We had too many devices to charge and too little space on our counter to put them. We did have a nice little charging station that we bought on Amazon, so all I really had to do was build a few shelves and set the charging station on top, making sure there were gaps in the shelves to allow cords down through. Including the charging station, this would have only cost about $45 if I’d had to buy supplies – which I didn’t because I had enough scrap! That’s always a win.
Supplies:
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Step 1: Measure and plan. I had about 8 inches to work with as far as height because I wanted to set our Google Nest Hub on the top without being hidden under our cabinet. And since iPads and phones and our Nintendo Switch and things are fairly thin, I didn’t need to make the spacing between shelves very high at all. I decided to make the bottom space between the counter and the underside of the bottom shelf 4 inches tall, leaving plenty of room for my daughter’s headphones to sit while charging. The space between the bottom shelf and top shelf would be about 1.75 inches because I’d use pieces of 1x2s lying on their sides as supports, and these are realistically about 1.75 inches wide. Including the width of the shelves themselves (again 1x2s), this would bring my whole height to about 8 inches.
As for how long my shelves would be, I went with 24 inches for the whole setup. This gave a little bit of room on one side of our counterspace so we could still set miscellaneous junk there behind a little fake plant. 😆 This also gave plenty of room for the charging station to sit on the top shelf beside our Google Hub, plus leaving a little extra room on that top shelf for whatever.
For width, I didn’t want it to stick out too far, and since an iPad is the widest thing that needs to sit here, I went with 6 inches wide for the bottom shelf. The top shelf would be closer to 5 inches because I already had a shelf premade that was about 5 inches.
Also, I didn’t plan for this at first, but I ended up offsetting the shelves a little bit so that the top shelf overhung the bottom shelf to the left and the bottom shelf stuck out farther to the right. This gave me a place to add a little hook on the left for coiled cords I want to keep handy (the headphone cord), and it made a little side shelf on the right for our anti-bark dog zapper (a must in our home).
Step 2: Cut the wood. As I said, I already had a premade shelf for the top shelf – I used a scrap section of our old outdoor table, which really has been the wooden gift that keeps on giving, as I’ve gotten several projects out of that one table! 👍 But, you can easily just use 1x2s to make this top shelf the same way as I made the bottom shelf, just with one less 1×2 for less width.
I played around with my 1x2s and arranged them according to my plan to make sure this looked how I wanted, and once satisfied I started cutting.
Trying out my plan (ignore the 2x2s 😆)
First, I cut the 4 legs for the base of my shelving unit. These 1x2s I cut to my planned 4 inches. Done.
Cut legs.
Then I cut 2 pieces to 6 inches long to use as supports for the bottom shelf, and the legs would connect to these as well.
Next I cut 2 pieces to 5 inches long to use as supports for the top shelf, setting these on the bottom shelf.
For the longer 1x2s for the shelves themselves, I cut 3 pieces to 24 inches long for the bottom shelf. Since you’ll need to do a top shelf too, you’d just need to cut 2 more for that shelf.
With my pieces all cut, I sanded down the rough bits and also smoothed down the corners.
Step 3: Assemble the pieces. One of the smarter things I did was to get my T-square to make sure everything was right. Holding the 4-inch leg pieces so they were square with the 6-inch support sitting across the top of the legs, I used 2 brad nails in each leg to attach them to the support. I repeated this for the second set of legs and their support.
Attaching legs to a 6-inch support.
Next, I positioned the 5-inch supports where I wanted them under my top, 5-inch-wide shelf. For you and your two 1x2s for the top shelf, lay them across the 5-inch supports so they’re flush with each end of the support, and this will leave a nice gap in the middle for cords to go down through. (You’ll actually have a bit more room than my shelf gave me, which would be nice.) It looks nice for the supports to come in a little bit at each side, so I brought the supports in 1.5 inches from each end of the 1x2s. Again lining things up with my T-square, I nailed the top shelf on along the 1×2 supports that sat on their sides under the shelf.
Attaching top to 5-inch supports.
Flipping this over, I attached the bottom shelf’s 1x2s to these same supports. This was when I decided I wanted to offset the top and bottoms shelves, so I put one end of the bottom shelf’s 1x2s exactly flush with the top shelf’s support, and the other ends stuck out a bit farther. (If you don’t want to offset, just position them again 1.5 inches from either end.) First I nailed on what would be the back 1×2 of this bottom shelf, and I made sure it lined up exactly with the back of the support so that the top and bottom shelves would be flush. (See the picture if this doesn’t make sense.) I used 2 brad nails for each end of that first 1×2…and missed a little bit with one, but it’s fine – LOL. For the next, middle 1×2 of the bottom shelf, I used a spare 1×2 as a spacer between them. I wanted this space so cords could also go through this bottom shelf, much like the top shelf. I nailed that middle 1×2 on, then moved my spacer for the front 1×2. Here, however, this 1×2 stuck out a bit farther than my 5-inch support because this bottom shelf would be 6-inches wide (between the 1x2s and the spaces, this shelf’s width comes to 6 inches). So, for this front piece, I only used 1 nail to hold it in place, then removed the spacer.
