DIY Office Storage Cabinet With Dixie Belle Paint

Here’s how I made a custom storage cabinet for my home office using stock cabinetry and Dixie Belle Paint in just one weekend. Sponsored by Dixie Belle Paint Company

I’ve been remodeling our blog Studio, lovingly called Organized-ish HQ, for the last month and half. The studio has served my team well, but we were in need of better storage solutions and a more functional layout. The room is long and narrow, so when I looked online for a sideboard style cabinet to hold our office supplies, I couldn’t find anything long and shallow enough to fit the area I had open. So in true Lela fashion, I decided to make one myself. Here’s the full tutorial.

The Office Storage Cabinet Plans

The open wall in the studio can allow for a cabinet up to six and a half feet long, so I bought two stock wall cabinets from a home improvement store that are each 36″ wide. My plan is to attach the two cabinets together, add a wood top, and install tall dresser legs to make it look like a piece of expensive furniture. Once the cabinet frame is built, I’ll paint the whole thing with Dixie Belle Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint for a modern matte look.

Building The Sideboard Style Cabinet

First things first, I needed to attach the two wall cabinets together. I added some scrap wood I had in my garage between the gap of the two cabinets to create a wedge, then screwed them together from the inside, top, and bottom. I ran some wood filler along the middle seam to make it look like a seamless transition, too, but it probably wasn’t necessary.

Then I added more scrap wood (which are actually slats from an old bed frame we donated) to the bottom of the cabinets to create a flat and strong surface to attach the legs. I chose 7″ tall gold dresser legs to give the cabinet some height and save our backs from bending down too far every time we need a new roll of tape.

The last step of the building process was to add a top piece. I used a ripped-down sheet of thick plywood that extends 2 inches on both sides and the front to make the cabinet look more like a piece of furniture. I glued it in place with heavy duty wood glue and secured it with some brad nails for extra safety, and filled those holes with wood filler.

Once the glue set, I used iron-on wood edging strips around the rough sides of the plywood to make it look like a finished countertop. That wood edging works wonders, huh? You’d never know this was just plywood!

Painting The Cabinet With Dixie Belle Silk Mineral Paint

From the beginning, I knew I wanted this office storage cabinet to be black. In the past, I have painted a dresser black with regular latex paint, and within a year it was chipped and pretty much ruined from all the wear and tear of opening and closing drawers all the time. I wanted to try something new that was a little easier to apply and made for regular-use furniture.

I decided on Dixie Belle Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint because it has a perfect matte finish and doesn’t require a primer or top coat. I’ve never worked with mineral paint on furniture before, only craft projects, but I was really excited to give it a try.

And Oh. My. Gosh, I am so glad I did. The paint went on buttery smooth, and there were minimal brush strokes showing through. I did two coats on the entire cabinet and doors, and that was more than enough to cover it well.

One thing that I think worked really well for me was removing the doors before painting. Having the doors off made painting the cabinet easier, and I didn’t have to try to maneuver around the hardware. I just set up a piece of plywood on sawhorses and lined up old cans of paint to use as risers for the doors.

What Is Dixie Belle Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint?

The paint I used from Dixie Belle is a mineral paint, which means it’s created with natural minerals from the earth. It’s similar to chalk paint, but adheres stronger, lasts longer, and leaves fewer brush strokes. The cool thing about Dixie Belle’s Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint is that it doesn’t need primer or a top coat. And unless you’re working with a slick or pre-painted surface, you don’t even have to sand first.

This Silk paint is also really great for our studio because it’s water resistant and can hold up to cleaning and frequent use. Dixie Belle’s website recommends to apply with a dry synthetic brush, and I used the mini angled brush they sell. I actually got a few brushes from Dixie Belle and I’ve used them all since they arrived, and honestly, these are the best brushes I’ve ever owned.

I didn’t apply a top coat since the paint says it doesn’t need one, but after the 30 day cure time has passed, I may add a coat of Dixie Belle Flat Clear Coat to the tabletop to prevent from scratches since we use scissors and punches in that area. I’ll see how it holds up and make that decision later. Update: After a few months, I did end up adding the clear coat. The top never got scratched or damaged, but it was difficult to dust. I used two coats of clear coat and now I can clean the top much easier.

The Finished Office Storage Cabinet

Ta Da! Isn’t she gorgeous? You would never know that this was two kitchen wall cabinets, would you? It looks like a fancy expensive sideboard from one of those stores you have to have an appointment to get into. And the fact that I was able to customize it to the exact dimensions I needed worked out so perfectly.

I’m so in love with this black paint color, and it looks smooth and creamy in every type of lighting. Between the matte black and the shiny gold, this cabinet just screams look at me! It might actually be too nice to store shipping supplies and highlighters inside. Organized-ish HQ just got a lot fancier. 😉

Project Recap

Supply list:

• Stock 36″ Wall Cabinets x2
• Wall Cabinet End Panels x2
• Thick Plywood Sheet, ripped to size and sanded smooth
• Wood Glue
• Wood Filler
• Screws
• Scrap Wood For Shims
• Iron-On Wood Edging
• Dresser Legs
• Dixie Belle Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint (I used Anchor and needed 1 and a half cans)
• Dixie Belle Mini Angle 2″ Synthetic Brush
• Cabinet Pulls

Step by step breakdown

1. Remove cabinet doors.
2. Attach the two cabinets together using shims to fill the gap.
3. Add finished end panels to the two open sides.
4. Add scrap wood to the bottom corners and attach legs.
5. Flip over, then apply wood glue around top edges.
6. Put plywood table top on wood glue and secure with brad nails.
7. Once dry, iron on wood edging to the unfinished sides of the plywood.
8. Paint one coat of Dixie Belle Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint using a dry synthetic brush.
9. Allow to dry for at least two hours.
10. Apply a second coat of paint, and let dry for 24 hours.
11. Reattach doors and install handles.

Watch The Whole Process On Instagram

Want to see this whole office cabinet project come together from start to finish? I filmed every step of the way and shared it all in this Instagram Story Highlight so you can see the full tutorial. And while you’re on Instagram, check out @dixiebellepaint for a ton of awesome project ideas and painting tips. I’ve already saved three of them to try over the holiday break!