Reviving a Classic Armoire
Historically speaking, armoires met a need in homes that didn’t have closet space built in. Their size, combined with much more modest collections of clothing, made them very popular pieces of pragmatic furniture for a long time.
Today, many homes have closets big enough to fit an armoire. While they’ve mostly been retired from their previous duties, they still can work in other parts of the house like you see here.
GOOD BONES. The case of this armoire is mostly cherry plywood. The solid cherry trim provides a warm field for the inset tiles. Handsome hardware complements the finished piece.
Inside, you’ll find shelving and hanging space you can tailor to suit your needs. Below that, there are two generously sized drawers that add to the storage options. Convinced? I thought so — let’s get to work.
Start with the CASE
This large, free-standing case uses 3/4" plywood for the sides, four horizontal dividers, and two vertical dividers. For added rigidity, the back is 1/2" plywood. To get moving, I started by cutting the sides of the case to size. the case sides, I did this at the bench with a router, straight bit, fence and clamps. Taking multiple passes with a 1/2" bit will give you an exact fit. Figure 2 shows how to make the dado for the uppermost divider. Jumping over to
As you see in the drawings and details above, there’s some work to do on the sides, starting with the dadoes you see in Figure 1 below.