Adding and spacing the bottom shelf’s 1x2s.
With the top and bottom shelves connected, it was time for the legs and bottom supports. I moved the shelves and stood up the legs and their attached 6-inch supports along my T-square, and I made sure the legs were on the outside with the supports on the inside. Then I set my assembled shelves on top of these legs/supports, making sure the supports between the shelves lined up exactly over the bottom legs. This makes straight lines that seem to run from the bottom to the top of the whole unit. (If you haven’t offset your shelves, the ends of your shelves will be even too.) Because the bottom shelf sticks farther forward than the top shelf, I was able to easily nail the bottom shelf’s front 1×2 onto the legs and supports. For the back, I just drove the nail at a bit of an angle so it went through the bottom shelf into the support. That was enough to hold the whole thing together on either end.
Nailing the shelves onto the legs and supports.
Step 4: Paint or stain. Staining these 1x2s would look pretty. But since my top shelf was what it was, I needed to paint the whole thing. I found the same paint I’d used on my kitchen cabinets, so that was a plus! I quickly found that a small brush worked best to get in all the narrow spaces. I also should have used nail putty to fill in my holes, but I forgot that until I was done. 🤦♀️ Oh, well. Do as I say, not as I forget to do.
Assembled but in need of paint.
Step 5: Add hooks (optional). Since I’d offset the shelves, I had a space under the left end of my top shelf to add a little hook for holding coiled cords. This isn’t necessary, but I can see where it will be handy for cords I don’t want to lose…or even car keys or something.
Added side hook.
Step 6: Arrange charger and cords. Setting our existing charging station on the top shelf next to our Google Hub, I organized our different charging cords coming out of the thing and tucked a few down through the shelves’ gaps, depending on what we’d want to set where. Because the bottom shelf was wider, that’s where the cords for two of our iPads went. I hung the cords for the Switch and newest iPad down through both shelves so these could sit right on the counter, tucked under the shelves. The headphone charger went here too…though my daughter couldn’t find them for the picture, which isn’t worrying at all – LOL.
Really, you can arrange these cords however you want – that’s what’s great about making these things custom, right?
I love that this frees up counterspace and gives our devices an organized home. And it matches my cabinets, which looks extra nice!
Thursdays are karate days, so today seemed perfect for tackling this project. I’d promised to build shelves for our home gym to display my daughter’s karate belts and awards, and I managed this without a trip to the hardware store – so it’s a win for me too!
BEFORE: Scrap wood.
Supplies:
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Step 1: Plan and cut wood. I had a lot of good scrap wood left from when I redid my other daughter’s bed, and these shelves took two 2x2s (mine were 6 ft long), twelve 11-inch 1x4s, and seven 16-inch 1x4s.
I wanted an overall narrow but tall shelf stand, so that’s why I went with 6-feet tall. And by setting my 1x4s across the two 2x2s, I decided I liked 11-inches for the crosspieces and 16 inches for the longer shelf pieces, and this let the shelves stick out 2.5 inches on each side. Pretty easy math that way, so I went with it.
I cut my 11-inch 1x4s first, then my seven 16-inch 1×4 pieces. I didn’t have to cut the 2x2s at all because mine were already 6 ft.
Cutting 11-inch crosspieces.
Step 2: Attach crosspieces. I did all of this by lying my wood across the top of a yard cart, but you can use the floor or a table. The whole project was easy to do with the thing lying down, so don’t worry about standing anything up until the end.
First, I made VERY sure that my 2x2s were evenly spaced and square. You definitely want the bottoms even so it sits straight. Next, I nailed on one of the 11-inch pieces across the top, keeping the edges as flush as I could. With that top piece on, I did the same at the bottom. That kept the overall structure square while I nailed on the crosspieces in the middle. I spaced them semi-evenly, but I was a bit lazy with it – I just did my best to make sure 12 inches went from the top of one crosspiece, skipped the next, and hit 12 inches at the top of the next board.
Attaching crosspieces.
Checking spacing for shelves.
Step 3: Attach long shelf pieces. Using wood glue, these stayed in place nicely. To make things easy, I measured 2.5 inches from each end and marked with a pencil to be sure they ended up in the right position. This seemed like a good idea to help me get them in place quickly once the drippy glue was on.
Positioning shelf.
Then I ran a bit of glue along the top of the chosen crosspieces as well as dabs on the 2×2 where the shelf would connect. Then, I simply set the 16-inch 1×4 pieces on their sides on the 2x2s so the bottom back side stuck on the glue on the crosspiece, which was now “below” the self for a support.
