T i m wrote
wrote

I am looking to fit out our study and have a design
that has some cupboards/ chest of drawers at the
bottom with shelving above - a bit like this
https://www.nevillejohnson.co.uk/luxury-blue-lounge/

Ah, 'fancy', I'm out. ;-)

I am planning on making the shelving bits myself but
am toying between buying kitchen cupboard type units
for the cupboards/ drawers and making them myself
out of the same material I use for the shelves. It will
all be painted so I guess it is a balance between
aggravation, time and cost.

Would appreciate any thoughts you have on the matter

I'm not sure you will. ;-)

Also, what would be the best material to make it out of and what
thickness?

As a utilitarian and sharing my life with a practical friend and not
someone who 'should be obeyed', we love the flexibility you get
from slotted uprights and shelves (for the shelving facet anyway).

Me too. And its trivial to have drawers at the floor level with that
approach.

If I was fitting out a study type room for me (so not considering
what anyone other than us would think of it), I'd start with floor
to ceiling slotted uprights anywhere it would be likely to have
shelves or a worktop etc.

And the pantry shelving too.

I prefer to weld up a rectangular frame of the slotted
dexion 25mm black tubing and dynabolt those to the
block walls. I but up aluminium flat strap into suitable
lengths and put a notch in the bottom edge at each
end with a jigsaw. Those drop into the vertical slots
in the dexion tubing and the shelves sit on top of those.

The notches keep the aluminium flats in place.

For the shelves, straight Contiboard for light loads

I use that for heavy loads too with the verticals
more closely spaced in the pantry and bookshelves
etc. No sag even when fully loaded with the beer
brewing extract cans which are a couple of kg each
and 4 cans deep in my pantry. I often have dozens.

I prefer melamine faced particle board for stuff like
the pantry. You don't see the edges and the front
edge is melamine faced too.

or tongue-n-groove floorboards that can be glued
together for wider shelves and with the tongues cut
off the front shelf (and glued in the rear groove IYCBA)
are very very strong (no sag) and when sanded and
not painted, need little in the way of maintenance,
no matter how rough you treat them.

Need to fit something a different size, add a shelf or take one away,
you can, along with being able to move them up or down. ;-)

Yeah, much more flexible than the fixed shelves in the pic.

Any 'fitted' cupboards I've often just used Contiboard
again and even fitted the slotted shelving system inside.
This solution has taken both shelves or hanging rails.

Not sure any of the above would be acceptable in the show houses
of today though. The houses where people exist and not live. ;-)