DIY Modular Closet Cabinets

In this post, I’m sharing how to build basic DIY modular closet cabinets for a small walk in closet!

You can mix and match this design to fit your specific space and adjust drawers, shelves and hanging rods however you’d like.

And I know not everyone stores their clothes the same way. Do you prefer to hang more? There’s plenty of space to add another hanging rod.

Maybe you prefer more shelves? That’s an easy swap!

If you’ve got a closet that needs a little bit better storage and organization, I hope these modular cabinets give you some inspiration.

I’ll show you how to build them below.

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What to consider before building

Here’s a look at the closet I was working with for this project. It’s a small walk in closet that measures about 6 foot deep and about 5 ½ foot wide.

As you can see it was in need of some more practical storage besides just a couple shelf brackets and hanging rods.

So what I designed was two tall closet towers that would anchor the back left corner and the front right corner.

I put the cabinet with drawers and shelves in the back and the one with shelves and a hanging rod in the front. But, these are easy to switch!

Then, to keep things simple, once these cabinets were in place, I could cut to fit a shelf and a hanging rod to fill the space between.

Modular Closet Tower Cabinet Dimensions

The closet cabinet with drawers and shelves measures approximately 17″ deep, 35 ¾″ wide, and 84″ tall.

The closet cabinet with hanging rod and shelves measures approximately 13″ deep, 33 ⅜″ wide, and 84″ tall (once shelf is added on top).

Of course, these are easy to customize should you need other sizes.

Helpful resources for the project

How to Build Modular Closet Cabinets

Like most cabinet projects, these DIY closet cabinets are just simple boxes. While they may be somewhat large in size, they’re incredibly basic in construction.

Because they’re so simple, they’re quick to build and super easy to modify the size. This is a great intermediate level build.

If you prefer to watch, I’ve shared the full build video with tons of tips, behind the scenes, and additional details on my YouTube Channel here.

Love watching how-to videos? Subscribe to my YouTube channel for plenty more where that came from!

*You only need the fifth sheet of plywood for additional shelving. Full cut diagrams and details are in the printable building plans.

I recommend using hardwood plywood for this build–I used birch here. Sanded pine plywood would work okay, but make sure you are happy with the quality, strength, and smell of it first.

It’s cheaper than hardwood ply, but there are several reasons (one being that it’s often a bit stinky).

Step 1: Assemble Closet Tower Cabinet

Since this entire project was made from plywood, I started the build by cutting down my plywood sheets.

You can find the full cut list and diagrams in the printable plans for each cabinet part.

Since I wasn’t adding an additional face frame to these cabinets, I used iron on edge banding to cover the plywood edges that will be seen in the finished project.

Edge banding is optional, but makes a huge difference in how clean your project looks. Learn how to cover plywood edges here.

I drilled ¾″ pocket holes into the ends of the two plywood strips and all three shelves, then assembled the cabinet with pocket hole screws.

RELATED: How to use a Kreg Pocket Hole Jig

Then I installed the top shelf flush to the top edge, and the middle shelf 36″ up from the bottom.

The other plywood strip goes just underneath the top shelf. This piece is so that the cabinet can be secured to the wall studs once it’s in place.

Step 2: Add Shelving

For this particular cabinet, I choose to add stationary shelves into the top section. If you’d rather add adjustable shelves, go for it! Either option would work well.

For stationary shelves, I cut two pieces of plywood and installed them evenly spaced into this cabinet with pocket holes and screws.

For adjustable shelves, you can drill shelf pin holes up both sides and install however many shelves however far apart you want with shelf pins.

Learn how to install adjustable shelves into any project here.

Step 3: Add Drawers to Closet Cabinet

I added three deeper drawers and one shallow drawer into the bottom section of this cabinet. Of course, you can adjust the number and depth of your drawers to fit your needs.

Shallow drawers are handy for small items like jewelry and accessories. Deeper drawers are great for bulky items like hoodies and sweaters.

I installed 4 pair of 16″ ball bearing drawer slides into the cabinet so that they were about 1″ inset from the front edge.

RELATED: How to install side mount drawer slides

Then, I built my drawer boxes. If you need guidance on drawer building, check out this post and detailed video tutorial on how to build drawer boxes.

Once the drawers were assembled, I installed them into the cabinet and cut my drawer fronts from ¾″ plywood.

If you wanted a more decorative drawer front, you can certainly do that. But I just make flat panel plywood fronts to keep things simple.

After edge banding the sides, I installed the fronts onto the drawers with screws from the inside.

Customization Option: Instead of drawers, you could also install shelves or another hanging rod in this bottom section. I’ll show how I installed this into the other cabinet in a later step. You can install it into this cabinet exactly the same way.

At this point, this cabinet is complete and I moved to the second closet cabinet tower that will go into the other corner.

Step 4: Assemble Hanging Rod Cabinet

This cabinet was a bit simpler than the first one as it just has shelves and a hanging rod.

For this one, I cut two tall sides, two 3 ½″ wide strips (one for the top back support and one for the toe kick), and four shelves.

I drilled ¾″ pocket holes into the ends of the shelves and the strips, then I assembled the cabinet with pocket holes and screws.

The bottom three shelves I installed with a slope. This is totally optional, but I planned to use these shelves for shoes and I liked the slope here. You can certainly install them flat if you’d rather.

Then I installed the top, fourth shelf flat (again–sloped or flat, it doesn’t matter either way).

NOTE: I didn’t add a top to this cabinet because the shelf I add in step 6 will serve as the top.

Step 5: Add Hanging Rod

Now that this cabinet is together, I wanted to add a hanging rod in the top section for hanging clothes on.

I trimmed a 1 ⅜″ diameter dowel rod to fit between the sides and secured this in place with 2 ½″ long screws. I recommend testing your usual clothes hangers on this rod to find the best placement before securing.

Step 6: Install Closet Cabinets

Now that both cabinets are complete, I carried them inside to install. I removed the baseboards and painted the closet before installing. Fresh paint isn’t required, but the baseboards do need to be removed so that the cabinets can sit flush against the wall.

I positioned the drawer cabinet in the back left corner and secured it to the wall studs through the top support.

Then, I did the same for the hanging rod cabinet at the front right corner of the closet.

I measured the exact length of the right wall and cut a ¾″ plywood shelf to fit. This shelf will rest on the hanger rod cabinet and span the entire length of the wall.

Step 7: Cut to Fit Additional Hanging Rod(s)

You may be wondering what supports the other end of the shelf in step 6–this will explain it.

I cut two pieces of ¾″ plywood about 5″ wide–one of these pieces will go on the back wall and one will go on the side of the hanging rod cabinet. I plan to span an additional hanging rod between these two pieces.

So I drilled holes in each piece the same diameter as my hanging rod. Note that these holes should be in the same location as where the rod was installed to the cabinet in step 5.

I screwed one of these into the wall studs on the back wall–this will support the other end of the shelf.

Then I cut to fit my hanging rod, slipped it into the holes, and screwed the other piece to my cabinet.

I liked this tall hanging section in the back of the closet for long dresses and suits. But if you wanted more hanging space, you can add another rod just like this one about halfway down between the wall and the cabinet.

Step 8: Finish and Trim

I applied Minwax Polycrylic to the cabinets to seal them, added knobs to the drawers, and replaced the baseboard around the cabinets to finish up.

RELATED: How to apply clear coat to DIY wood projects

And with that, this closet was ready to fill back up! I love that this project provides versatile, simple, but practical storage.

There’s a place for everything and it looks clean and classic.