Shop display/storage cabinet

[frankendoodle65]

Current project I'm working on is a new retail display unit with added storage, to replace an awful wonky shelf. Nothing too exciting, and I've got a bit of time pressure on this so haven't stopped to take many photos - I'm trying to get my head around some of the details of fitting this unit so hopefully the collective experience here will be helpful! The shop is my own so I'm happy to go with high-functioning bodges, just as long as I don't totally fudge it up!

First up is the before photo, you can see the issue here. The old shelf sagged so much I had to prop it up with a stick, and all the space underneath is totally wasted.

Bonus points to anyone who can identify the exact shop, I know there's a few Devon locals on here and no doubt others have visited on holidays?

I wanted to keep the same overall shape and footprint, but figured a rectangular cupboard would be far easier to make so I'll have to figure out the infill panels when I fit it in a few days. Basic carcass construction using dominos, the middle divider has since been trimmed back to allow for the inset doors.

My friend who I co-own the shop with decided she'd quite like sliding doors, so I found some sliding hardware and got to work on that. Doors are made following a @petermillard guide from YouTube, I'll find the exact link if anyone is interested.

Excuse the glue stains, this is pre sanding, they've cleaned up nicely now!

Eagle eyed viewers will spot that the cabinet has shelf pin holes drilled now, done using a simple kreg jig. Sadly the lovely festool lr32 system is a little hard to justify at the moment!
What's not visible here is that the left door has an extra wide stile on the right hand side - the doors overlap by 4cm and I didn't want it to look weirdly narrow. Probably a minor detail but it makes me happy.

Tomorrow's job is to make the plinth this will sit on (food products must be stored minimum 100mm above floor level, so it'll be a 100mm plinth!) And then I need to get my head around a few details... I'm thinking some sort of face frame would tidy up and hide the door hardware and the necessary gap below the doors, but it might look a bit perculiar having the doors inset by 18mm! Can I get away with a 6mm thick face frame glued/pinned on? I'm not hinging doors from it, it's just a decorative trim so my gut is saying there's nothing to worry about. I'll also need to come up with a plan for the angled infill panels either side and I'll reuse the existing shelf as the cabinet top.

 

[Sachakins]

Maybe as its sitting on the floor, add some castors under plinth, to just hold it about 5mm off the floor. It will be easier to move when cleaning the floor.
Face frame will set it off nicely and it'll look like a professional bespoke display, add greatly to kudos for customers, will look like an investment into quality display, thus enhancing impression of a quality business, which I'm sure it is. It's those small attentions to detail that customers note. Good luck with finalising your build.

 

[Jameshow]

Nice work!

Where's the shop?

Do we get a discount #ukworkshop10?!

 

[frankendoodle65]

Thanks @Sachakins , that's an interesting thought re. casters but this has no need to be mobile so that'll just complicate the build - the angled infill panels either side are already making my brain hurt without it having to be solid enough to move! Quality business is definitely the vibe I'm going for, we make and sell a good product and the shop's been there for over 25 years, but the old owner was a little lax on maintenance so the place needs a bit of love now.

@Jameshow thanks! It's part of a franchise so I can't help you with any others, but if you find my shop and turn up when I happen to be there just do the secret handshake and you can have two bags of fudge for the price of two

 

[frankendoodle65]

Needs another coat of paint but got it installed today.
On another forum it was suggested to me that a thin face frame might not survive a busy retail environment, so I did my best to tidy up the carcass front and left it as is. The aluminium track for the sliding doors was painted to match and I added a small trim top and bottom I'm very happy with the result, certainly a big improvement over the old shelf and some much needed storage space.

It's not the most exciting thing I've ever made but it's much more interesting than the next job on my to-do list; boxing in pipes and laying laminate flooring for a neighbour... A job's a job and I certainly can't turn down a few extra quid after how much I spent on new tools between black Friday and January sales