Add a touch of the tropics to your home without having to scour the shops for that piece that’s just a little bit different.
WATCH: Juliet shows you how to customise your sideboard for a stunning look
Start out with a couple of basic flatpack cabinets, then add your own personal touches. Rattan panels attached to the doors give you the tropical look and feel, while a solid timber top and a few well-placed furniture legs complete the transformation.
Gather your supplies
- 1200 x 800 x 12mm red oak plywood
- 140cm x 1.2m raffia fabric
- 1800 x 405 x 18mm pine panel
- Kaboodle 600mm wall cabinets and gloss white doors
- 1200 x 900 x 3mm melamine white MDF
- 150mm round furniture legs and leg plates (6)
- Wave pull handles (2)
You’ll also need
- Circular saw
- Pencil
- Scrap timber for compass
- Drill
- 10, 3 and 6mm drill bits
- Hammer
- Nail
- Jigsaw
- Fine sandpaper
- Cork sanding block
- Undercoat
- Painting equipment
- Water-based enamel paint
- Sharp scissors
- Thin masking tape
- White acrylic paint
- Painter’s tape
- Sanding sponge
- Spray contact adhesive
- Double-sided tape
- 25 and 30mm screws
- Clamps
Here’s how
Step 1
Use circular saw to cut ply into 700 x 580mm panels to sit over doors.
Step 2
To create circles on ply, make a compass by marking spot for a nail on scrap timber, then drilling a 10mm hole 250mm from it. From there, hammer nail through timber into centre of first ply panel, just deep enough to hold in place. Put pencil in hole and rotate timber to scribe circle. Repeat on other ply panel.
Step 3
Drill a large hole inside circles to provide access for jigsaw blade. Use jigsaw to cut out circles.
Step 4
Use fine sandpaper wrapped around cork sanding block to smooth cut edges of circles.
Step 5
Apply undercoat to finished faces and outside edges of panels. Let dry, then apply 2 coats of paint. Allow to dry and sand lightly after each coat.
Step 6
Sit raffia on ply panels and draw outline of panels. Cut raffia a touch smaller with scissors. Run masking tape around raffia edges to stop fraying.
Step 7
Cut 1250 x 350mm panel from 18mm pine for top of sideboard. Make whitewash by diluting white paint with water in ratio of 3:1. Use roller to apply to front-facing side of raffia panels. Also whitewash top and furniture legs.
Step 8
Run painter’s tape around edges of doors to prevent spray adhesive landing there. Use sanding sponge to roughen up gloss surface of doors.
Step 9
Apply spray contact adhesive to doors and back of raffia panels. Leave to dry until it is tacky then, starting from one side, roll a raffia panel onto each door, being careful it is flat. Remove painter’s tape.
Step 10
Apply squares of double-sided tape to each raffia panel then place a circle panel on top, making sure gap from panel to door edge is the same all around.
Step 11
Turn door over and predrill through back of doors into panels using a 3mm drill bit. Wrap tape around bit so you don’t go all the way through. Screw together with 25mm screws.
Step 12
Assemble flatpack cabinets per instructions. Bring together so front edges are flush. Clamp, predrill and screw together using 30mm screws.
Step 13
Cut two 720 x 300mm panels out of 3mm MDF. Glue and clamp to sides of sideboard to hide screw holes.
Step 14
Sit top on sideboard flush with rear and overhanging the sides evenly. Predrill and screw up through cabinet into top with 30mm screws.
Step 15
Screw vertical leg plates on bottom of sideboard. Place a pair at each end and in the centre to support where cabinets join. Screw legs into plates.
Step 16
Mark doors for screw holes to suit handles. Drill holes through doors and panels using a 6mm bit, then use supplied screws to attach handles to doors. Attach doors to cabinet.
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