How to Build a Curved Bedside Cabinet

Perhaps you're tired of having no place beside your bed for your alarm clock or books and you're tired of nearly falling out of bed to reach these items on the floor. Build your own bedside cabinet, but not just any cabinet. Try a curved one to add a modern yet practical piece of furniture to the room.

Instructions

The Cabinet

1

Cut a notch into the front edge of both side pieces that is -inch deep and extends 13 inches from the bottom. Add a groove to the inside of the side piece that runs from the front to the back. Make this groove inch deep and inches wide. Begin this groove 13 inches from the bottom.

2

Make another slot that extends to the top and bottom of all the pieces for the main portion of the curved bedside unit that is inches wide, and inches from the back side of each piece. You can use a router or a circular saw to make this groove.

3

Use nails and glue to secure the shelf runners in place. Put the lower runner's bottom 4 inches from the bottom of the side piece and the higher runner's bottom 10 inches form the side piece's bottom. Make sure that both pieces are level.

4

Create the curve in the top of the curved bedside cabinet. The depth of the top at the sides should be 16 inches, with the curve on the front and all the other sides flat. In the center of the top and the shelf, it should be 18 inches deep. Mark the dimensions for the depth at the sides on and the center, and draw a curved line to connect all three. Cut the curve you have drawn with a jigsaw.

5

Follow the same steps to make the curve in the shelf. The depths of the sides should be 15 inches, while in the center, it is 17 inches. After you have cut the curve with a jigsaw, add a notch from either side that is inch wide. To cut this notch, draw a straight line from the front side corner to the other, and cut from the bottom of the shelf to the mark you have drawn. When you are done, the shelf will resemble a thickly-stemmed mushroom.

6

Do the base of the curved bedside table cabinet next. Make the center of this wood 2 inches thick in the center and inches wide at the ends. Plot the curve first before you make it, and once you have drawn one continuous curve, use a belt sander to cut the curve into place. Take your time, because you want this curve to be as smooth as possible. This step is very time intensive. If you like, you can practice on a block of wood first before jumping to the base of the cabinet.

7

Glue the cabinet of the curved bedside cabinet together. Glue the shelf in place first, then the base of the cabinet. Use screws to secure the shelf in place and insert these though the side. You can fill the screw holes with wood filler. If need be, you can make little triangular blocks to support it still further. Slide the plywood back into the slot in the back and secure it with glue. Drill holes on the top of the cabinet and in the top pieces, insert glue and dowels and set the top on the cabinet.

The Drawer

8

Label inside of the drawer's side pieces so you can instantly see what side of the wood you are designating the inside (versus the outside of the drawer). Make a groove on the outside of the side pieces that is inches wide and -inch long and -inch deep. Make the groove run along the length, 2 inches from the bottom.

9

Cut a groove into the inside of the drawer that is -inch deep and wide that runs along the length and is -inch from the bottom.

10

Apply glue along the edges of the side pieces, and screw it to the back piece of the curved bedside cabinet's drawer. Slide the plywood into the grove on the inside of the drawer, and glue it in place. Make sure everything is square.

11

Make the curved front of the drawer in the same manner as the base of the cabinet. Carefully mark the curve, then cut away the wood with a belt sander. The center of the drawer front should be 2 inches, while the sides should be inch.

12

Tip the curved bedside cabinet on its back, and slip the drawer into place. Set the curved drawer top on top of the drawer and mark the proper position of the curved drawer top.

13

Drill holes for dowels in front edges of the drawer's side pieces and in the back of the curved drawer top. Insert glue and dowels and secure the drawer front to the drawer.

14

Wax the runners for the drawers and pick out drawer hardware and install it. Fill any visible holes with wood filler. Finish the wood of the cabinet in the manner you choose.