This darling farmhouse chest is a great beginner build. It can be used for blankets, used in the garage for extra storage, or used as a toy box. It is designed to fit perfectly at the foot of a twin sized bed, though the dimensions can easily be adjusted.
Tools
Kreg Tools
Other Tools
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Circular Saw (corded)
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Miter Saw
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Tape Measure
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Drill (cordless)
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Impact Driver
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Nail Gun
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Sander
Materials
Wood Products
- 5 Board , 2x2 , 96"
- 1 Beadboard , 1/8" sheet beadboard , Full Sheet
- 1 Plywood , 1/2" Thick , Quarter Sheet
Hardware & Supplies
- 50 2 1/2" pocket hole screws
- 50 1 1/4" brad nails
- 1 Wood glue
- 1 30" piano hinge or a set of soft close toy box hinges
Directions
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Build Front and Back Frame
Cut 4- 24" 2x2's. These will be the corner posts.
Cut 4- 37" 2x2's. Drill pocket holes in each end of all 4 boards. These will be the horizontal supports for the front and back of the chest.
Use wood glue and 2 1/2" pocket hole screws to attach the 37" boards to the 24" boards. Note that the bottom boards are 2" up from the ground. *See plans
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You will need 2 of these frames.
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Add Horizontal Supports to Side
Cut 4- 16 1/2" 2x2's. Drill pocket holes in each end of all 4 boards. These will be the horizontal supports for the sides of the chest.
Use wood glue and 2 1/2" pocket hole screws to attach the 16 1/2" boards to the 24" corner posts we build in step 1. This will connect the front and back frames. Note that the bottom boards are 2" up from the ground. *See plans
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You will need to do this on both ends.
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Attach Beadboard to Front and Back
Use the Kreg Rip Cut to cut beadboard. You'll need 21 1/2" x 37" sheets for the front and back panels of your chest. Use wood glue and brad nails and attach the beadboard from the inside. Do this for both the front and back.
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*Make sure you pay attention to the way the grooves are running on your boards, so they align the right way.
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*You will want to measure your frame first before you cut. The beadboard should fit exactly snug on the sides, but I cut mine a little short from top-to-bottom, in case I didn't cut exactly straight :)
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Attach Beadboard to Sides
Use the Kreg Rip Cut to cut the beadboard. You'll need 21 1//2" x 16 1/4" sheets for the side panels of your chest. Use wood glue and brad nails and attach the beadboard from the inside. Do this for both the front and back.
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*Make sure you pay attention to the way your grooves are running on your boards.
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*You will want to measure your frame first before you cut. The beadboard should fit exactly snug on the sides, and span from the top of the top 2x2 to the bottom of the bottom 2x2 (or pretty close).
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Add Bottom Braces
Cut 4- 16 1/4" 2x2's. Drill pocket holes in each end of all 4 boards. These will be the braces on the bottom of the chest.
From the underside, use wood glue and 2 1/2" pocket hole screws to attach the 16 1/4" boards to the bottom of the chest.
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Add Bottom Panel
Use the Kreg Rip Cut to cut the beadboard. You'll need 36 3/4" x 16" sheets for the bottom panel. Simply lay the panel on to the bottom support boards. You can attach it with wood glue and brad nails, if desired.
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*You will want to measure your opening first before you cut. The beadboard should fit exactly snug on the sides.
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Add Top to Chest
Cut a sheet of plywood 41" x 20". Finish as desired (paint or stain). Use a piano hinge to attach the sheet to the back of the chest. The plywood should be flush with the back, and hang over each edge and the front by 1/2".
I used 1/2" sanded birch plywood for mine, because I wanted to stain it. Make sure you sand around the edges before staining.
IMPORTANT: Remember to take precautions to ensure children’s safety around the toy box. If children will have unsupervised access to the toy box, use soft close toy box hinges or struts instead of the piano hinge.
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Finish Chest
Sand the 2x2's, and paint the entire chest before attaching the top.
