Farmhouse Apothecary Cabinet

I was challenged a couple weeks ago by my friend, Davina, to make something from my wood scrap pile and see if it would sell.  Usually when I am challenged to do something I end up making a fool of myself and being the butt of jokes for many years.  I’m sure my dad would love to tell you about challenging me to bark at the bank’s drive up window after closing to rile the guard dogs, (just so you know there are no guard dogs, but there are security cameras.)  So, I have learned over the years to not accept challenges or trust much of what my dad says.

This time I decided to accept the challenge.  The farmhouse style is pretty popular at the moment and it seems as though everyone I know is into essential oils so I put the two together and came up with a farmhouse apothecary cabinet.

I found a couple 1×4 boards, a piece of 1/4″ plywood and some chicken wire and went to work.

Here’s how to build a 12 x 18″ cabinet of your own.

Cut list:

• two 12″ boards – top and bottom
• two 16 1/2″ boards – sides
• three 10 1/2″ boards ripped down to 2 1/2″ wide – two shelves and a back brace
• 11 x 16 1/2″ plywood – back
• two 12″ boards ripped down to 1 1/4″ – top and bottom of the door
• two 15 1/2″ boards ripped down to 1 1/4″ – sides of the door.

Instructions:

Use a table saw to make a groove the length of the side boards 3/4″ in from the back on the inside.  You will need to reset the guide and pass through again to get a groove 1/4″ wide.  The blade should be set to a depth of just over 1/4″.

Use a Kreg jig to pre drill holes to the top insides of the side boards.

Using glue and screws attach the sides to the top with the screws being on the inside of the cabinet.

Use the jig to pre drill holes to both ends of the shelves and back brace.

Attach the backing brace to the side pieces at the top.  This should lay flat on the back missing the grooves.

Measure 4 1/4″ down from the top of the side piece.   This will be the top of the upper shelf.  Make sure the shelf is flush with the front of the cabinet and not overlapping the grooves.  Glue and screw into place.

Measure 10″ down from the top of the side piece.  This will be the top of the lower shelf.  Glue and screw into place making sure once again to not overlap the grooves.

If you are wanting to do a special painting on the plywood backing do not put the bottom piece on.  If however you are going to do a basic paint job on the whole cabinet you will need to slide the backing in and attach the bottom. To do so pre drill holes and use a counter sinking bit on both sides of the bottom of the bottom board.  Glue and screw into sides.

For the door you will need to make a rabbet (if you don’t know what that is bing.com dictionary describes it as a step-shaped recess cut along the edge or in the face of a piece of wood, typically forming a match to the edge or tongue of another piece.)  It will be along the insides of the back of the boards so that the chicken wire can be set in flush with the back of the door.

Set the table saw guide as close to the blade as possible without the blade touching it.  Make the blade depth 1/2″

Run the two side pieces for the door all the way down making a rabbet.

For the top and bottom door pieces start the board a few inches past the blade and pull the board off before it gets to the end.  This will leave a rabbet in the middle section but will not show on the sides of the door once all pieced together.

The side pieces will need to be pre drilled with a single hole at both top and bottom.

Attach the sides to the top with glue and screws.

Allow glue to dry.  Sand all pieces.

This next set of instructions is how I painted my cabinet.  You can follow along or get your creative juices flowing and make it all your own.

Prime with two coats of primer and paint two coats of gray.  Be very careful to not get paint into the grooves for the back board.

I sprayed my chicken wire, hinges and clasp with white primer.  I wanted mine white for a softer look.

For the decorative painting on this piece I wanted it to have a similar look to Miss Mousie’s Dresser.  It is distressed and antiqued.  While painting I did not worry about getting the finish smooth.  I left the brush marks in as it helps with the aging of the hand painted flowers.

I painted flowers, leaves and vines on the plywood back and on the sides of the cabinet with white craft paint diluted with water.

Once dry I lightly sanded everywhere.  The sanding wears the paint away from where it was raised up from the brush strokes leaving an old worn look.

Slide the backing in and attach the bottom using the same method as mentioned earlier.

Hazel June had to check a few things out before I could move on.  I think everything passed inspection purrfectly.  (It’s okay to groan at the bad joke.  I can’t hear you.)

Buff everywhere with a clear wax.  Then use an antiquing wax to dirty it up.  It looks awful at this stage, but keep going, it will look better.  Before the antiquing wax has a chance to dry use the clear wax again to clean it off leaving it only in the corners and deeper paint grooves.

Now, back to the door.

Staple the chicken wire into the rabbets on the back of the door.

Attach the hinges and clasp.

And there you have it.  A farmhouse apothecary cabinet.

As you may remember the challenge was to make AND sell a piece.  But now that it’s made I don’t want to sell it.  For two reasons: 1.  I really like it and 2.  I know there is no way I can sell this for enough money to make up for the amount of time it took to build and finish.  It really is an easy build, but when you are the one figuring out all the measurements it takes longer.  But since that’s all figured out for you I’m sure you can go whip one out in no time at all.

If you do make one, please send me a picture of it in the comments.  I would love to see how it turns out and what you did to make it uniquely yours!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This will be a very handy cabinet for keeping essential oils organized or just a cute cabinet for fun little knick knacks and figurines.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and make one for yourself or at least challenge someone to make one for you!