How to create DIY Open Shelving
It’s January – and if one of your resolutions is de-cluttering, here is one idea: create a tidy storage space with DIY open shelving. I love open shelving. It makes me so happy. *Sigh*
For my de-cluttering DIY project, I had some help (shout out to my brothers in law), but it’s nothing 2 people couldn’t handle.
Skill level: Beginner
Amount of time and effort: about 2 days, 2 people
Cost: $200-$400 (if you need to buy tools)
Peace of Mind: Priceless
Before and After
Just so you have a point of reference, my storage situation before was in dire straits.
I know – It’s Embarrasing
Let me just address the elephant in the room. The ‘before’ picture is frightening. Part of the shelving system that I had before fell down. One dark night it just popped right off the wall, throwing junk everywhere, and scaring us half to death. I never found a good place to put all the stuff that fell, so it just kind of turned into a clutter-fest.
Let’s Move On
First I did a bit of research on open shelving. I looked at several options, and when I found these cast iron brackets, I was immediately drawn to their bold, industrial look. Plus, they are simple to install- just 2 screws that go into a stud.
Let’s be Practical
These brackets are also super strong – they can carry up to 100 lbs each, which means I could spread 300 lbs worth of weight across each of my shelves! Since I knew I had a lot of books and craft supplies, this was the most practical choice. I certainly didn’t want this shelf to fall down like the last one.
Let’s Make it Happen
It takes some time (mine took 2 days from start to finish), but oh so worth the effort. When you have a free weekend, I know you can do it, too.
What you’ll need:
- tape measure
- level
- 9 brackets (or less depending on your space)
- pine boards for shelves (I linked to the boards I used. Do not get the cheaper ‘band-sawn’ option since it is unfinished and is too wide to fit in the brackets. These brackets hold a shelf has a ‘nominal’ width of 12 inches, but the actual width, after being processed, is only 11.25 inches.)
- power drill
- stud finder
- if painting or staining the wood: sandpaper (such as a 100 grit), tack cloth (for wiping off the dust from sanding), a paintbrush, stain or paint (see below for my recommendations)
- shellac or polyurethane and a brush – to seal and protect the wood
- work horses
Instructions for Easy DIY Open Shelves
You might want to do the first 3 steps (below) the day before, just to make the experience more manageable. This will also allow the wood to dry. Now let’s get started:
Step 1
Clear the area and repair or paint the wall if needed. Measure how long you want the shelves to be. Since my space has a wall on either side, I took 1 inch off the total width of my space to allow for error (better a bit of space on the ends than the entire shelf not fitting).
Step 2
Go to The Home Depot and purchase the lumber. Bring your measurements with you, and have them cut the pieces in the store for you (they do this for free).
Step 3
Lay out your lumber on the workhorses. Prep it by sanding, then wiping with the tack-cloth to remove the dust. Stain or paint it if desired (both sides). Allow to dry, then finish with a protective coating such as polyurethane or shellac.
Sidebar: Hindsight is 20/20
I initially used two coats of this stain plus polyurethane in one; but it didn’t come out as dark as the picture on the can, and it wasn’t as even as I would have liked. If I could do it again, I would have preferred a darker color like this one and just used it as a stain. Then I would finish with at least 2 coats of this quick-drying shellac. I think that would have given it a more professional look, and it would smell way better! While we’re here, I’ll mention that for my next project, I plan to use a thicker shelf, like this one.
Step 4
While the lumber is drying, find the studs and mark them with a pencil. Some walls will show bulges where the nails are popping out of the studs, or use a good stud-finder. Measure how far from the ceiling you want your shelf to be, and mark the spot over the stud. My shelf is 14 inches from the ceiling, and has 14 inches between each shelf vertically. There are 25.5 inches between each bracket horizontally.
Step 5
Each bracket has a hole for 2 screws. For the first one, we drilled the top screw in most of the way, used the level to make sure we had the bracket perfectly vertical, and then drilled the lower hole. Then we measured, leveled (by balancing a small board on it as seen above, and drilled each remaining bracket.
Step 6
Finally, we laid the finished wooden shelves onto the brackets. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the curing time on your shellac or polyurethane finish before placing objects onto the shelves.
You’re done!
Now for the fun part – making it pretty! First, I threw out a bunch of the junk that I didn’t need. Then I added a few plants, books, decorative bins (mine are 11″ cubes I found at Target) and other pretty things. My husband and I made the desk below it. I use this workspace every day.
Do you feel like you could do this yourself? Drop us a line if you do try it – would love to hear your thoughts! And stay tuned for more DIY/craft ideas!