Tuesday, January 29, 2013

DIY Wood Shelves.

Or picture ledges...whatever you want to call them.  Either way, yay me.  I built something.  I don’t really care if they were the easiest things ever to build.  I'm convinced it still counts that I friggin’ built something!!  {Picture me patting myself on the back. ;)}

Some time ago, I put together a mini-gallery wall above our buffet in the dining room.  I loved the frames, but I wasn’t in love with the statement on the wall.  I couldn’t help but think that I wanted something more for that area.

Enter in the super cheap, super easy, super “$20 Shelves Anyone Can Build” from Shanty 2 Chic.  The minute I saw these, I knew they were just what our photo wall needed.  It’d add a little rustic, dark wood into the mix of white frames I had going on.  Plus, it said in the title that anyone could build them.  Consider me sold!

I measured the area that the gallery had covered, and roughly figured that I wanted 2 three foot long ledges.  Then I did a quick inventory of what supplies we had in the basement, put a list together of what I needed and hopped online to order everything we didn't have from Home Depot.  Once I received my email letting me know my order was ready to pick up, I headed out the door.  {Totally awesome service so you don’t have to run all over the store if you don’t want to.}

Once I got to Home Depot, they let me know that my order was in the back because I had things that were too big to keep up by the counter.  {This happens every time I order something dealing with wood, and I’m fine with it because where I pick up my order is right by the guy who cuts all the wood for me.}  I ordered 1 – 1 x 2 x 6 and 2 – 1 x 4 x 6...and after making sure all the boards were straight {don’t let them give you warped wood}, I had the nice wood-cutting-man cut all my lumber in half.  That left me with 2 – 1 x 2 x 3 and 4 – 1 x 4 x 3 pieces.  I also made sure I had my wood glue, wood screws and finishing nails in my bag.


Then it was time to get to work.  First I quickly dry-fit everything, making sure the boards I put together worked okay...


 



...and I gave everything a quick sand to soften up the sharp edges of the boards.  Then I CAREFULLY pre-drilled holes into the 1 x 4’s {to keep the wood from cracking/splitting}, and ran a line of wood glue along one piece before screwing the two pieces together using wood screws. 

 

{Don’t over-do the glue, otherwise it’ll be squirting out all over the place when the boards are fit together.  If that happens, just use a damp cloth to wipe up any excess...and possibly sand it off after it’s dry.  If you are staining the wood, excess glue might keep the stain from soaking into the wood in some spots.  Yes, I’m speaking from experience.  Just keepin' it real! ;)}

After the 1 x 4’s were attached, I ran another line of glue along the 1 x 4 before hammering in 4 evenly spaced finishing nails into the 1 x 2 to attach it to the front of the shelf.  If you have a nail gun, it would greatly come in handy for this step, but you definitely don’t need one.  A hammer worked just fine.


Just like the Shanty girls, I didn’t mind that you could see the finishing nails along the front of the 1 x 2 because I was going for a rustic look...so I didn’t worry about sinking the nails below the wood and filling any holes.

Once I had both shelves put together, I applied two coats of Minwax’s Dark Walnut stain.



Over the next couple days I let everything dry and removed the frames from the wall.  I filled in any holes or dings and touched the paint up to prep the wall for the shelves.

Once I finally got around to hanging them, I pre-drilled holes in the shelves and in the wall.  I tapped some plastic anchors into the wall, and then used long screws to go right through the ledge and into the anchors in the wall.  I don't mind that the screw heads are exposed because you can't even see them with all the frames I'm displaying!  You'd never even know they are there.






I was a little apprehensive about how this project would turn out, but I really love the statement the ledges make in our dining room.  They truly are shelves that anyone could build.  You should try too! ;)

39 comments:

  1. I still can't believe you built these by yourself. I'm super impressed. I really like how they turned out!

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  2. Go you! They look awesome! I'm going to have to give these a try for sure!

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    1. Thanks Ashley! You guys could TOTALLY do these...especially since you are already pros. I mean, your dining room table?!?!? AMAZING!

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  3. I think picture ledges are so much more interesting and pretty than shelves. I'm a total DIY nightmare so this is a little intimidating to try myself but I love the look of them.

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    1. I agree...I'm a big fan of them! Aw, I promise...if I can do it, so can you. They aren't bad at all to do...and inexpensive to boot! :)

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  4. Ooooooo those look so good! I love the colour of the stain. The white frames look sharp against it.

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    1. Thank you so much, Antonella!! :) I like the contrast too...much better than when I just had the frames on the wall.

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  5. Love it!! The color is perfect. I've never tried that service from Home Depot...will definitely keep it in mind!

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    1. Thanks Katie! Definitely keep it in mind...it's super helpful sometimes! :)

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  6. they look amazing! love the wood tone contrasting with the white frames!

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  7. I've been having dreams about shelves like this! Love yours!

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    1. Thanks Melanie! They'd look perfect with that awesome sunburst mirror in your future home. :)

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  8. Sooooo lovely! I love the rusticness (I know that's not a word ;) they add to your pretty white frames! And thanks for the tip about Home Depot!!

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  9. Yay you! You built something and they turned out so pretty!

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  10. You rock!! These are screaming build me and put me in the bathroom! lol Or it could just be my lack of sleep happening.

    You should be proud of your handy skills, lady!

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    1. Aw, thanks Cara! I think they are definitely screaming at you. ;)

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  11. Love this project!! Good for you for building them yourself! The colour is great and it definitely adds the right touch to your gallery wall. I have a photo ledge in our living room but I bought it from IKEA. I took the easy way out! haha.

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  12. Those came out amazing and I love the contrast! Yay for first time building!!

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  13. Great job! They look awesome! Want to make some for me? ;)

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  14. Go Gabbi! I'm super impressed that you made these yourself! They look great!!

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  15. These turned out great! I love the contrast between the stain and white frames. I cheated and bought two white Ikea Ribba picture ledges for $15 each. Perhaps I'll make up for my shortcut and make some from scratch next time.

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    1. Thank you, Chelsea!! I like how the frames pop now too. You would definitely rock this project if you tried it next time! :)

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  16. Hi Gabbi!!! I LOVE the light blue color that you use throughout your house (buffet and back of the front door). Can you please share the name and brand of the color?
    thanks so much!

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    1. Thank you so much, Selidji! The buffet is Behr's Aqua Spray and the back of our door is Behr's Teal Ice. I hope that helps! :)

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    2. Thanks SO much! You did an AMAZING job on the house!!!!!!!!! So inspiring!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    3. You're very welcome! Thank you, that means so much! :)

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