How to Make a Rope Shelf; Dollhouse Style

Lindsey
by Lindsey
5 Materials
$20
1 Hour
Easy

Have you ever DIY’ed your own shelves? I’m always surprised at the cost of open shelving, especially since they are so popular and easy to make. Yesterday I was walking the isles of Hobby Lobby and happened to see a set of fun rope shelves. They looked so cute! Then I looked at the price tag. Whoa, I couldn’t believe a few simple slabs of wood with a little sisal rope would cost nearly fifty dollars. You know what’s coming next; I decided to create my own rope shelves but with a twist. I’ve got a fun idea up my sleeve and I want to show you how to make a rope shelf; dollhouse style.


You are probably wondering what in the world I mean by “dollhouse style.”

My four year old daughter has loads of baby dolls ranging from big to small. She loves to sit them up in a row so she can see them. Why not create my own rope shelf for her to use?

Currently, her dolls are scattered all over her room. I’m a huge fan of organization, and I wanted a dedicated place where she could see all of the dolls rather than on the ground :(.



HOW TO MAKE A SET OF DIY ROPE SHELVES:

  1. Cut the wood to the dimensions you want for your shelves.
  2. Mark one hole on each side of the wood for the rope to run through.
  3. Drill the holes through the wood. You can use a spade drill bit, spiral flute drill bit, or if your wood is super thin you can probably get away with a regular old wood drill bit.
  4. Once the holes are drilled, grab your rope and tie a knot at the bottom.
  5. String the rope through the first side of the first board so that the bottom of the board sits on the knot.
  6. Decide how much space you want in between each shelf and then tie another knot.
  7. Run the rope through the second board until it sits snug on the knot.
  8. Continue this process until the rope is through one side of the shelves.
  9. After one side of the shelves were secured with the rope, I hung it up so I could make sure to level the shelves as I was adding the knots to the other side.
  10. Once you’ve run the rope through the sides of the wood, tie a knot at the top and you should be done.


NOW THAT I’VE WALKED YOU THROUGH HOW TO CREATE A SET OF ROPE SHELVES, LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT I DID WITH OURS!


I can’t wait to show my daughter her new shelves! I’m hoping this will help her doll organization a little. If it doesn’t, oh well she has some cute shelves now!

Side note; you might recall this space from a while back when I made over her room.


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Lindsey
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  2 questions
  • Will Hudson Will Hudson on Oct 07, 2019

    How in the world do you keep the shelves level while tying knots?

  • Kris Kris on Oct 07, 2019

    So cute! I also wonder how you kept the shelves level when you tie the rope. I’ve seen similar projects and wondered but never asked. I love the use for your daughters dolls!

    Great share

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