This 4-sided walk-in closet island is packed with storage solutions. Two sides have open shelving to store 32+ pairs of shoes. The other 2 sides have sliding barn doors for “hidden storage”. You can make the barn door hardware yourself, and I’ll show you how. The overall dimension of this closet island are 32″ x 32″ x 30″. You’ll find a link below to the build plans.

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For this project I decided to go with hardwood plywood (maple), which is a bit more expensive, but worth it to get nice smooth panels that will look a lot better once painted than regular plywood.

I went the easy route and decided to have all my plywood pieces cut at the store so I wouldn’t have to fight with it and take any chances with my tiny contractor saw. I simply handed my cutting diagram to the guy at Home Depot and he made all my cuts, accurately might I add!

Build A Walk-in Closet Island

The project breaks down into 3 parts:

Cabinet frame
Tabletop
Barn door hardware

— GET THE PLANS HERE —

Build the Cabinet Frame

The cabinet is fully assembled using 1-¼” pocket screws, but before assembling, I prepped all my parts for later on by making the holes for all the adjustable shelves, and the slots to attach the top.

Next I pre-drilled all the pocket holes.

I assembled the walls to the back panels to make to U-shaped formations.

I then positioned both on top of my bottom panel and screwed them down with pocket screws.

Lastly I slipped in the middle divider and fastened it with pockets screws.

I assembled the toe kick base using pocket holes.

With the cabinet assembled, I flipped it on it’s side and attached the base using the pre-drilled pocket holes I had made, And making sure to leave 1″ spacing on all sides.

Face framing

To dress it up a little, I decided to add some face framing made from 1×2 pine boards. I attached them with some glue and brad nails.

I also used the same method to cap the front side of all my long shelves.

Doors

To build the doors I used ¼ birch plywood as a backer, and added some 1×2 pine framing that I glued and nailed in from the back of the ¼ inch panel to create a 3D effect.

To add the diagonal piece, I simply laid my piece of wood on top of the door and lined up the corners, then traced my cut line with a ruler, lining it up visually. Not exact science, but it worked out perfectly.

I carried the piece over to my miter saw and adjusted the angle of the saw until it lined up with my marking.

Paint prep

Before moving onto paint, I filled all the nail holes and cracks using DryDex, a spackling that goes on pink and dries white.

Once dry, I sanded everything down until smooth using 120-grit sandpaper.

I vacuumed up all the dust and carried the base, shelves and doors out to my spray tent. I went with an alkyd enamel finish paint that I applied with my HomeRight Super Finish Max Extra HVLP paint sprayer. I applied 3 coats, lightly sanding with 320-grit sandpaper in between each coat.

Build the Tabletop

I used finish pine to build the top, which means it’s already been jointed and planed square. Therefore all I need to do is cut the 2x6x6 boards in half so I’ll have six pieces.

I applied a generous amount of glue to all the edges with a glue brush and clamped the boards together to form the table top.

I used a wet rag to wipe of all the squeeze out before it had time to dry.

I trimmed down and squared the tabletop by marking it with a T-square and using a straight edge and my circular saw to make the cut.

After letting it dry overnight, I sanded it down to using 80-grit, the moving up to 120-grit and finally 180-grit. I used my trim router with a round over bit to round over the edges, going around the tabletop in a counterclockwise direction.

To finish the top, I skipped the stain since I wanted a natural wood look and I decided to try out wipe-on poly for the first time. I applied 3 coats. For a smooth finish, I let each coat dry 24 hours, then lightly sanded it with 320-grit sandpaper before applying the next coat.

To attach the top to the cabinet, I used some tabletop fasteners, also called Z-clips. This will allow for wood movement as the tabletop expands and contracts with the seasons. I simply slipped them into the pre-cut slots and screwed them into the underside of the tabletop.

Sliding Barn Door Hardware

You could buy a small sliding barn door hardware kit, but I decided to make my own after watching a tutorial from Shanty 2 Chic.

You’ll need the following hardware:

(1) aluminum flat bar 1″ x 1/8″ x 8 feet
(4) Nylon wheels 1″ diameter (O.D.)
(4) 1″ Nylon spacers
(8) #8 x 1/2″ metal self-drilling hex screws
(4) #12 x 2″ hex screws
(4) 1/4-20 hex bolts x 3/4″ long
(12) 1/4″ SAE flat washers
(4) 1/4-20 lock nuts
Black spray paint

Start by cutting the aluminum bar to length, using a hacksaw or a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade. Use a file or sander to remove the jagged edges.

Drill a hole 1/2″ from each end of the 32″ rails using a metal drill bit. Drill a hole 1/2″ from the top of the shorter pieces (5″) that will be mounted to the doors.