Building a modern rustic tv cabinet.

A while back I had a company called https://www.tvliftcabinet.com/ reach out and ask if I would be interested in a collaboration. After checking out their website and products I had to say yes.

Tv Lift cabinet has several lifts to choose from. I decided to go with their 35” lift. (Here is a link to the one I used. https://www.tvliftcabinet.com/35-inch-tall-tv-lift .)

The 35” lift can hold and lift up to a 60” tv. I figured if I was going to take this build on I might as well go big or forget it.

After deciding on a lift size I needed specific sizes of a 60” tv, like width, depth, and height. After a quick google search, I had what I needed and could start working up a rough idea with size.

I decided to use cherry wood, cherry burl, and black walnut to create the cabinet.

I started measuring and cutting the cherry to be used as the framework for the cabinet. I also had a nice lone piece of cherry with a burl in the middle. I decided this would work perfectly for lower support, plus it would be a beautiful addition to the cabinet. After cutting and planing the cherry I used my Bosch plunge router and a spiral bit to cut mortises into the cherry. I ordered Festool dominos to be used as the tenons. With a little glue and a domino, the mortise and tenon joint is very strong and looks very clean. I decided it would be easier to create the face and the back of the cabinet as two separate pieces, then attached centerpieces to join them together with a couple pieces of cherry.

Once the framework was one solid piece I realized wow this cabinet is going to be heavy. I knew I wanted to use black walnut for the top and incorporate it into the sides but how could I do that and not have to deal with the full weight . I decided to take the 3/4 black walnut and rip it down the bandsaw creating two thinner pieces. After planing and squaring them up I create a panel for each side of the cabinet.

After attaching the walnut I began creating the shelves and dividers in the center of the cabinet.

I needed to create a space in the back of the cabinet for the tv to move freely, so I ran a couple of cherry rails across the cabinet and attached a piece of paneling inside. This would work as a wall between the tv and the back of the shelves.

I used sanded plywood to create the shelves and barriers in the front of the cabinet.

Once the shelves were in I create two doors from black walnut. The doors were just a simple board that would hang on a no-show, no slam hing. I used Blum Clip top Blumotion soft close 110-degree face frame hinges. These hinges give you the ability to mount the door so it is inside and flush to the framework of your project.

Next, I begin working on the three lower drawers. I cut an planed automatic cedar down to 1/4 thick to create the drawer boxes. Once the cedar was down to size I used a Porter Cable dovetail jig to create mini box joints.

These joints with a little bit of glue are strong and durable. I left the cedar sanded but unfinished so it could continuously breathe releasing the cedar smell everyone loves. I attached paneling to the bottom of the boxes and used black walnut for the face of each drawer. I decided to use ball-bearing drawer slides so the drawers would glide open and close with ease.

At this time the drawers and doors needed handles so I decided to use pieces of cherry burl with its natural edge. I did a light sanding and attached them from the inside with a couple of brass screws. I also added some thin slices of cherry burl to accent the upper corners of the cabinet and a piece for the back of the upper shelf.

For the top of the cabinet, I cut and planed some rough-cut black walnut. I joined the first two boards for the front and left the backboard to be attached to the lift mechanism.

Once the top boards were sanded and ready I mounted the Tv lift inside the cabinet. This was an easy task after following the instructions included with the lift. A few measurements and a handful of screws and it was in. Then I attached the walnut top. The overall piece received a satin wipe-on polyurethane to keep the wood looking nice and natural.

This one of a kind cabinet now rests in a be beautiful log home in the Adirondack mountains.

I’d like to thank TV Lift Cabinet for the opportunity to collaborate on this piece. Check out their website https://www.tvliftcabinet.com/

Want to see a time-lapse video of me creating this cabinet? Check out this link! Currently in the works will update.

Hope you enjoyed this build as much as I did.

Thank you, Kyle

PS here are Amazon links the the same or similar tools I used to create this project .

Bosch router https://amzn.to/3zd9nkw

Festool dominos https://amzn.to/2VMbs9k

Titebond 2 wood glue https://amzn.to/3Cleyku

Minwax polyurethane https://amzn.to/39g7jxK

Table saw blade https://amzn.to/3nIStIq

Circular saw blade https://amzn.to/3Aj8JTP