Homemade living room cabinet with spotlights in RAL 3012, by Moniek

A large living room cabinet with warmth and storage space

A large cabinet that is both practical and adds a personal touch to your living room: that is what you see in this DIY project by Moniek. She made this living room cabinet entirely herself, using custom-cut MDF Primed from OPMAATZAGEN.nl. The result is an almost wall-filling piece of furniture with closed storage, playfully distributed open compartments, and built-in spotlights. The beige-red RAL 3012 finish gives the whole piece a soft, warm look.

A playful arrangement of sections with a calm base

The photos show a tall, rectangular cabinet that occupies almost the entire width of the back wall. At the bottom, six closed doors form a calm base. Above this, wide, narrow, tall, and short open compartments alternate, with a few closed sections in between. The flush door fronts are handleless. Narrow seams and straight lines keep the design sleek without becoming boring.

Store and display your most beautiful items

Behind the doors, you can store items out of sight, while using the open compartments for books and personal accessories. Several black photo frames are grouped together in the spacious central compartment. On the left, you see books and two slender candles in colored candlesticks. On the right, a tall compartment accommodates a vase with flowers or branches. The smaller compartments are suitable for small photo frames and decorations. At the top, a hanging plant provides a green accent between the straight lines.

Three spotlights as atmospheric eye-catchers

In the finished version, you see two spotlights in the wide open compartment at the top left and one spotlight in the compartment at the top right. They illuminate the back walls and put the contents of those compartments in the spotlight. In the photos with lighting, the beige-red takes on a deeper, warmer appearance; in daylight, the same color looks softer and rosier. This immediately shows you how much influence light has on your color choice.

Beige red RAL 3012 in the living room

The cabinet stands against a light wall, between two side walls, with space above the unit extending to the ceiling. The light walls allow the color to stand out beautifully. The wooden floor with a geometric parquet pattern enhances the warm atmosphere. Because the shelves, back panels, and doors are the same color, the large cabinet remains a cohesive whole. You get plenty of storage space without the various compartments looking cluttered.

Build your own cabinet with custom-made wood

For this custom-made cabinet, Moniek used MDF Primed that was cut to size by OPMAATZAGEN.nl. This allows you to start the assembly with panel parts in the ordered dimensions, so you don't have to cut them all from large sheets yourself. Designing, assembling, and finishing the cabinet remains your own job. That is precisely what makes this project so personal.

If you build a living room cabinet yourself, you determine the width, height, and compartment layout based on your own space and belongings. You choose the panel material, the color, and how much closed storage space you need yourself.

Start with your section division

Do you want to make a similar cabinet? Then first sketch out which items you want to store and which accessories you want to display. For example, reserve a tall compartment for a vase and a wide compartment for photo frames. Also include the spotlights and the routing of the wiring in your design, so that you can leave space for them before assembly.

Warm modern style

With this cabinet, you give your living room a warm, modern look. The straight lines and flat fronts create a sense of calm, while the beige-red, the plant, and the personal photos soften the overall effect. The asymmetrical layout makes the piece of furniture lively. A beautiful example of how custom-made pieces can create something that not only fits your home but truly suits you.

The material used: MDF Primed

MDF Primed is a flat sheet material with a smooth surface and an applied primer. This makes it a great base for a painted cabinet like this one: there is no visible wood grain, and you can finish the various parts in a single uniform color. The primer saves on preparatory painting work on the treated surfaces. However, pay attention to the sawed edges during the finishing process so that they also blend in nicely with the sleek final result.