DIY Floating Shelves

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Remember the floating shelves in the design for my son’s new woodland room?  I thought they would be the perfect solution for that nook cut out in the room next to the closet.  Let me show you how they turned out!

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Here’s the nook in his room that I wasn’t a fan of at first.

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I thought this space was odd and had no idea what I was going to do with it.  But I am absolutely loving the floating shelves in it.  So let me show you how I built them.  They are very easy!

I used the Shanty-2-chic floating shelf tutorial here.  Again, their tutorial is much more detailed than mine and I recommend following it.  I’m just sharing the highlights of my process.  (The only alternation I made to the plans on their site is that I did not include sides to the shelves.  Since mine were going wall to wall it made sense to skip that step.)

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The shelves are constructed with an E shape frame that is mounted to the studs in the wall.  I measured the width of the opening and determined the depth I wanted to make my E’s out of 2×3’s’ shown below.  The 2×3’s are attached together using pocket holes and pocket screws made by my Kreg Jig.  (A Kreg Jig is absolutely necessary, and is the staple tool in all the builds I do.  You can do anything and everything with it!)

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Here are my E’s mounted to the wall using 4″ long screws into the studs, that I located prior using a stud finder.  I also made sure they were as level as possible.  These E frames are extremely sturdy and attached to the wall soundly.  The shelves will be able to hold a pretty significant amount of weight.

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I cut the tops, the fronts, and the under sides of the shelves and stained them prior to attaching them to the E frames.  I totally recommend this step as opposed to trying to stain them once the are on the wall.  I used the same stain I used for his DIY Bed which is special walnut.

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I first attached the tops of the shelves, which were made out of 1×12’s.  I just used my brad nailer and nailed from the top into the E frames.

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Then I attached the fronts, which were made from 1×4’s.  I nailed straight from the front into the E frame as well.  I used a pre-finished select pine for the tops and fronts.  This wood is a little pricier but it doesn’t require any sanding before staining it, and it provides a nice, smooth finish.

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The underside was made from quarter inch plywood.  And that was it!  Here they are all finished!

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I can’t wait to show you my plans for styling them and storing toys 🙂

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What do you guys think of Aiden’s new floating shelves?  They are SUPER easy to make and add so much character to his new room.  Bonus, they are pretty inexpensive as well for custom shelves!  Comment below and let me know your thoughts, I love hearing from you guys!

 

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4 Comments

  1. They look great! They look easier to make than I would gave imagined but probably still over my skill level, lol. Love the stain color. The room is turning out really nice.

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