I DID add a few nails at the very topmost board and the lowest board/base to help with stability. Nothing heavy is going on my shelves, so wood glue alone is fine for the middle shelves.
Side note: If you ARE going to put heavy things on your shelves (like statue awards, etc.), you should probably add a few nails into the top of each shelf where they sit on the crosspiece like a base support. To make this easier, you might want to nail them on BEFORE connecting the crosspieces to the 2x2s so your hammer or nail gun has room.
Attaching shelves.
Step 4: Paint. After the glue dried, I sanded the exposed edges and sides smooth. Next, I painted the whole thing in a dark blue…because that’s what I had a lot of. 😆 I used 2 coats but didn’t bother with the backside because that’ll be against the wall. I did paint the insides and outside of the 2x2s because you can see through the spaces between the crosspieces.
Step 5: Secure with a furniture hook. Obviously this would be very tippy if left standing against a wall, so I added a furniture hook to the back wall and screwed a connecting line onto the back of the top crosspiece. This holds the whole shelf secure so it doesn’t fall over, but it’s not a heavy-duty install that would make it difficult to relocate if we want to move the stand later.
Step 6: Add hanging hooks. If you’re hanging medals on these shelves, these hooks are a great idea to add some dimension to the shelves. My daughter wanted her belts to hang up once rolled, so this worked for those too. I decided to screw my hooks in front of each 2×2, positioning them forward enough to spin around.
Screwing in hooks.
Step 7: Add your awards! We’re apparently missing a paper for the orange belt, but otherwise I could put things in order and leave room for belts to come! I hung the belts with just a piece of string wrapped around them and then attached to each hook (I need a few more hooks, but folding a few belts adds variety, right? 😉) I also had a few boards she’d broken, so I added those too. And we framed the little awards she’d been given, so it’s all there for her to be proud of.
Our bookshelves on either side of our fireplace were overflowing with books, wobbly from the weight, and – while pretty and functional – looked too small for the space. So, I decided to create floor-to-ceiling, custom bookshelves instead. This was one of those projects that took a lot of planning beforehand, but once I had things figured out for one, the second one was much easiest and faster to recreate. And it only took 5 trips to Lowe’s, so that beats my average for a project this big! lol
Supplies:
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2x4s – bottom frame (I needed 2 total for 2 bookshelves)
1x4x10s – left and right frame (I needed 8)
2x2x8s – top frame and back frame (I needed 8)
1x12x8s – shelves and interior side pieces (I needed 14)
1x12x10 – side exterior piece (I needed 2)
1x2x8s (nicer wood, like poplar) – fronts (I needed 7)
1x4x10s (nicer wood, like poplar) – fronts (I needed 4)
Note: All of the instructions below are for the bookshelf I did on the left, but I did exactly the same thing for the one on the right, just kind of mirrored. If I learned something better to do while constructing the right one, I included that in my instructions below.
Step 1: Measure, plan, and buy wood. Obviously, your dimensions and the amount of wood you need will be different from what I got, depending on the height of your ceiling and how wide you want your shelves. Also, if you have a straight ceiling rather than a vaulted ceiling, this will be much easier for you! I highly, highly recommend measuring and planning everything out COMPLETELY before buying your wood to save yourself the headache of extra trips, the expense of buying more than you need, etc.
Starting at the left wall/shorter ceiling side, I measured and found that the ceiling right at the corner along the wall was exactly 9 ft. This meant my vertical boards on that side would need to be 9 ft. Because I wanted the whole bookshelf to be 41 inches long, I measured 41 inches out from that left side wall, marked that point, and used a level vertically to find the height at that point on my angled ceiling. That point 41 inches out showed that my right side’s height would be about 9 ft and 10.5 inches. I also knew that I wanted to work with 12-inch wide boards for the shelves themselves, so this would make my bookshelf come out 12 inches from the back wall. Plus, I played around with spacing and decided on 7 shelves total, so that figured into my board shopping list as well.
Okay. So now I knew I needed 10-ft boards for my sides that I could cut down to the right heights – both the 9-ft side and the almost 10-ft side. Because everything going across from side to side would be well under 48 inches, that meant I could use 8-ft boards for everything running lengthwise, and I could cut the number of boards I needed in half that way, by cutting 8-ft boards in half. As for depth, I’d use 12-inch boards (which actually are 11.25 inches) for the shelves. At the front of all this, I’d use 1x4s and 1x2s to cover all the frame and shelf pieces, and since these are actually 0.75 inches, that would bring my whole depth to the 12 inches I wanted without having to add wider or smaller boards anywhere else.
Now, starting with the frame…
To give myself a good bottomframe, I planned to use some scrap 2x4s – one running 40 inches along the back wall, and one running parallel to that one at 11.25 inches out from that wall. The base would only go 40 inches because my right side pieces would attach at the ends of these 2x4s, and eventually all those boards’ width would bring me to the full 41 inches that I wanted for the total length of my bookshelf. Meanwhile, the base would come out 11.25 inches from the wall because this would be exactly the depth of my shelves, including the bottom shelf that would sit right on these 2x4s.
