I spent my winter vacation building these shelves into the wall of my little kitchen. It's a fun project if you're looking to upgrade your kitchen and have a couple days to burn.
Built-in Kitchen Wall Shelves!
Tools and Materials
- Stud finder (Mine decided it was on vacation for this particular project)
- Jigsaw
- Mini craft saw
- Cedar wood
- Stain
- Sandpaper
- Plywood
- Wax
- Nail gun
- Nails
This is my lovely non-load-bearing "interior" kitchen wall. I jigsawed out a peephole to check where in the world my studs are hiding. My stud finder was acting bonkers on me.
Be extra cautious of wires in the wall!
Found you guys! The opposite side of this wall is your everyday drywall. The side you see is plywood. I used a jigsaw, a mini craft saw and all my patience to cut along the studs.
I cut a "molding" type pattern in the wall and used the scrap wood from the wall to cut more pieces. The trim is cedar wood I bought for the shelving.
I went with one coat of a black and brown mixture and then lightly sanded it for a distressed look.
I stained some thin grainy plywood for the back of the shelves and then waxed the whole thing with teak.
My wife had an idea of what she wanted on each shelf, so I measured accordingly.
Now its time to fill this bad boy up!
Enjoyed the project?
Suggested materials:
- Stud finder
- Jigsaw
- Mini craft saw
- Cedar wood
- Stain
- Sand paper
- Plywood
- Wax
- Nail gun
- Nails
Questions on this post
Have a question about this project?
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Bundy on Apr 02, 2020
Are the shelves fixed or adjustable?
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Mina on Apr 02, 2020
No wires behind the drywall?... You were lucky.
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Bryan's Workshop on Apr 02, 2020
Most electrical runs going horizontally are about 2 feet off the floor or very close to the ceiling. There are lots of reasons for this but one of the obvious ones is it limits the areas of concerns when drilling. I did a similar built-in project in my workshop. That wall has wiring and it wasn't a problem.
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Darleen on Jun 07, 2020
Do you think this can be done with lath and plaster walls? My house is over 100 years old.
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Bryan's Workshop on Jun 18, 2020
Yes, but it's more difficult and a lot messier. You'll need to use a grinder to cut-out the area, be careful not to break the wall out, because cracks will radiate across the wall and up to the ceiling. You might have less room inside the wall depending on the other side. It's most likely plaster and lath too, so you'll need to be carful to not disturbed the plaster keys. You'll need to attach the back of the shelves to the studs. It's definitely more work and a lot messier, but it's doable.
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Comments
Join the conversation
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Johanne Palange on Apr 02, 2020
Very clever and crafty. Well done, pretty too. I, however, am not skilled at things like this. So I bought it a second hand plain bookcase. I had my skilled husband saw it in half from top to bottom, to get 2 narrow units about 5'' deep. We had to glue and nail some parts back together. Then I hung them side by side on an empty kitchen wall and achieved much the same effect as your shelving. But yours is so much more beautiful. I'm just saying, for unskilled people, or renters, there's ways to imitate what you accomplished.
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Stephanie on Apr 02, 2020
Any pics of yours?
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Bryan's Workshop on Apr 02, 2020
Sounds lovely! Please make a Hometalk post!
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Linda on Apr 02, 2020
Wow turned out very nice. I don’t have the patience to do that but you did a great job.
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Bryan's Workshop on Apr 02, 2020
Thank you Linda!
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Iblobar on Apr 02, 2020
Awesome!!!
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Bryan's Workshop on Apr 02, 2020
Thank you!
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Sally-Charles Evans on Apr 02, 2020
I love it! It gives you more room in the kitchen.
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Bryan's Workshop on Apr 02, 2020
Thank you!
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DR on Apr 02, 2020
Fantastic! Love it!
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Bryan's Workshop on Apr 02, 2020
Thank you!
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Jamie Tyler Smith on Apr 03, 2020
Great storage and use of space! It turned out lovely. Thank you for sharing!
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Bryan's Workshop on Apr 30, 2020
Thank you very much!
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Bonnie on Apr 03, 2020
Absolutely love the way your project turned out! I've done this in my tiny bathroom to get extra storage and added doors. It's the greatest way to add storage space!! Thanks for sharing!
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Bryan's Workshop on Apr 30, 2020
Thank you very much! Wow, that sounds nice!
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Pat on Jul 18, 2020
Wonderful design. You did a great job and so useful.
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Bryan's Workshop on Jul 18, 2020
Thank you very much!
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Beth on Sep 07, 2020
Great job. The room between the studs is such great storage! My whole pantry is between the studs!
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Bryan's Workshop on Sep 07, 2020
Thank you! Wow, sounds nice!
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Jroeber on Feb 19, 2021
It came out beautiful
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Bryan's Workshop on Feb 20, 2021
Thank you!
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They are fixed to the cleats. You don't need to do it this way though.