In this project, I built a hanging wall cabinet that features 3 drawers and a ceruse finish made from walnut.
It has a little bit of this and a little bit of that. From veneering the top to some fundamental cabinet building techniques to how to apply a ceruse finish. This would be a great addition for a breakfast nook to keep it organized.
Specialty Products I used in this Build (Affiliate Links)
• Titebond CA Glue Medium – https://goo.gl/X3afqX
• Titebond Accelerator – https://amzn.to/2BF5Kcl
• WoodRiver Block Plane – https://amzn.to/2X7TJFh
• Titebond Veneer Glue – https://amzn.to/2DRmflA
How to Build a Walnut Floating Shelf with Drawers (Plus a Ceruse Finish!)
Today, I’m walking you through how I built this beautiful walnut floating shelf with drawers and gave it a ceruse finish. It’s a bit of a process, but totally worth it.
Starting with the Top
So the clients specifically didn’t want any end grain showing on the top shelf. Since we’re doing a ceruse finish, end grain just doesn’t look great with that technique. My solution? Re-saw some walnut to veneer a plywood substrate, then wrap all the sides and miter the corners. No end grain anywhere!
I cut all my veneer strips and ran them through the planer to get rid of the saw marks and bring them down to just under 1/8″ thick.
For the substrate, I cut the plywood a bit oversized in both length and width. The finished top needed to be just under 2″ thick, so I veneered both sides of two pieces of plywood. Doing both sides keeps the plywood from cupping, plus it gives me the thickness I needed.
Once the glue set, I pulled everything out of the vacuum bag and squared it up at the table saw.
Adding the Solid Wood Edge
With the top and bottom veneered up, I ripped some solid wood to the width for the front edge. I went with solid wood for the front edge banding since I don’t have to worry about wood movement in the vertical direction.
Here’s where precision matters: I took my time at the jointer, squaring up the edge. When you’re mitering a piece along its full length, even the smallest imperfection will make it tough to pull that long miter tight.
When I cut the miter, I set up a featherboard to keep the piece from wandering away from the fence. This ensures a perfect miter every time.
I cut this piece long enough to wrap around the sides. Then I marked each end with “1” and “2,” so when I cut them apart, I’d know which piece goes where. This way, when I miter the ends, the grain flows around the corner like one continuous piece.
Pro tip: Those pointy mitered ends are super fragile, so I put tape across the cut to prevent chipping.
Cutting Everything to Length
I set up a stop block on the table to make sure the top, bottom, and front edges were all cut to the exact same length. If any of the three are off even a little, the miters on the end caps won’t line up properly.
After cutting to length, I ripped a 45° bevel on both the top and bottom pieces to bring them to their final width.
The Glue-Up
Before gluing, I arranged all the edges so the grain would blend together seamlessly. For assembly, I used blue tape to help pull the miters tight as I worked my way down the edge.
I left the end caps a little long, so once the top was assembled, I marked and cut them to length before gluing them in place.
Building the Case Sides
Now for the fun part! I wanted the grain to flow continuously from one side across all three drawers and down the other side. To do this, I milled up one board to its final thickness, then went to the miter saw and cut the case sides off each end.
I cut a dado in each side for the bottom piece, used floating tenons to attach the sides to the top, and did a test fit. After making sure everything was square, I set the bottom in position and marked where to cut.
Drawer Dividers and French Cleat
The drawer dividers attach to the bottom with dados. I set up my stacked dado head in the table saw and marked the edge of the dado on the fence as a reference for lining up the bottom.
Since this is a floating shelf, I’m using a French cleat to hang it. I did a test fit to mark and cut a piece to length, then ripped it in half at the table saw. One half goes on the cabinet, the other on the wall.
I held the drawer divider pieces in place to mark and cut them to length, then did another dry assembly to square up the dividers and mark reference edges for the floating tenon mortises.
I clamped a stop block in place to keep the domino from sliding—this placement is critical. If the dividers aren’t square, fitting the drawers later becomes a nightmare.
Final Case Assembly
Time to put it all together! I strategically left a gap in the clamps so I could slide in the French cleat and glue it in place.
During assembly, I made sure to line up the front of the cabinet so any discrepancies would end up on the back, which I easily cleaned up with a hand plane.
Building the Drawers
With the case assembled, I cut the material for the drawer boxes and used my Leigh jig to cut the dovetail joinery. I partially assembled the drawers but left the sides long so I could drop them in place and mark where to cut them to length.
After cutting to length, I set up my stacked dado head to cut a rabbet for the drawer back, then readjusted it to cut a dado for the bottom. I was careful to place the dado so it would pass between the dovetails and not show on the ends.
I held off on final drawer assembly until after finishing the insides.
The Ceruse Finish
This is where things get interesting! I started by blowing out any dust in the grain—I wanted to open it up so the paint would fill it in nicely.
Before cerusing, I applied a few coats of poly to seal the wood. This prevents the paint from staining the wood; it just fills the grain instead.
Once I had a few sealer coats down, I applied the paint. Here’s the trick: instead of working with the grain like you normally would, I worked across the grain, pushing the paint as deep into the grain as possible. Avoid rubbing with the grain or you’ll wipe the paint right back out.
I let the paint dry until it was just sticky, then buffed off as much excess as I could, leaving only what was in the grain.
If you like the shabby chic look, you could stop there. But we were going for something more refined, so I put a buffing pad on my sander and buffed off the excess.
Final Assembly
Once the paint fully dried, I assembled the drawers and test-fitted each one, adjusting the fit with a block plane until I got that nice, smooth action.
Then I grabbed the board I’d set aside earlier for the drawer fronts. I started with the center drawer, cut it, and installed it using CA glue with activator.
I used 1/16″ shims to space the drawers so I could mark and cut the end pieces. After applying the ceruse finish to the drawer fronts, it was time to install the handles.
I found the center of each drawer and marked it on tape, then used a jig I’d pre-made with the hole pattern for the handles. This way, I didn’t have to measure each drawer individually—just clamp it in place and drill.
And There You Have It!
A walnut floating shelf with drawers and a beautiful ceruse finish. It’s definitely a project that requires some precision and patience, but the end result is absolutely worth it.
I’m the owner of Benham Design Concepts, a mixed media art studio where I design and build custom furniture and other works of art using wood, glass, stone, and various metals.
In this blog, I talk about the art I create, my journey, and the things I learn along the way.