For the frame’sleft side, I planned for two 1x4s running from atop the bottom base up to a little shy of where the wall met the ceiling. These two framing 1x4s would be screwed into a stud and/or connected by construction adhesive to the wall. These pieces could be a little short of 9 ft because I wanted room for the top pieces to run all the way to the wall (more on that later).
For the frame’s right side, I’d again use two 1x4s, this time running the full height from the floor to the ceiling. The bottom ends of these 1x4s would screw into the ends of the 2x4s at the bottom base. As for how these framing pieces would attach at the top…
For the frame’s top, I’d take two 40-inch 2x2s and match what I’d done at the bottom – I’d run one along the back wall where it met the ceiling and run one 11.25 inches out from the back wall. However, because these would be angled on my ceiling, I needed to cut the right-sided ends so the angle would work to meet the 1x4s that needed to connect at the right side. I didn’t worry about angling the left ends because they didn’t have to perfectly match where that end touched the wall since this top framing would be hidden by my front boards eventually anyway.
Note: To find this angle… An easy trick that I learned somewhere is to hold a scrap piece of wood where the angled board will need to be, then take a level and hold it vertically at the mark where the board will need to end. By marking a level line on the scrap wood, that gives you a correct line for where the board needs to be cut at that angle. You can then cut this scrap wood along that line, and by holding this little piece of wood as a template against each board that needs to be cut at that angle, you can easily duplicate that angle over and over.
Picture from later, but how to find the angle.
For the frame’s back, I wanted a 2×2 horizontally going across to help support each shelf and to connect my back right side piece of the frame. These could be screwed into studs on that back wall, plus I’d use construction adhesive. This meant I needed six 2x2s placed at each height where I wanted my shelves, with my bottom base acting as the support for the very bottom shelf.
At this point, it was very helpful to draw a line all the way up my wall to mark 40 inches out, where all these frame pieces needed to reach. HOWEVER, you shouldn’t just keep measuring 40 inches from the back corner because (as I discovered quickly) walls are not always level. Our wall dipped out around the middle and would have thrown off everything if I’d just measured 40 inches to get my line. Instead, I measured from where my bottom base needed to come out 40 inches, and then I used a level to draw my line all the way up, checking occasionally to see that it was close to 40 inches from the corner.
For the shelves and sides…
I didn’t want to see or even use hardware at all, instead resting each shelf on boards running up the sides along the insides of my frame. This allowed me to use the same 1×12 boards for both the shelves and these solid side pieces spacing out between the shelves. The height of each side piece would depend on how much space I wanted between the shelves, but one 8-foot board would easily get me at least one shelf and two sides.
For the front pieces, as I said above, I’d use 1x4s along the sides and the very top to hide the frame, the ends of the shelves, and also the interior side pieces holding up the shelves. The tops of the front pieces running up the sides would have to be cut to angle along my ceiling, and then the top crosspiece would have to be cut to fit between those pieces. SO, be sure to keep that little piece of wood as a template to trace onto these front boards. As for the front pieces on each shelf, I’d use 1x2s cut to the exact lengths of my shelves between the left and right front pieces running vertically.
That was my plan! Confusing? Here’s a picture to help.
Plan drawn.
On Valentine’s Day, my husband and I went to Lowe’s and bought all the 1x12x8s (shelves and sides), 2x2x8s (top and back frame pieces), 1x2x8s (nice front pieces), 1x4x10s (left and right side pieces as well as nice front pieces), and 1x12x10s (covering side pieces) that my Jeep could carry. Really, it was the best date we’ve had in years.
Step 2: Remove old floor and mark final guides/lines on walls. Before you build anything, remove the old flooring so you’re working on a solid, level surface. Also remove the baseboard so everything will go flush against the walls. I started by using a cutting multitool to remove the baseboard 41 inches out along the back wall and 12 inches out along the left side wall. For the floor, I used painters tape to mark the area – again, 41 inches x 12 inches. Then I used the same multitool to cut out the old flooring along my taped lines.
Removing our laminate flooring is always very satisfying. But it’s dusty, so be sure to clean that all up before you start using adhesive.
Floor and baseboards removed.
Also at this time, I made double-sure that the vertical line I’d made on the back wall was 40 inches from the corner BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY level all the way up. After that, I used a level to make horizontal lines on the back wall where each 2×2 would be placed to support each shelf. One end started at the corner, and the other end touched that vertical line at 40 inches. Also on that back wall, I used a stud finder and marked studlines all the way up so the studs would be easy to find when attaching those horizontal 2x2s. Next, I marked on the left wall 11.25 inches out from the back wall. I again used a level and made a guide line vertically going up the left wall at 11.25 inches. Where that line hit the ceiling, I made a mark to show where the top 2×2 should run in a line along the ceiling, again at 11.25 inches out from the back wall. How long was this line? I used a square from the back wall’s line (that 40-inch mark line) and found where my ceiling line should connect that far, at 40 3/4 inches because of the angle.
