Do you remember the puny shelves in my bedroom?
Yeah…that was a terrible design choice. The good news, though, is that it looks totally different!
I knew I wanted something substantial on this wall to give it enough weight to compete with the panel wall. Floating shelves are a favorite of mine because they are so chunky but I also wanted to use some brackets to pull in more of the industrial feel to my room. So, I decided to do both! The next decision was how I wanted the shelves on the wall. Did I want them staggered similar to the way I originally had shelves? Did I want them as corner shelves like my inspiration photo from Shanty 2 Chic?
Or did I want to put shelves on just one wall and some sort of baskets or art on the adjoining wall? I thought it over for a while and ultimately decided that I wanted four shelves lined up with each other. I started out by building the boxes that would be my shelves.
I’m not one of those builders that can just wing it. There has to be a plan. The walls were measured and I planned out what I thought would look best. One wall will have two 36” shelves and the adjoining wall will have two 32” shelves. The shelves will be 3 ½” tall with 10” in between them and centered in the open spaces of each wall. I decided to use 1×6’s and 1×4’s. The depth of the shelves will be 7”.
The first thing I needed to do what cut my pieces for the first shelf.
A 1×4 was cut down to two 36” pieces and two 5 ½” pieces. I then assembled the frame of the box. To make sure that my box stayed square, I used corner clamps to line it up. I also used a bar clamp to keep the pieces butted up together as I worked on them.
Using a nail gun, I attached all sides together.
Now my frame is complete!
For the top and bottom, I measured the distance between the end pieces to ensure that the next cuts were correct instead of just taking the length of the sides minus the width of the ends. There could be variations in the boards or in the way I put them together that could make my cuts off. I cut two 34 ½” pieces from a 1×6 to finish the box.
With one of the 1×6’s on my work surface, I laid the frame on top of it. It was a snug fit so I used a rubber mallet to work it into place.
Once it was in place, I used my nail gun and attached it. The last piece is a little more difficult to install simply because it’s not as easy to get out if it’s not positioned correctly. To put it in place, I laid it on top of the box and gently tapped it into place. Once I was satisfied, I clamped it and nailed it.
If your board should happen to go in too far and you can’t wedge it out, use your rubber mallet on the back side of the box and the board will eventually work its way out. It took me a few times to get the last boards in correctly.
Now you have a box. Just repeat the steps for the rest of your boxes with the proper length adjustments. When the boxes are all assembled, fill the nail holes with wood filler.
A little tip for you: if you put a piece of plastic wrap between your filler and the lid, it will help prevent your fill from drying out.
When the filler is in (I don’t always wait for it to dry completely on nail holes), you get to the fun part! Sanding! Just kidding. Sanding isn’t fun but it’s necessary. As I was sanding, I rounded the edges of the boxes. When the sanding is done, you have four completed shelf boxes!
Other than being completely finished, my favorite part is adding color. I stained the boxes with Minwax Dark Walnut stain to match the stain I used on the wood wall.
For most of my staining projects, I use a wipe on method. I rub the stain into the wood so that there isn’t much to wipe off.
One coat of Dark Walnut is all I need.
When the stain was dry, I added a couple coats of poly.
If you recall my first post about the bedroom, I was trying to decide between two different brackets.
I posted both options on Instagram and the brackets from Tired Trucker Designs won by a large margin. I just couldn’t get the brackets from Base Metal Design out of my head though! It took me a while to finally come to a decision. In the end, I went with the brackets from Tired Trucker Designs. It is my mission to find a place for the others in my home!
Installing the brackets was relatively easy. Using a stud finder, I located the…what else…studs in my walls.
When all the studs were marked, I figured out how high I wanted the first shelf to be and used a laser level to keep me in line.
I held up my brackets to the line where I wanted them hung and marked the screw holes on the wall.
I laid a small level on top of the bracket to ensure that the two holes were level.
The screws that came with the brackets were hex heads and quite long so I used an impact driver to get them in. This was the first time I used an impact driver and I became an instant fan! They’re awesome.
Anyway, back to the project at hand. When it was time to put up the second bracket, I used a long level to keep the two brackets level. No one wants a crooked shelf.
Once the brackets are installed, just set the box on top of them.
From here, I measured up 10” and repeated the process. Before long, all of the shelves were done!
They look great and bring a much needed balance to the room. And they help distract from my ugly retro TV. Now I get to decorate them!
I’m getting so much closer to having this room redo finished! I look forward to finally being able to share it with you all!
