DIY Scrap Wood “Floating” Shelf

Nicole Juarez DIY
by Nicole Juarez DIY
6 Materials
$10
2 Hours
Easy

I have been working on a bathroom renovation. After tearing out the shower and installing a new one, I am finally at the “pretty” stage. I recently shared the DIY “print” art that I plan to mount above our bathroom storage. One thing to note, is that this bathroom is TINY. After putting up temporary shelving I found that the maximum depth of a cabinet or shelf over the toilet had to be 6 inches. Any deeper and it felt like it took over the space. As I approached the “burned out” stage of the reno, I tried to find ready-made cabinets or shelving that would fit the space. After no luck, I decided to DIY some shelves out of scrap boards from shelving that I recently took down in my kitchen. I wanted to avoid using hardware because it would not only drive up the cost of the project (ya girl is looking for FREE), but it would also further clutter and encroach on the space (did I mention it is tiny?!). Here is what I came up with....

Need: 2 Wood planks


Mine measured approximately 12” deep by 3/4” thick by 24” long. Board 1 will be cut down the middle to create the 2 shelves.

Board 2 will be cut along one side to create two backer pieces (mine measure approximately 3” wide by 24” long).

Need: *Optional*


For this project I used a Kreg Pocket hole jig. There are other ways to secure the shelf, but I like the pocket holes because the fasteners that join the two boards will be completely hidden from sight.

Shelf backer with pocket holes


I used the pocket hole jig to create 3 holes across the backer piece.

Need: Wood Glue


Why yes that IS a Sriracha bottle. It actually works WONDERFULLY for wood glue!! 🤗

I then simply glued the backer piece to the shelf and added screws to the pocket holes.

You are basically creating an “L”.

I wanted to add a little “fancy” to my project and decided to round the corners of the shelf portion... yep the Sriracha bottle is coming in clutch (handy) once again!

The rounded corners have been sanded smooth.

I predrilled holes on the backer board of the shelf so that I could mount it to the wall. I refer to these shelves as “floating” (in quotation marks) because unlike the typical “box” floating shelves that slide over hidden brackets, these shelves (as you can see) have a piece that runs across the bottom where the shelf is secured to the wall. Otherwise there is no other hardware that mounts this to the wall ergo- “floating”. 🤗

After slapping some stain on these shelves and sealing them with 3 costs of Polycrylic, they were complete! I dry-fitted them in the space and added anchors to the walls where needed. (At this point the bathroom had not yet been painted.)

After a fresh coat of paint on the walls and hanging my DIY “print” art above them, this project is DONE!

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  2 questions
  • Zitismum Zitismum on Aug 24, 2020

    Love this project! Can you tell us about your art work?

  • Theresa Theresa on Aug 25, 2020

    interested in the art...How did you make it?

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