Basically, I outlined where my frame should sit along the walls and ceiling so that everything would be level and square without having to double-check before placing each piece.
Marking lines for 2x2s at 40-inch line.
Step 3: Build the frame. Starting at the bottom, I cut two 2×4 pieces to 40 inches. I used construction adhesive on the bottom and back side of the 2×4 that I set along the back wall, and I made sure the end was tight against the left wall. To really secure it in place, I screwed it into the floor as well. For the second 2×4, I measured using a square and marked the floor at 11.25 inches out from the back of the back 2×4 against the wall. Then I glued that front 2×4 down along that line so the very front was 11.25 inch out from the back. I also screwed this one into place.
Frame bottom in place.
Next I did the left side. I ended up cutting the 1x4x10s down to closer to 8 1/2 feet to leave quite a bit of room for the top frame 2x2s, and that’ll all make sense a little later. After putting construction adhesive on the backsides of the 1x4s, I pushed one into the wall against the very back corner, with the bottom end resting on the 2×4 along the back wall. I had a stud to work with in the corner, so I added a few screws on the way up to help attach it to the wall too. With that back board in, I put construction adhesive on the second 1×4, set this front 1×4 on the front 2×4, made sure it lined up level with the vertical line I’d marked on the wall, and pressed it into place. I also added a few screws to this board, but they were really just there to help hold it in place while the adhesive dried – without a stud, the screws here don’t do much heavy lifting.
Left frame pieces in place.
Next, I measured what was left of the horizontal lines on my back wall. With the left back 1×4 in place, I still had 39.25 inches of my original 40-inch lines. So, that’s what I cut six 2x2s down to – 39.25 inches each. For each of these, I put construction adhesive on the back side, pushed them in place at my lines, and then screwed them into my studs where I’d marked the stud lines. I paid very close attention to the right ends of these 2x2s because they needed to be exactly even along the 40-inch marked line so that the right frame piece would sit flat and level against these supporting ends.
Back frame pieces in place.
Once I had those six 2x2s going along the back wall, I measured for the very top one that would create the top of the frame along the ceiling. This was where I had to cut the right end of a 2×2 at my angle so everything would line up, but first I measured from the left corner to where my 40-inches line was marked, just to be safe. This was 40 3/4 inches because of the angle. This meant that the longest part of my cut angle needed to be that length with the bottom part of the cut angle slightly shorter. (The picture makes more sense of this.) Taking my scrap piece of wood with my exact angle, I placed it over my 2×2 at the appropriate length and traced a line, then cut at that line. I did this for both the front and back 2x2s for the top pieces of the frame. Honestly, these were probably the two hardest boards to install because I had to hold them over my head while on a ladder, and it was hard to see my marks on our textured ceiling. But with construction adhesive on the tops, they stayed on well enough for me to screw them in place, again making sure the right ends touched my 40-inch marks. I did end up putting an 8.5 inch 2×2 between these two top pieces to connect the right ends, as this helped to keep the front one in place since the back one was screwed into studs.
Top frame pieces going in.
Finally, I added the 1x4s to the right side to complete the frame. Starting with the back one, I cut it to 118.25 inches to stretch floor to ceiling. Setting the base against the side/end of the back 2×4, I made sure the side of the 1×4 was flush against the back wall and the inside was flush against each 2×2’s end at that 40-inch line. Then, I screwed the 1×4 into the 2×4. Working my way up, I put a screw through the 1×4 into each 2×2, including the one at the very top that was angled to sit flat against the 1×4. With that on, I cut the front 1×4 to the same length and set it to line up with the end of the front 2×4. I checked with a level, then screwed it onto the 2×4. Climbing my ladder and carefully holding the board, I lined it up with the top 2×2 and again checked for level before screwing it into that 2×2 as well as the 8.5 inch crosspiece, since it was there anyway.
Right side pieces on.
That was it for the frame. This frame is really just for holding everything to walls and giving the rest of the build the correct spacing. I know that 1x4s might seem a little flimsy for a “frame,”but all the other boards that attach to it add the stability and strength, so don’t worry!
Step 4: Install shelves and side pieces. Starting at the bottom (this is important!), I double-checked how long each shelf needed to be to run from the left 1x4s to the right 1x4s. Again, like my back 2x2s that these shelves would sit in, they needed to be about 39.25 inches long. I say “about” because you have a little wiggle room here as far as spacing. The ends will be covered entirely, so if you’re off a little it won’t show.
I cut a few shelf boards at a time to make my life easier, and because these are the first boards we’ve used that are going to really show, I made sure to sand the corners and any rough bits. However, because the fronts of the shelves are going to be covered by front 1x2s, they don’t have to be perfect.
