back: without it, a frameless box like this can rack out of square the first time someone leans on a door or overloads a shelf.
Base moulding along the bottom and edge moulding on the bench are what elevate this from "plywood boxes" to something that reads as built-in furniture — skip them and it still functions, but skip them at your own risk if the goal is a finished look. The bench doors are optional; a plain center divider with no doors is a legitimate simpler finish if hanging doors and hardware isn't where you want to spend your time on this build.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| Plywood, MDF, or particle board, 3/4", 4x8 sheetHave it ripped into 15-3/4" wide, 8 ft long strips at the store. | 3 each |
| Plywood or hardboard, 1/4", 4x8 sheet | 1 each |
| Base moulding, 3-1/4", 7 ft | 1 each |
| Edge moulding, 3/4", 36 in | 1 each |
| Knobs or handles | 2 each |
| Hinges | 2 pair |
| Pocket hole screws, 1-1/4" | 2 box |
| Brad nails, 1-1/4" | 1 box |
| Wood glue | 8 oz |
| Sandpaper, assorted grit | 8 sheet |
Overall cost: $$$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Tower sidesPlywood | 4 | 3/4" × 15 3/4" × 72" |
| Tower shelvesPlywood | 14 | 3/4" × 15 3/4" × 16" |
| Tower cubby dividersPlywood | 4 | 3/4" × 15 3/4" × 7 5/8" |
| Tower backs1/4" plywood or hardboard | 2 | 1/4" × 17 1/2" × 72" |
| Tower base mouldingBase moulding | 2 | 3/4" × 3 1/4" × 17 1/2" |
| Bench top and bottomPlywood | 2 | 3/4" × 15 3/4" × 36" |
| Bench dividersPlywoodSpace at least one center partition — a bench this wide sags without it. | 6 | 3/4" × 15 3/4" × 34 1/2" |
| Bench sidesPlywood | 2 | 3/4" × 15 3/4" × 17 1/4" |
| Bench base mouldingBase moulding | 1 | 3/4" × 3 1/4" × 36" |
| Bench edge mouldingEdge moulding | 1 | 3/4" × 3/4" × 36" |
| Bench doors1/4" plywoodOptional — cut to fit the actual opening. | 1 | 1/4" × 18" × 36" |
Buy 15 boards at 8 ft.
10 boards
Build each tower's sides, shelves, and cubby dividers with 3/4" pocket holes and glue. Include at least one fixed shelf near the center of each tower — a fixed shelf keeps a tall frameless tower rigid even if the rest of the shelves are set on adjustable shelf pins.
Build the plus-shaped cubby dividers as their own small assembly and slide it into place inside each tower — building it separately and sliding it in makes it removable later if you want to reconfigure the shelving.
Attach a back panel to each tower. Backing a frameless tower isn't optional here — it's what keeps the whole thing square once it's loaded with weight and someone starts hanging on the doors or shelves.
Build the bench box with pocket holes, 2" screws, or nails — whichever hardware you used for the towers. Don't build it any wider than planned without adding a center partition; an unsupported bench top this size will sag under sitting weight over time.
Add a back panel to the bench, same as the towers — it's just as important here for keeping the box square.
Attach base moulding along the bottom of both towers and the bench. Edge moulding on the bench top's front edge (rather than edge banding) holds up better in this high-wear spot where people sit down and stand up constantly.
If you want doors, cut leftover 3/4" stock down to size and fit into the bench opening with an even 1/8" gap all around. Dress up the door edges with a strip of decorative 1/4" x 2-1/2" hobby stock and add a knob. If doors feel like more than you want to take on, a simple center divider nailed and glued in place is a perfectly good alternative.
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Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →