How to Make a Wall-Mounted Curio Cabinet

Cutting The Pieces for Your Curio Cabinet

• 1

  Measure a rectangle on a piece of plywood for the back of your cabinet 4 feet long and 3 feet wide. Cut this piece out with the circular saw.

• 2

  Measure 2 pieces for the top and bottom of your cabinet that are 3 feet long and 6 inches wide, and cut these out.

• 3

  Measure 2 pieces that are 3 feet 11 inches and 6 inches wide, and cut them out for the sides of your cabinet.

• 4

  Measure and cut out 3 to 5 pieces that are 2 feet 11 inches long and 5 inches wide for the shelves in your cabinet. You may want more shelves if you plan to place a large number of short objects in the cabinet.

• 5

  Take the cut pieces for your cabinet and sand all rough edges with the sander. Apply wood stain or paint of your choice to these pieces. Allow to dry.

• 6

  Go to a local glass shop and have two pieces of glass cut for the doors of your cabinet that are 3 feet 10.6 inches long and 1 foot 4 inches wide. Make sure the edges are smoothed and buffed. Also tell the shop worker you need two small hinges placed on a 3 feet long edge of each door 3 inches inward from the top and bottom. Plus the hinges installed should be the semi-tight type, not free-swinging, to prevent the doors from swinging open. The width of the hinges cannot be over 1/2 inch.

Assembling Your Curio Cabinet

• 7

  Gather the top, bottom, sides and back panel of your cabinet and find a hard, flat surface like a driveway. Form a rectangle by placing the top and bottom pieces 4 feet apart and placing the side pieces in between them. Screw the frame together by driving three screws through each end of the top and bottom piece into the sides. You now have a rectangle 3 feet wide, 4 feet tall and 6 inches deep.

• 8

  Place the back panel on top of the rectangle frame and screw it to the frame. Drive a screw through the back panel into the frame every 6 inches all the way around.

• 9

  Turn the finished portion of your cabinet over and install the shelves between the side pieces. Determine the position of each shelf based on your preference. Screw them into the cabinet against the back by driving 2 screws through the sides into each end of the shelves. The shelves are sunk into the cabinet 1/2 inch from the outer edges after they are installed.

• 10

  Install the two doors of your cabinet on the left and right side. Attach the hinges with the necessary hardware into the 1/2 inch space inside the cabinet between the front of the shelves and the outside of the cabinet.

• 11

  Attach the picture hangers to the back of your cabinet. Screw one in the center about 6 inches down from the top and the other one 1 foot down from that one. The vertical alignment allows you to use one wall stud to secure the cabinet to the wall.

• 12

  Find a stud inside the wall with the stud finder in the area where you want to hang the cabinet. Take the sections of the picture hangers you attach to the wall and screw these on the wall into the stud. Position the two sections to match the hangers on the back of the cabinet. Use 2-inch screws to attach these to the wall.

• 13

  Hang your new cabinet on the wall, and it is ready to use.