Plant Shelf

Piece of Meesh
by Piece of Meesh
10 Materials
$30
2 Days
Easy

Did you know that the sale of plants has soared during quarantine!?! Can I admit that I am a culprit!? Like how can you not buy!? So now my entire house is being designed around my plants and I’m sharing this super simple plant shelf with you! If you want to see my latest projects in real, time, take a second to follow me on Instagram.

This is what I am starting with. A very boring, undecorated wall that is screaming for some decor!

Visualize placement

I used blue tape to mark the height of the chair, the sides of the chair and where I wanted the shelf to go. Once done, take a step back and make sure this is good placement. There really was no measuring here. It's all based on what looks good to YOU. Oh, the other areas of tape is where I’m placing my wall art ( canvas frame) .

Prep brackets (optional)

I didn’t want visible brackets so I bought these modern brackets and spray painted them gold. I love these brackets because you can barely see them!! Just wait and see.

Make sure you spray in a well-ventilated area.

Find the studs

While the brackets are drying, find and mark your studs. I have plaster walls and I highly recommend using this stud finder. It’s a magnet that detects nails where the lathe is attached to the stud. (If you know, then you know). The best part is it costs less than $10 and works really well. I bought mine from Amazon.

Adding brackets

To add the brackets, just hold it up to the wall and mark the holes where the screws go onto the wall.

Using your drill, pre-drill a hole then screw everything in place.

Given the spacing of my brackets, I used my 4ft level to make sure the brackets were perfectly level (or at least close to it)!

Prep your wood

I bought a 1x8 common board from Home Depot and cut it to size. For the nicest finish, sand the wood.

Make sure you wipe all the dust off. I use a tack cloth for this.

It’s super important to apply wood conditioner or else your stain will be blotchy.

Apply stain

Woo hoo we’re almost there. I chose Early American stain. It’s my current fave. You have to stir the stain because some of the color settles at the bottom of the can. I used an old microfiber cloth to apply the stain in two coats. Be mindful, that the more coats you apply, the darker the end product will be...so apply as much or little as you want. Just do it evenly.

Protect your wood

Once the stain has dried, apply your choice of protectant. Read the directions to see when it’s safe to apply- this will vary by product. I used water-based polyacrylic because I had it laying around. It’s a matte finish.

Once it’s up, decorate it in any way that makes you happy😊

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  • LT LT on Dec 05, 2021

    Beautiful comfy spot. A good curl up with a book and cup of tea quiet spot. Very nice.

  • Jal28118668 Jal28118668 on Dec 05, 2021

    Is the artwork one of those "Find the differences" games?

  • Cindy Rubin Cindy Rubin on Dec 08, 2021

    Love the project and the artwork... each part makes the other look better... art adds to plants and plants add to art!

    Where did you find those art pieces?

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  • JH JH on Nov 27, 2022

    I love this and it works so well.

    Make sure they are animal friendly plants if you have dogs and/or cats.

    We did fine until....dun, dun dun....enter the German Shepherd.

    Cleaning up the plant mess and then later vomit from him throwing up said plants....fun day!! Luckily he didnt get enough to actually poison him.

    So go online and see what plants are okay to have with animals. Plants are gone and my husband made a window shelf for succulents. The ones I bought are dog friendly and he never goes after those.

  • Ann53783991 Ann53783991 on Nov 27, 2022

    Very pretty

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