Starting with the bottom, I set my shelf board on top of the 2x4s and made sure the front edge lined up, which it did because these are 11.25 inches wide, just like my base. The board should also, therefore, line up with the front edge and back edge of the 1x4s on either side. I secured this bottom shelf with a few small nails from my brad gun. HOWEVER, do not nail down the rest of the shelves in case you need wiggle room later.
And now I’m going to tell you what I did at this point when building my second bookshelf on the right side of the fireplace because it made this step much easier and faster. 😆 Before measuring and cutting for the side pieces that would rise on the insides of the bookshelf on top of this first shelf, I took my level and set it along the side 1x4s while resting on the back 2×2. Once level, I drew a line on the front 1×4 to mark where the next shelf should sit to be level. I did this for each 2×2, marking both the left and right side 1x4s to mark where each shelf should sit. Then, with my bottom shelf on, I could measure from the top of that shelf to the marked line to know how tall each side piece needed to be that the next shelf would sit on. (Again, see picture for clarification.)
My first shelf needed to be 17.5 inches tall to fit over our electrical outlet, so I cut two pieces of 1×12 to that length. To make these pieces fit around the back 2×2, I used a jigsaw and cut out the top corner – one for the left side board and one for the right side board. I thought this would create more hassle and be difficult, but it really wasn’t bad at all. With these pieces sanded, I slid them in place on top of the bottom shelf, made sure they ran up to the level lines I’d marked at the left and right, and then used my brad nailer to secure them to the insides of the 1x4s.
Bottom shelf and side pieces on.
I set the next shelf on the back 2×2 and also on the tops of these added side pieces, and the shelf sat perfectly level and sturdy. Then I measured from the top of that shelf to the next marked level line, and these left and right pieces needed to be 15.25 inches for that shelf’s height. I cut these pieces, notched them with my jigsaw, sanded them, slid them in place, nailed them on, and moved on to the next shelf.
Side piece on.
I did that all the way up for each shelf.
For the very top, I measured to cover the whole top base, similar to how I’d done the bottom shelf on the 2x4s. I did NOT worry about angling this board, because the ends were going to be covered anyway. I cut this board to 40 3/4 inches, and I put the left end right against the wall with the higher right end against where the 2×2 connected with the 1×4. I nailed this board onto the 2x2s. Next, I measured the space that was left between that top board and the highest shelf. My left side was 5.5 inches, and this board did not need to be notched with a jigsaw because there was no back 2×2 to worry about. I slid this in place and nailed it onto the left 1x4s, and this board also helps hold the top piece in place a bit should it ever wiggle free (I don’t foresee this happening, but it seemed a good idea to be safe). For the right side, I found it was 10.25 inches, so I cut that board and nailed it in place too.
Top pieces on.
Note: If you want to be fancy, you can cut the tops of these side pieces to match the angle of the top board, but I wasn’t going to mess with that. It was easy enough to fill the small gap with caulk later, and it’s so high up there that you can’t tell anyway, so it didn’t seem worth the hassle.
Step 5: Add exterior side board. With the shelves and side pieces in place, I took a long 1×12 board and cut it to 118.25 inches. This was by far the easiest board to install! After setting it on the floor against the outside of the frame’s 1x4s, I held it level against the front 1×4 and nailed it onto the 1x4s all the way up. There was a little gap at the top because of the angled ceiling, but this was later easily filled by caulk to hide it. If you wanna be fancy and cut the angle, be my guest.
Full side board on.
Step 6: Add front/covering pieces. All that was left to attach now were my front cover pieces of nicer 1x4s and 1x2s.
For the tall pieces running up either side, I DID angle the tops by using the wood template I’d made earlier – just be careful to turn it the right way! Because these will be touched a lot, I made sure to sand the corners really well on the sides that would be exposed. I added these side pieces first, with the left one against the left wall – checking for level before nailing it on – while the right one stood level and flush with the far exterior 1×12’s edge. Obviously these come in a little farther than the frame boards, and this helps to cover the ends of the shelves too.
Next, I did the very top board that runs lengthwise between these side pieces. I was going to be all particular and find my angles the usual way by measuring and using my template, but I ended up cutting a board close to the right length and then holding it over the front side pieces, taking a pencil, and reaching behind to draw a line at either end where it needed to be cut to line up. Once this was cut, I held it in place and nailed it onto the top 2×2.
Side fronts on and planning top front.
Finally, I measured each shelf between these side boards to find my exact length for each 1×2 before cutting. This was a little time-consuming to do it one at a time, but I wanted them as tight as possible to look best. After playing with the position a bit, I decided to attach them with about a quarter of an inch sticking up above each shelf to make a little lip. I positioned them this high, stuck one brad nail in the center, and then used a level before nailing either end too.
