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The fauxdenza, a term first coined in 2010, has been loved by designers and DIY’ers alike for the last decade as a way to create savvy home storage. Fauxdenza tutorials have been seen on Apartment Therapy, as well as highlighted by Chris and Julia, Sugar & Cloth, The Faux Martha, Emily Henderson, and more. In lieu of purchasing a ready-made credenza or sideboard, creating a custom fauxdenza using wall-mounted cabinets and a few easy-to-find items can make your space feel truly special. 

So, where should you begin? It’s important to figure out where you want your fauxdenza to live. Is it going to be utilized for dining room storage, as a living room media center, an entryway statement, or as a bedroom dresser? 

The Faux Martha's dining room fauxdenza. Design and Photography by The Faux Martha.

The next step is determining materiality. While IKEA Besta units have been the standard, BOXI by Semihandmade, most recognized as a direct-to-consumer kitchen cabinet company, offers smart and versatile cabinets that are intended for every room of the house.

A BOXI fauxdenza at the LA showroom. Photography by Molly Rose.

In order to design your own fauxdenza, you’ll need two standard wall cabinets, or more depending on how large you want your piece to be, side panels, a top, and legs. 

The BOXI by Semihandmade team recently built two fauxdenzas, one using four Peppercorn Edge cabinets and the other using four Mushroom Slab cabinets. To begin, screw the four boxes together and add side panels for a finished look. Side panels are able to be purchased along with your cabinets and must be cut to size. 

A BOXI fauxdenza with Mushroom Shaker cabinets. Photography by Jason Varney.

For the top, purchase pre-finished plywood, easily found at Home Depot, and paint to any color you’d like, or head to a slab yard to purchase marble, granite, or any stone and cut to size for a high-end look

When it comes to the legs, the BOXI team looked to PrettyPegs, but legs can be purchased from a myriad of retailers. 

Not only is the fauxdenza a fun do-it-yourself project, but it’s a unique way to ramp up storage and use BOXI by Semihandmade in any room.

A BOXI fauxdenza at the LA showroom. Photography by Molly Rose.

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DIY

We are no strangers to DIY home renovations at Semihandmade. After all, that’s where the idea for making doors for IKEA kitchen systems came from. So naturally, we had to dedicate an entire section of SemiStories to celebrating our design community’s ingenuity, from DIY kitchen ideas to thinking of smaller details like rattan glassware and easy-to-make wall hangings. Don’t just take it from us: we’ve tapped the best in the business. Anita Yokota shared her best trick for a $20 bathroom renovation, Jessica D’Itri Marés shared her favorite spray painter, and Jenna LeBlanc showed us how to give wall-to-wall storage a custom touch. Maybe you’re just dipping your toes in the world of do-it-yourself, in which case we recommend starting small: try your hand at making your own speckled candle holders, for example, or give your greenery an updated home with pretty stacked planters. If you have a handy side (maybe you’ve put together DIY kitchen cabinets or are not afraid to use a power tool), we have projects for you too: painting a hand-painted mural is a fun way to give your favorite room some life or maybe you’re game to try putting together your own TV cabinet like Sarah Sherman Samuel did (PS: she saved thousands in the process). Experts, we’ve got you covered too: from learning to tile and grout your own backsplash to painting your cabinets without a hitch, we have plenty of DIY kitchen renovation ideas to keep you busy. We don’t stop at the kitchen either: from wall-to-wall media centers to fluted doors made for playroom storage, you’ll find ideas to improve every room in the house