DIY bookcase for the living room with surround sound, by Wouter

A homemade bookcase with space for surround sound

A bookcase, storage space, and a spot for your surround sound: it all comes together in this DIY project. Wouter built this large living room cabinet entirely by himself, using custom-cut wood from OPMAATZAGEN.nl. The result is a calmly designed piece of furniture with a playful compartment division and plenty of room for the items you like to display and prefer to keep behind a door.

Open compartments above, practical storage space below

In the photos, you can see a wide, rectangular cabinet against a light wall, behind the sofa. The upper section consists of open compartments of various sizes. Wide, horizontal compartments alternate with taller, narrower spaces. The staggered shelves give the bookcase a unique character, while the straight outer frame provides a sense of calm.

Below the open compartments runs a row of six flat cabinet doors without visible handles. The photo with the doors open shows how practically this base cabinet is laid out: behind the doors are multiple shelves with space for board games, craft supplies, paper, and baskets. This way, you combine a clean exterior with storage space for everyday life.

A warm beige shade as a calm base

The cabinet has a beige color with a warm, ecru-like undertone. This shade is repeated in the side panels, shelves, and doors, creating a beautiful cohesive whole. In the open compartments, the light back surfaces form a calm backdrop for books, a picture frame, plants, and seasonal decorations. A hanging plant and a small mood light sit on top.

Surround sound gets its own place in the bookcase.

A striking feature of the design is the two black speakers in the lower outer open compartments. They are positioned on the left and right sides of the cabinet, just behind the seating area. This gives the surround sound a place within the furniture, eliminating the need for separate speaker stands next to the sofa. In the detail photo, you can see a cable running through a small pass-through to the back of one of the speakers. A modest detail that helps keep everything tidy.

Do you want to build a bookcase with space for speakers yourself? Then include not only the external dimensions of your equipment in your design, but also the space required for connections. Follow the manufacturer's instructions regarding placement and clearance around the speakers: a suitable compartment is not automatically the best place for the sound.

Custom-made furniture for the living room

This cabinet is situated in a logical spot: along the wall behind the sofa, next to the window and the curtains. This way, you utilize a large section of the wall for storage and display. The grey sofa, the warm wood colour of the floor, and the green of the plants complement the soft colour of the cabinet beautifully. Because many small items disappear behind the doors, the open section remains airy.

Design it yourself, have it cut to size

Wouter realized the entire project himself. OPMAATZAGEN.nl took care of cutting the wood to size. For a cabinet with so many different compartments, that is a great foundation: you can have the panels tailored to your own design and then get to work on the assembly and finishing yourself.

That is precisely the advantage of building a bookcase yourself. You determine the width and height, choose your material, and arrange the compartments around your books, decorations, and equipment. You also keep a grip on the budget by making choices regarding the layout, hardware, and finish. How much you save depends, of course, on those choices.

Practical considerations for your own wardrobe

Create a dimension plan in advance and include the thickness of the panels in the internal dimensions of the compartments. During assembly, check that the cabinet is square and level. Anchor a tall cabinet to the wall using fasteners suitable for your wall. This way, you work step by step towards a neat and safe setup.

Warm minimalist style

The finished cabinet fits well with a warm minimalist style. You see clean lines, flat doors, and an understated color, but the uneven compartment division prevents the furniture from looking austere. With plants, books, and personal accessories, you make the whole thing feel homey. A beautiful example of how you can combine tranquility and character in your living room with custom-made pieces.

The material used

Furniture panel chipboard U115 CST Dark ecru

For this project, U115 CST Dark Ecru chipboard furniture panel was used. This is not a solid wood species, but a sheet material with a chipboard core and a decorative top layer. The advantage is the uniform color and the finished surface: you do not have to paint the panels yourself first. The warm ecru tint provides the beige appearance you see in the photos. For a neat final result, finish visible saw edges with matching edge banding. This ensures the edges blend in nicely with the rest of your self-made bookcase.