Brace yourself! This is a longer than usual instructable but, I wanted to make sure I included a lot of pictures! So my wife and I had two problems, our counter-space was sorely lacking, and, our dog kept getting into our trash. I decided we could kill two birds with one stone and thus our trash can hiding cabinet was born.

Step 1: Cabinet Base

I made the entire frame of this cabinet out of 2X4's (awesome for ease of work, but it does make a crazy-heavy cabinet!)

Step 2: Stiles

For the stiles of the frame I decided it would be easiest to do a half-lap joint. This made the walls very strong while keeping the outside dimension of my cabinet consistent with the outside of the base I made in the last step. The easiest way to notch the 2X4 is to set your circular saw to half the depth of the 2X4 and make multiple passes over the area you want to remove material (this area should be the width of a 2X4). The more cuts you make the easier the next step will be! After you have made your cuts, take a hammer and wack the end of the wood to break off those tabs. Do this to the top and bottom of your stiles. Youre basically attaching these to the bottom frame and then building a top frame on them. Finally clean it up with a chisel, add glue, and screw on to your base.

Step 3: Top Frame

The top frame is attached to the stiles but make sure you cut the side rails long. The side rails extended over the front of the frame by 1-1/2". This is because the front door is going to be framed by 2X4's so when it's closed you have a flush front.

Step 4: Side Paneling

Because we had the half-lap joints there is a 3/4" gap between the stiles and the outside dimension of the base and top, which worked perfect to put 3/4" ply in as siding. So I knew my garbage can was much smaller than the full depth of the counter, so I thought I could make some storage use of the left-over space.

Step 5: Bonus Cookie Sheet Storage!!

I added some extra bracing not only to add strength but to create a compartment to store cookie sheets! I used a router to cut out an opening in the side of the cabinet, added a door with a magnetic catch, and put a plywood floor and a plywood wall to separate the cookie sheets from the nasty trash!

Step 6: Making the Door

I made a 2X4 framed door and then routed out a groove in the backside so I could inlay a piece of nicer 1/4" plywood to give the door some visual appeal. I then attached a base to the door making an "L" shape. The door base is where the trash can will actually sit. I then attached the door to the base frame with hinges. Make sure you add some safety chains so the door doesnt fall onto your toes or pets!!

Step 7: Install and Countertop

Finally install where you want it to go! With the countertop off I drilled pocket holes in the base and screwed it to the floor, shimming as I went to make sure the top was level. The last step is to attach the countertop (which was 3/4" ply because our countertop hadnt arrived yet). Make sure you leave an overhang on your countertop. I measured the other counters we have and our overhang was 3-3/4". Make sure you paint your cabinet as the moisture differences in a kitchen will start to warp the wood. The best part is that just the weight of the door keeps it closed so our dog never got into the trash again!! Also, it's awesome to do some chopping, open up the trash door, and wipe all scraps directly into the trash!

Thanks so much for reading through! Let me know if you have any questions and Ill try to answer them (I made this last spring so I'll do my best:))