With some workshop time available, I decided on a smaller project. My cabinets on stand (1st image) typically have a few drawers in the interior. I configure the drawers asymmetrically, usually two lower drawers and one drawer above (1st image). If you view my cabinet portfolio, this is a style and aesthetic I have developed over the years. The single drawer above allows for greater clearance on one side, this is space available for decorative objects, etc. So I decided to create a smaller scale project, one I could finish in a much shorter time with this style and configuration in mind.

In this latest project, I made the cabinet interior instead as a standalone cabinet and call it a Tea Cabinet (below), although it could also be configured as a jewelry cabinet. The drawer compartments and drawers are arranged asymmetrically, similar to my larger cabinets on stand. Since the drawer cases (top, sides) are now fully exposed I could instead focus on the grain orientation of the drawer cases. I decided on a wraparound grain. The wood I selected is Douglas Fir but cut rift-sawn or close to quarter-sawn . The grain is much tighter and linear in this type of cut, and is less distracting. The drawer fronts are of Holly to provide a "pure white" contrast to the Douglas Fir. The bottom platform is a darker Cherry to form a contrasting stand for the drawer cases.
 

Another design element was to separate the individual drawer compartments from each other as well as from the lower Cherry platform. This was achieved through intermediary cherry spacers to provide the horizontal spacing and a shadow line. This also makes the design more interesting and draws a viewer in. I like the clean lines of the design, the contrast of light woods above with the darker lower platform and pulls. The lower platform of Cherry is frame and panel construction with reinforced corners. The drawer cases are mitered to feature the continuous grain pattern. Drawer interiors have no divisions at the moment. This design took some time to get right. I used a combination of bandsaw and shooting board to establish the precision miter joints as they are quite long at 7 inches. Long case miters are more prone to error as the length increases. I have a system and techniques in place where I can dial the miters for that perfect, gap-free fit.

A division was also dadoed into the lower drawer case to introduce an asymmetric drawer arrangement of one wider and one narrower drawer. With this small scale project I was also able to spend more time on the drawer pulls. They are handcrafted from Black Limba and also feature wrap around grain so the ends of the wood are not exposed.

Drawers fronts and backs are simply rabbeted to the sides, this provides more than enough strength since the Tea Cabinet is essentially light duty. The drawer bottoms are glued in using a veneered plywood. Gluing them in introduces reinforcement to the drawer. The plywood drawer bottom is dimensionally stable and does not interfere with the vertical wood movement of the drawer front, sides, and back. It is critical to take wood movement into consideration regardless of the scale of the project you are creating.

To further reinforce the drawer cases, I glued veneered ply backs of the drawer compartments to each case. A rabbet was created for the veneered ply, so the back is just below the surface of each drawer compartment. I use a darker veneered ply for the drawer bottoms and back (below) to provide some contrast to the lighter wood used in the drawer cases.

I enjoyed this project + build and its small scale relieved some of the risk and anxiety of creating a larger cabinet on stand. This Tea Cabinet project also introduces a new aesthetic in my work, that of the standalone drawer cabinet. It became an excellent departure for me while contemplating my next cabinet on stand design!

YouTube video of thought process behind this project: