Glitz and Glam DIY Silver Shelves

3 Materials
I wanted a little shelf in my bathroom where I could put toiletries. And it needed to look good since it's the first thing you see when you walk in the bathroom. And it had to be small, 4" wide x 18" long in order to fit in the space.
I had seen some silver metal shelves that I really liked but they didn't come in the size that I needed. So I decided to use an idea that my mother came up with for a wall unit in her house.
It starts with some aluminum flashing (yes the kind that is used for roofs) and a board cut to the right size. As an added bonus, since this will be going into a bathroom, aluminum doesn't rust!
Cut the flashing long enough to wrap around the board and cover the ends, kind of like wrapping a present. Then draw lines along the sides and ends of the board where the aluminum flashing will need to be folded.
You should end up with a pattern that looks something like this.
Use a utility knife and a straight edge to score along the fold lines. These score lines will help you fold the flashing so that the corners are straight and square.


Just be careful not to cut all the way through...and not to cut your fingers...the edges of the flashing can be sharp!
Fold the flashing along the lines. I like to use the straight edge to help keep the fold lines straight.
Wrap your folded flashing around the board. It should fit perfectly.
Staple the edges of the flashing to the board.
Then fold the ends over to finish the shelf and staple or nail them closed.
You could stop here if you want to...and you would end up with a silver shelf like the ones my mother used in her wall unit.
I, of course, like a little more sparkle, so I added some crystal head upholstery tacks.
Nailing the tacks around the edge of the shelf added the glitz I was looking for.
And the finished shelf is the perfect place for bubble bath and perfume bottles in my bathroom!
That's how some aluminum flashing, a board and some sparkly upholstery tacks make a glitz and glam DIY silver shelf.


Click the link below if you want to see the step-by-step instructions (and a link to the post about my mother's wall unit).
Wanda @ From House To Home
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  3 questions
  • Jean Myles Jean Myles on Nov 21, 2015
    Fantastic ! Where did you get the crystal upholstery tacks from?
  • Mary Feustel Mary Feustel on Nov 21, 2015
    Where did you find the tacks? I never saw anything like them. Are they hard to work with?
  • Judy Wallis Murphy Judy Wallis Murphy on Nov 21, 2015
    Love the shelf! But I won't to know about that chandelier ... did you make it, too ??
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