DIY Floating Shelves

Home Defined HD
by Home Defined HD
5 Materials
$20
2 Hours
Medium


When you have a house with a small, poorly laid out bathroom, creating storage for your space is a priority. However, organizing a small bathroom while making it welcoming can be a challenge. This DIY Over The Toilet Shelf is a great way of creating storage space and wall decor in a small bathroom.

As we continue our journey of  refreshing our guest bathroom for future guests, we came across the ordeal of finding a storage solution that added warmth to the room and provided a solution to our lack of storage.

We wanted floating shelves over the toilet but we also had plenty of space between the vanity and the toilet that could be used. So we decided to make faux floating shelves with leftover wood from our  Farmhouse Dinning table, that we ultimately placed between the vanity and the toilet. 



Our awkward guest bathroom.

This DIY over the toilet shelf was easy and inexpensive to make. It helped bring more Farmhouse Charm into our guest bathroom.

This is how we made our over the toilet shelf...


Supplies:


  • 1 1x4x8
  • 1 2x8x8
  • 2" Wood screws
  • 1½" Pocket hole screws
  • Wood glue
  • 150 grit sandpaper 
  • White paint
  • Minwax Dark Walnut stain
  • Stainable wood filler
  • Paintbrush 
  • Paint roller
  • Lint-free rag
  • Hanging hardware 

Tools:

  • Miter saw
  • Pocket hole jig
  • Compound square 
  • Drill 
  • Measuring tape 

Steps 1: Cut the wood...


Step 2: Predrill the pocket holes...

  • 4 - pocket holes on each 2x8 these will help attach the shelf to the back support. 
  • 2- pocket holes at each end of the 1x4x8 rails.


Step 3: Make the back support frame...

Start by applying wood glue to both ends of the rails.



Then attach the rails to the stiles with 1½" pocket hole screws.



This will be the back support frame for your faux floating shelves.



Step 4: Attach shelves...

Continue by attaching the shelves to the frame using wood glue followed 1½" pocket hole screws.



Start with the smallest of the shelves, 2x8x16, flushed with top of the back frame.



Then continue attaching the rest of the shelves by size- smallest to biggest.

Leave a 10" space between the shelves.



For extra support, add 2" wood screws to the back of the shelves. The shelves are pretty sturdy, we added 50 lbs to each shelf and it hel up just fine.




Backview


This is the finished DIY above the toilet shelf


Step 5: Sand...

  • Apply wood filler to the areas where you want to hide your screws.
  • We are using scrap wood so we had plenty of holes to patch.
  • We sanded by hand and with a rotary sander.


Step 6: Stain and paint...

We stained our shelves using Minwax in Dark walnut since this is the color wood we have all over our house and I absolutely love this color. We used gloves and paper towels for easier cleanup.



After the stain has dried, apply painter’s tape to the areas where you don’t want to paint. Mainly above and below the shelves.



Proceed to paint. We used a combination of rollers and paintbrushes to apply 3 coats of white paint.

Painted


Voila!!! Our New DIY Above The Toilet Shelf!


These faux floating shelves turned out amazing, we absolutely love them!



Step 7: Hang...

After the paint has dried, attach hanging hardware. We used a wall hanger meant for drywall. We placed the hardware in the middle of the back on the finished shelves. This may vary based on where you want to hang it and how much weight you will be putting on the shelves.




Step 8: Decorate and Enjoy...

This DIY above the toilet shelf has helped complete the new and refreshed Farmhouse style guest bathroom we were hoping for. We added a few bathroom essentials to make it look extra pretty and functional.




AFTER

Our DIY Shower Cornice looks amazing along side of our new shelf!

Besides looking amazing, this shelf was easy to make, and it's extremely functional! What else can you ask of a shelf?

Check out the finished bathroom refresh!!


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Home Defined HD
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 4 questions
  • What a great project. Love it!!!

  • Suzanne Marquardt Jarvis Suzanne Marquardt Jarvis on Dec 11, 2019

    Why didn’t you paint the white prior to attaching the stained wood?

  • Renee Renee on Sep 18, 2020

    I really like this and moving into a house that I can really use this idea. What do you think of putting a very small 1/2 circle molding glued on the shelf edges to keep things from slipping off? Stain it the same color as shelves? OR would that take away from the look?

    I just see the toilet paper rolling off every time you get up or bump into it and that would I believe hold it in place.


    I also really love how you matched it to the shower valance of the wood strip. I am also going to steal that idea so you do not see the curtain hooks! How did you mount that? "L" bracket?

Comments
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2 of 31 comments
  • Linda Linda on Sep 17, 2021

    Too easy. Too functional. Too attractive. Well I guess it is perfect! Good job.

  • Pat C Pat C on Sep 19, 2021

    It looks great - I especially love the wood-stained and white color contrast! Really nice job!

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