This project can be made in a few hours out of $40 of furniture grade plywood. The entire console is made from strips of plywood that are stacked and screwed together. This is an easy way to construct a media cabinet since there are no right angles to connect. By cutting and arranging different strips of plywood you can make a series of openings for odd sized media equipment such as cable boxes and internet routers.

SUPPLIES:

¾" Plywood
Purchase at Home Depot
There are many types of plywood with different laminations and surfaces. I used ¾" furniture grade plywood with a sanded finish. You could mix and match the types if you wanted different stripe patterns in the laminations. I had 12” wide scraps left over from another project but if you are going to buy plywood, I would recommend doing it at Home Depot and having them cut it into strips that are the width you want. 1 and 1/2 4' by 8' sheet of plywood cut into 12" strips would be more than enough to build this project.

Screws
Purchase at Home Depot
1 ¼” wood screws are ideal. It is possible to use longer screws and connect multiple pieces at a time but you have to be careful to avoid gaps.

TOOLS:

RYOBI 18 Volt Cordless Drill + Saw Set
Available at Home Depot

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1: Plan your layout and mark out the cuts
You can arrange strips of plywood in all sorts of different ways; making this technique a nice way to neatly house randomly sized media components. Once you have established your layout, use a pencil and a ruler to mark out the cuts.







STEP 2: Cut strips
The laser guide on my RYOBI circular saw made cutting straight easy!





STEP 3: Assemble
Start with the top piece down so that no screws will show on the top. 2 screws are enough for a smaller 2 ½” wide strips but 3 is better for the wider strips. Just screw one layer at a time and slowly build up the layers.





STEP 4: Add legs!
This console works just fine flat on the ground or up on a pair of concrete blocks. I used some pre-made legs from hairpinlegsforless.com.









STEP 5: Add a painted plywood back
¼” plywood can be used to make a back for the shelves. Painting the back could add a nice contrast to the layered plywood.



Good luck making your own media console, and please email or tweet photos to @benuyeda or ben@homemade-modern.com. For more detailed instructions, dimensioned drawings and different variations of the project, check out our soon-to-be-released book.

---