Note: If your shelves aren’t quite level, using these covers and making them level is a great way to hide where you’re a bit off. Also, if your shelves don’t come out as far as they should, now is definitely the time to adjust them and pull them forward so they’re lined up with this front 1×2. I’m glad I waited until this point to be sure of their position, but now is when I finally nailed them into the back 2×2 once they were lined up.
Last front pieces on.
That was finally it for building!
Step 7: Add base trim. As a finishing touch to the built-in look, I added some quarter round molding like what’s around the rest of our room’s baseboards. This helped cover the little gaps between the base and the flooring, and it pulled it all together to look like the shelves were always meant to be a part of the room. I also put back some of the baseboard that had popped off earlier.
Added quarter round.
Step 8: Caulk, fill nail holes, and paint. One other thing I did here was to drill holes into the two bottom shelves to allow cords to go down along the back to reach our outlet in the back wall. Definitely do this before painting, if you’ve got a similar setup.
Drilled holes for cords.
Anyway, I first took wood nail filler and rubbed it into all my little nail holes.
Next, using paintable caulk, I used a caulk gun and oozed caulk along all my edges and gaps. I caulked where the front pieces met the side wall and ceiling. I caulked where the shelves each met the back wall, I caulked along each 2×2. I caulked those gaps at the tops of boards that met the ceiling. I caulked the insides of the shelves where the side pieces met at the top and bottom of each, as well as at the notched 2×2 spots. This was very time-consuming but made a HUGE different in the end result. It took the bookshelf from looking like a separate bookshelf to looking like a built-in bookshelf.
Caulking gaps and seams.
It also helps to remember that this caulking step forgives a lot if you’ve got wonky, unlevel walls. This wasn’t much of a problem with my left bookshelf, but our wall on the right side of the fireplace was VERY bowed and left all kinds of gaps – the price I paid for making my shelves level, I guess.
Once all the caulk dried, I painted the whole bookshelf the same color as our surrounding walls – Swiss Coffee. You could paint them any color, really, but it definitely looks better to paint rather than stain the wood. Why? One of the benefits of building the shelves the way I did was that I didn’t need wood along the back, and the wall itself really looks like part of the shelves because it’s all the same color. This wouldn’t really work if you stained the wood. (Also, I wanted the same paint as our walls l because I had about a quarter of my gallon left after I was done with both shelves, and I went around my house and “un-toddlered” my poor walls by giving them a fresh coat of paint. 😆)
Painting.
Honestly, these turned out even better than I’d expected! Somehow, though, we still have too many books. 🤣
Since my girls have moved on from their little table and are trying to eat on the couch now, I needed something to spare my couch from as much cereal as possible. Since I had an extra board and these pipe table legs available, I was able to make a cool little table for the side of the couch that turns to become a TV tray when we need it.
Supplies:
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Step 1: Measure. I measured the arm of my couch and decided on 21 inches for the length of the tray top (and base bottom). The board I had was 10 inches wide, which is about perfect for a plate, but you could do 12-14 inches for a little extra width. Just be aware that it will stick out farther into the room – I wanted the space for walking around. For height, my legs were 28 inches, which makes the tray a nice height above the couch arm and also leaves plenty of room for adult legs when it’s sitting in front of you on the couch. (I would probably go down to 24-inch legs like the ones I linked above if I do this again, as 28 inches makes it a bit high for kids.)
Measuring for length.
Step 2: Cut wood. I took my board to our miter saw and cut two pieces at 21 inches long. That was it.
Step 3: Sand and stain. Taking my two boards inside, I gave the cut ends a quick sanding to round off the edges and any sharp corners. Most of this leftover board was already stained, but I did have to stain the cut ends and touch up the edges.
I didn’t bother staining the bottom side of what would be the bottom board, but I did stain both the top and bottom sides of the board that would be the top tray piece.
Boards cut and stained. (This is the underside)
Step 4: Position and attach the legs. First, I did the bottom board, with the unstained bottom on the floor. With this bottom board down, I positioned two of the legs so that the edges of the round bases were 3 inches in from the back end of the board. I also positioned each leg 1/2 inch in from each side.
Positioning leg bases.
It’s important with these legs to be sure they are tightly screwed together (the pole into each end’s base), and be sure they stand at equal heights. If one is a little taller than the other, you can loosen the screwed on base from the pole a little bit to adjust for level. I also checked for level vertically around each pole to be sure they were straight.
Once happy with the position, I screwed the base of each leg onto the board. BE SURE your screws are shorter than the width of your board so they don’t poke through.
Screwing legs onto the bottom board.
Once the bottom was attached, I set the top board on the floor with the underside facing up. Then I flipped the legs and the attached bottom so that the legs’ other ends/bases now sat on this board. I positioned them the same way — 3 inches in from the back and 1/2 inch in from each side. I again checked for level and then screwed the bases into the board.
