DIY Bookcase with Drawer – Pine and Poplar


To help announce the 2025 Minwax Color of the Year, we asked our Instagram friends what we should build. The most popular request: a DIY bookcase! So that’s just what we built.

P.S. the Color of the Year hasn’t been announced just yet, so the final photos are edited to hide the color. Follow along on Instagram to see the big reveal.

Alright, let’s start building!

How to Build a Bookcase with a Drawer

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Shopping List

  • (1) ¾”x4x8 sheet of plywood (we used oak)
  • (1) ¾”x2x4 plywood project panel (we used oak)
  • (1) 1/2″x2x4 plywood project panel (we used maple)
  • (5) 1x2x8 boards (we used red oak)
  • Edge banding to match your plywood type
  • 1″ wood screws
  • 1″ Kreg screws
  • 1.25” Kreg screws
  • 1.5” nails
  • Wood glue
  • Shelf pins
  • (1) Drawer pull or knobs (we used an 11″ pull)
  • 8″ side mount, ball-bearing drawer slides

Dimensions

The final bookcase is 36” W x 12.5” D x 55.75″ H. If you prefer printable plans, be sure to scoop them up from our shop for plans with 3D renderings and an optimized cut list!

DIY bookcase made of red oak DIY bookcase made of red oak

STEP 1: CUT YOUR PLYWOOD

Cut your plywood to size according to the cut list in the printable plans (or your own custom measurements).

STEP 2: DRILL POCKET HOLES

Using the 3/4″ settings, drill pocket holes in the following boards:

  • Along each long edge of the back
  • Along each short edge and along one long edge of the drawer divider
  • Along each short edge and along one long edge of the bottom
  • Along on each short edge of the horizontal face frames
Want to DIY buy don\'t know where to start? Click here to grab your free guide!Want to DIY buy don\'t know where to start? Click here to grab your free guide!

STEP 3: ATTACH BOTTOM AND DRAWER DIVIDER TO THE BACK

Using glue and 1.25″ Kreg screws, secure the bottom to the back and the drawer divider to the back. The pocket holes will face down. The pocket holes on the back face the back. We used the drawer front, a scrap 1/4″ board and scrap 3/4″ board as a spacer between the two pieces.

installing shelves using pocket holesinstalling shelves using pocket holes

STEP 4: ATTACH SIDES

Attach the sides using glue and 1.25” Kreg screws. The sides should be flush with the back, top, and bottom of the back.

installing sides of DIY bookcase using pocket holesinstalling sides of DIY bookcase using pocket holes

STEP 5: ASSEMBLE AND INSTALL FACE FRAME

Before assembling the face frame, we cut each of our leg pieces with a slight taper for some added detail. We used our DIY taper leg jig for this.

Using glue and 1.25″ Kreg screws, assemble the face frame. Double-check that this placement will cover the plywood edge of your bottom and drawer divider pieces before fully assembling the face frame. We used the drawer front and a scrap 1/4″ piece of wood as a spacer between the bottom two horizontal face frame pieces.

using drawer front as spacer between the face frame piecesusing drawer front as spacer between the face frame pieces

Using glue and 1.5″ nails, secure the face frame to the bookcase structure. The face frame should be flush with the top and inside of the side panels. The face frame will overhang the side panels by 3/4″.

The face faces should fully cover all of the plywood edges of the structure when looking at it straight on.

Our face frame was flush with the top of the bottom and drawer divider pieces, but if yours isn’t perfectly flush – that’s okay, your project will still work.

face frame installed on DIY bookcaseface frame installed on DIY bookcase

STEP 6: ADD THE SIDE DETAIL PIECES

To give the illusion of a shaker style detail on the side of the bookcase, we’ll add a 1×2 to the top and bottom of the sides using glue and nails. This will also give us an easy guide to follow when installing the back legs.

nailing 1x2 to side of bookcasenailing 1x2 to side of bookcase

STEP 7: ATTACH THE BACK LEGS

Using glue and nails, secure the back legs to the back of the cabinet. Line the outside edge up with the side detail pieces so that they are flush with one another.

nailing back legs to DIY bookcasenailing back legs to DIY bookcase

STEP 8: ASSEMBLE SHELVES AND DRILL SHELF PIN HOLES

For our bookcase, we opted for adjustable shelves with a 1×2 on the front so that the thickness of the shelves matches the thickness of the face frame.

nailing 1x2 to front of plywood shelfnailing 1x2 to front of plywood shelf

Check out this post about DIY shelves for more details on building and installing shelves. We go into detail in that post about how we use the Kreg Adjustable Shelf Pin Jig to drill the holes for the adjustable shelves, as well as alternative installation options if you don’t want adjustable shelves.

using Kreg Adjustable Shelf Pin Jig inside of DIY bookcaseusing Kreg Adjustable Shelf Pin Jig inside of DIY bookcase

STEP 9: INSTALL THE TOP

Apply edge banding around the top piece to cover the plywood edges.

Secure the top to the main structure using glue and 1.5″ nails. The top should be flush with the front and sides of the bookcase.

STEP 10: BUILD AND INSTALL THE DRAWER

Build and install the drawer following the instructions in this DIY drawer guide.

There you have it! Now you know how to build your very own bookcase with a drawer! For the optimized cut list and 3D renderings of each stuff, check out our DIY bookcase printable plans.

DIY bookcase with drawer in garage workshopDIY bookcase with drawer in garage workshop




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