DIY Tall Window Cabinet

I love making window cabinets. However, I have never made a DIY tall Window Cabinet, so I thought it was time to make one. I’ve made window cabinets that hang on the wall, and window cabinets that use two windows. You can see some of my window projects at the bottom of this post. So if you are looking for inspiration, hopefully you will find something you like.

Now on to today’s DIY Tall Window Cabinet project. . .

 

I have had several matching windows for a couple of years, so I thought it would be okay to split them up and use one for this project. The other boards I’m using are from a hutch that I got from my cousin. It was so large, and took up a lot of space in the garage, so I dismantled it last year and stored the large pieces of shelving.

I had to do some more dismantling before I could start building the tall window cabinet.

 

 

Windows are a little funny in that they are set on an angle. After I removed the weather stripping and hardware, I put it on the table saw to straighten it up.

Building a DIY Tall Window Cabinet

I ripped some 1x’s to make a front facing to frame the window.

 

 

This entire cabinet was constructed using Kreg pocket holes using my K4. I attached the sides to the front facing. I remembered to drill some holes pointing upward in order to attach the top of the cabinet.

 

Adding shelves to Tall Window Cabinet

After attaching the top, I laid the tall window cabinet down on my work table and got busy adding the shelves—again with pocket holes. Besides the top and the bottom, there are two stationary shelves and one removable shelf. The removable shelf is held in place by cleats. I used a speed square all along the way to make sure everything was square.

Although the window is not yet attached, I used it (look under the shelves) to make sure my shelves line up with the window panes.

I didn’t have enough wood from the hutch, so I used some of the inexpensive squares I got from the Peddler’s Mall.

It's a good idea to do a test fit

I quickly placed the window in the cabinet to make sure it was all coming together as planned. While I was designing the tall window cabinet, I made sure to cut the shelves at a depth that would allow my window to sit flush against the facing. (another good reason to put the window in place while adding my shelves.

 

 

I added some inexpensive trim

You can see that I used plywood for the top, and it has a raw edge.

 

How to cover up a plywood edge

Not a problem, I had some ¾ edge banding to take care of that. I used some scrap paper, and that little triangle of wood to burnish it. Not shown, I used a Quad Trimmer to make the edge banding flush. The plywood was ½” and the edge banding is ¾”.

 

Time for paint! I laid the tall window cabinet down, resting it on some scrap 2x2’s to keep it off the drop cloth. I always begin painting with the underneath side.

Time to paint with the Finish Max

Of course I mixed up a batch of my favorite diy chalky paint primer. Look at my shiny new Finish Max from Homeright!

How to strain paint

I always strain my paint into my paint cup using a mesh strainer.

 

This is how I squeeze out the strainer to make sure I don’t waste a lot of paint. I always put the strainer right into a small bucket of water. I’ve been reusing the same strainer for a long, long, time.

 

You can see I have my foam splash guard in place to keep the air holes clear.

 

Yay! I’m ready to paint the tall window cabinet. You can see that I have the removable shelf leaning there so I can paint it.

 

Easy paint spraying tips

After spraying it laying down, I set it up and gave it 2 coats of the chalky paint primer. I love how quickly and easily it is to paint any piece of furniture with my Finish Max! Look closely at the drop cloth, there is no visible sign of where I painted the cabinet while laying down. I rarely change the paint flow (twisting the little knob) but, I change the spray pattern over and over again while I paint depending on what I’m painting. Using a horizontal pattern while doing the front left and right sides, would be counter productive. I did however use the horizontal pattern while painting the wide sides.

After the Beluga (black) dried, I did a wash—using a cheap chip brush with some Polished Pearl. I had to work sort of quickly to get it on, and wipe some off, so no pictures of the process. I was a painted mess!

 

This was the result.

What kind of back to use for shelving unit

After sleeping on it and getting a fresh start the next day, I attached some reclaimed fencing that I had stained. I typically use the fencing “as is” in a grey weathered look—but I wanted this to have a different look.

 

Does the cabinet need a door?

 

So, I styled the tile window cabinet to see how it was going to look. I was floating around working on some other projects, and the day ended without the door (window). Honestly,  I was really on the fence about even adding the window.

 

This is the hardware I bought for the window. It’s too shiny to suit me. I went with the same color scheme as I did for the cabinet—black with a whitewash.

 

I think the hardware turned out well, don’t you? A side note about the window. I did several things to it that I didn’t take pictures of. I stained it with a hickory first, too brown. Then I went with some dark walnut. I liked the color okay, but it had too much shine to it. I grabbed some sandpaper to knock off the shine.

 

 

I’m still not loving it with the window, but since I designed the entire piece around the window I feel like I should use it.

Do you love the tall window cabinet?

My favorite part is how the shelves line up with the panes. If you ever make a tall window cabinet I suggest you make sure you do that. A small peak inside. What do you think? Yes or no to the window (door)? Do you love or hate the color combination? I think all my friends out there (you know who you are) realize how much I struggle with paint choices. It can make or break a project.

See more DIY Repurposed Window Ideas Here.

Are you ready to build your own DIY Tall Window Cabinet?

no? how about some of these window projects . . . .

As promised, here are some of my window projects. Tall Country Cupboard Window Cabinet   Small Shabby Window Cabinet   Double Window Cabinet   Twin Window Floor Cabinets   Window Wall Cabinet