Bedroom Cupboard with Sliding Doors

[wwade]

Just need some advice. We have such wasted space in our bedroom I was thinking of building a floor to ceiling cupboard along the whole wall with sliding doors. We have so much stuff, it would be nice just to put everything in there and forget about it and keep things tidy.

What I was thinking of doing was building the frame off the walls, softwood. However it is at this point I need some advice.
Should I go with laminate boarding for the sides and sliding doors, or wood?

On the one hand I like the idea of just getting the laminate boarding cut to size and attaching that to the frame, but then I also like the idea of using wood because I can do more with it, inset panels for the sliding doors.

My only concern with the wood, is when finished I don't want the room looking like a log cabin, wood is nice but you can have too much it.

What would you do?

 

[thetyreman]

you could just use real wood and paint it, it doesn't have to be the bare wood unfinished, there are lots of options with finishing.

 

[kevinlightfoot]

Use mdf on timber framework and then paint easy to change paintwork when you decorate.

 

[ColeyS1]

Are you limited by the tools you have, or are you fully equipped to make a more complicated build ?

Coley

 

[wwade]

Are you limited by the tools you have, or are you fully equipped to make a more complicated build ?

Coley

I have a sliding mitre saw, and other general tools to make basic furniture. I don't have a table saw, router or anything fancy like that, so for example if I wanted inset panels I just overlap the wood behind the frame, which is not truly inset. It does the job, obviously if I had router I could do it properly.

 

[wwade]

you could just use real wood and paint it, it doesn't have to be the bare wood unfinished, there are lots of options with finishing.

I do like this idea, it's just matching the paint to go with the walls.

 

[NickN]

In some ways the answer to the question 'what would I do' is dependent on what style of house you live in. Certain features can work differently in an old Victorian town house compared to a modern bungalow or a 19th century cottage, for example. You want to avoid doing something that would look too 'out of character', at least assuming you may want to sell the house sometime.

That said, some styles can work pretty well in most situations, and a simple unfussy basic panelled design is one, perhaps something like this:

(Not sliding doors but you get the idea)

As far as matching wall paint colour, well, are you planning to remove and reinstall coving and skirting around the new cupboard? If yes then it might be worth considering a room redecoration and repaint anyway. If no, then it will always be somewhat obvious that the cupboard is an 'add-on' and it might be nice to actually contrast it with the wall colour, make a feature of it in some way.

Oh, and I would definitely use wood, rather than the melamine boards, it's easily painted and cut and gives you a better quality job with more options overall.

Just my thoughts anyway.

 

[petermillard]

If all you really want is to section off part of a bedroom to store stuff behind, then consider sliding mirror doors, and fit out what's behind them with a series of painted MDF boxes in whatever shape you choose - wardrobe-shaped, shelf-shaped, drawer-shaped, hanging rail-shaped etc... etc...

Also - and not to single out the OP on this - but what's with the obsession for softwood frameworks clad in MDF? Why not go the whole hog and use hardboard and panel-pins for that complete 1970s retro look, lol!

Seriously, low plinth + MDF boxes + sliding mirror doors = nice-looking, simple, easy, affordable option.

HTH Pete