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This is a genuine furniture piece: a full-height armoire built from hardwood plywood, with framed doors detailed in thin hobby-board trim, mitered crown at the top, a shaped base moulding at the bottom, and the option of built-in drawers behind the doors. It's the most ambitious casework in this batch, and it rewards patience and precision — the payoff is a wardrobe that looks bought, not built.
The carcass is straightforward pocket-hole plywood joinery: four 3/4" pocket holes per shelf end into the sides, a centered divider that doubles as drawer housing, and a 1/4" back that squares everything. From there it's all trim, and trim is where the craft shows. The header, side, crown, and base pieces are cut to fit as you go, so build the box first and measure the real openings. Miter the crown and base cleanly — gaps in mitered moulding on a painted piece are the one flaw the eye always finds.
The doors are frame-and-panel using 1/4" plywood backs faced with 1/4"x2-1/2" hobby boards glued and clamped flat with 5/8" brads. There's a fold-flat door option using full-overlay frameless hinges; if you build the optional drawers, they're designed around those flat-folding doors, so decide the door style before cutting the drawer parts (non-flat-folding doors need the drawer bottoms and sides cut at 15"). Fill, sand, and if you're staining rather than painting, edge-band any exposed plywood edges.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| 3/4" hardwood plywood, 4x8 sheetCarcass sides and shelves. | 2 each |
| 1/4" plywood, 4x8 sheetBack. | 1 each |
| 1/2" hardwood plywood, half sheetDoor backs. | 1 each |
| 1x4 board, 4 ft | 1 each |
| 1x3 board, 8 ft | 2 each |
| 1x2 board, 8 ft | 3 each |
| 5-1/4" base moulding, 8 ft | 1 each |
| 1/4" x 2-1/2" hobby boards, 8 ftDoor detailing. | 3 each |
| Full-overlay frameless hinges | 3 set |
| Basic hinges | 5 set |
| Pocket-hole screws, 1-1/4" | 50 each |
| Brad nails, 5/8", 1-1/4", 2" | 120 each |
| Wood filler and glue | 12 oz |
| Paint or stain and finish | 32 oz |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sides3/4" plywood | 2 | 3/4" × 23 1/4" × 66" |
| Shelves3/4" plywood | 4 | 3/4" × 23 1/4" × 38 1/2" |
| Drawer divider3/4" plywood | 1 | 3/4" × 23 1/4" × 6 1/2" |
| Header trim1x4Cut to fit. | 1 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 40" |
| Bottom side trim1x3 | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 26 1/2" |
| Top side trim1x3For flat-folding doors. | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 36" |
| Shelf trim1x2 | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 35" |
| Side crown trim1x2 | 4 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 24 1/4" |
| Bottom front crown trim1x2 | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 41 1/2" |
| Top crown front trim1x2 | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 43" |
| Base moulding sidesBase mouldingMitered out on front end; measure to fit. | 2 | 1/2" × 5 1/4" × 25" |
| Base moulding frontBase mouldingMitered out both ends. | 1 | 1/2" × 5 1/4" × 41 1/2" |
| Top door backs1/2" plywood | 2 | 1/2" × 17 1/4" × 35 3/4" |
| Bottom door backs1/2" plywood | 2 | 1/2" × 17 1/4" × 19 1/2" |
| Door top/bottom trimHobby board | 8 | 1/4" × 2 1/2" × 17 1/4" |
| Top door side trimHobby boardCut to measurement. | 4 | 1/4" × 2 1/2" × 30 3/4" |
| Bottom door side trimHobby board | 4 | 1/4" × 2 1/2" × 14 1/2" |
Buy 17 boards at 8 ft.
4 boards
1 board
2 boards
Drill four 3/4" pocket holes in each end of each shelf and attach them to the sides to build the basic carcass. Keep it square — everything downstream references this box.
Center the drawer divider between the shelves and fasten it with glue and 1-1/4" brads — it also houses the optional drawers. Then nail the 1/4" back on with glue, using it to square up the armoire.
Start with the header trim, fastened to both top and sides with 2" nails and glue. Add the bottom side trim to the sides and shelves. Attach the side crown pieces together then to the sides, and add the front crown the same way. Measure and cut each piece to the real openings as you go.
Miter the base moulding to fit the sides, then measure and cut the front piece, mitering out both ends. Attach with 1-1/4" nails and glue. Cut the shaped footer profile with a jigsaw.
Cut the door pieces. Glue and clamp the top and bottom hobby-board trim to each 1/2" plywood door back with 5/8" brads and let dry flat, then add the side trim. For fold-flat doors, measure and cut the ~36" top side trim and hang it with frameless full-overlay hinges so it can extend 90°.
If adding drawers, note they're designed for the flat-folding doors — for non-flat-folding doors, cut the drawer bottoms and sides at 15" instead. Build and fit the drawers. Then fill all holes, let dry, sand, and finish; if staining, edge-band any exposed plywood edges.
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3 boards
2 boards
1 board
4 boards
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 →