I’m finding the most tedious (and frustrating) part of this project to be ensuring that the wrap-around shelves fit the width of each wall precisely—they need to be snug but not too tight. I’m not sure if the stain has caused the wood to swell ever so slightly or if the glue has added to the overall width (or if it’s just gremlins!), but when I was building the shelves along the left wall, the pieces fit perfectly before assembly but were much too tight after gluing. Fortunately, I had not glued on the corner transition piece yet and was able to sand that down enough to make everything fit. Going forward, however, I won’t be able to do that once I start attaching the large sections to each other. Therefore, my plan is to leave this corner piece, along with the shelves that will attach to the right of it, until the last possible moment, just in case I need to do any last-minute sanding.
The other corner allows for more flexibility, since the shelving on the right wall won’t extend the full width of the wall. I’ve therefore been able to start building the shelves to the left of that corner. (I’ll add the backing once the shelves along the entire back wall are complete.)
Next, I glued those shelves to the right of the counter, along with the vertical strip to the left of the counter. (The shelves to the left of that will be identical to those on the far right.) Once I had those vertical pieces of wood in place on either side, I was able to glue down the polymer clay faux granite countertop. It was fairly easy to notch out the back corners of the countertop, so that it would fit seamlessly around the wood. Lastly, I added the shelving above the counter.
Now it’s just a matter of adding the backing, the base, and some trim, before I’ll be ready to commit to a full and final assembly.
