The Family Handyman – September 2019

44 SEPTEMBER 2019 FAMILYHANDYMAN.COM

DOOR PLYWOOD: WILD GRAIN, HALF PRICE

The doors are prominent on this project, so the two

sheets of plywood you choose should match and look

great. It’s worth digging through the stack at a home

center and selecting a perfect pair of sheets. I went to

a lumberyard that caters to cabinet shops and found

matching cherry “rejects.” The tiny knots and dark

stripes were flaws in the eyes of cabinetmakers, but

they gave my doors a unique look. And I got them for

half price.

Plywood Cutting Diagrams

Five 4 x 8-ft. sheets of 3/4-in. plywood—we used three birch and two cherry.

R

K

Q

L

JB

M

P

F

D

N

B

A

AC

C

E

(Door)

Two sheets are required for doors

A

S T

LIGHTING TO SET

THE MOOD

I inset the top of the

valance to create a shallow

recess for strip lighting. The light

strips are powerful enough to brighten

the room, but their real purpose is mood lighting.

Using an app on your phone, you can dim them or

select colors (purple lighting shown above!). I used

Philips Hue Lightstrips and a Hue Bridge controller

($150 total).