Once those two legs were on, I flipped the whole thing so it was right-side-up. It had a little movement from side to side, so for added stability I added a third leg right at the back in the middle of the board. (Plus, I just liked how this looked.) After measuring to make sure the base was centered, I screwed it in place on the bottom board. Then I checked to make sure the top of the tray was level. All good, I reached up from underneath and screwed the top base into the top board.
Adjusting and adding the third leg.
Step 5 (optional): Finishes. If you’re worried about scratching your floor, you can add furniture pads to the underside of the bottom board. I didn’t bother since it’ll often be on our rug anyway.
Also, as you might’ve noticed, I ran out of black screws. 😆 If you have this problem too, a black sharpie solves this easily.
Before blackening screws with sharpie.
That was it! I like how this turned out a lot. It’s rustic and kind of modern, and it fits with the look of our other decor and my other little DIY table without being an exact match.
How do we still need more shoe storage?! I couldn’t take it anymore, and the constant pile of shoes by our garage door had to go. But this is obviously the best spot to have shoes, so we needed another shoe rack right by the door for all my girls’ shoes.
Cue the old, falling apart, outdoor table that I’ve ignored all summer.
BEFORE: Old table. She looks so sad.
Supplies:
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1x3s (for shelf slats, so amount depends on length you want)
1x2s (for shelf supports and front piece)
2x3s (for legs, so amount depends on the height you want)
Step 1: Take apart the table. I’m going to assume not everyone has an old IKEA table lying around for this project, but if you do, 👍. If not, the wood is basically a bunch of 1x3s, 2x3s, and 1x2s, so that’s how I’ll give instructions for assembly. But if you’ve got an old table made of slats like this, take that puppy apart and use the wood if it’s salvageable!
First, I removed all the hardware connecting the table legs, sides, etc. All of the top and hinged side sections were in good shape, so I did not take apart the slat sections – that’s what I was hoping for! The rest of the table parts like the legs and surrounding pieces came off pretty easily, and gravity helped.
Once apart, I carried all the pieces up to my garage.
Wood pieces to work with.
Step 2: Cut pieces. I decided 8 inches wide was perfect for storing my girls’ shoes without sticking out too far into the narrow hall area. It just so happened that 3 slats equaled 8 inches, so I used a jigsaw and cut the ends to free up the first 3 slats and the ends connecting them. I did this for 4 sections that would become my 4 shelves.
Cutting free the first 3 slats as a section.
If you’re using wood pieces and not a table, you can use 3 long 1x3s for slats and shorter, 8-inch pieces of 1x3s for each end. These could be attached by screwing holes on each piece where they connect, then using pegs and glue. That would give you the same thing as what I cut free – slats connected by end pieces.
Along with these sections for the shelves, you want 2x3s for each leg of the shoe rack. I used the front and back surround pieces that I’d taken off the table, so mine had character-adding screw holes to display. 😆 I wanted my legs to be 25.25 inches tall, as this would allow me to get 4 legs out of the 2 pieces of wood I was using. (This was also the perfect height to allow my girls’ backpacks to hang over the shoe rack.)
Cut leg pieces.
Next, I needed little support pieces to attach to the legs where the shelves would rest and attach. The table had had 1×2 pieces of wood running under the tabletop for support, and these were perfect, so you can use 1x2s for sure. Since my shelves were 8 inches wide, I went with 6-inch little pieces so the shelves would hang over them to hide these supports. I needed 2 of these for each shelf – one for each end of each shelf – so 8 total for my 4 shelves.
Also, I needed 2 more 1×2 pieces for each end of my top shelf to add length and cover the tops of the legs. These needed to be 8 inches, just like the ends of my 8-inch wide shelf.
With all these pieces cut, I sanded everything lightly and wiped them clean.
Wood pieces ready!
You might notice from the picture that I had 2 little scrap pieces. I used these to help me figure out exactly how high the shelves would sit on top of my support pieces before deciding on the supports’ placement.
(FYI: There will be 2 more wood pieces to cut, but I’d wait until later to be sure of your measurements.)
Step 3: Attach supports to legs. I wanted the lowest shelf to be right at the bottom so things won’t get lost on the floor under it. This also made things easy as far as positioning.
Lining up 2 of my 2×3 legs, I made sure they were less than 8 inches apart, since this would let the shelves stick out a bit farther to cover some edges. I went with 7.25 inches apart.
With the legs lying square and 7.25 inches apart, I lined up one of my 1×2 support pieces at the very bottom of what would become the inside side of the table legs. You could use little nails or screws, but I used my nail gun and shot in 2 nails at each end of the little support 1×2.
Once that bottom support was attached, I did the same at the very top.
Top and bottom supports in place.
Then, because I wanted the bottom shelf to fit rain boots, I literally held a rain boot in the space over that bottom support – with my little scrap piece mimicking where the shelf would sit – to find where I should position the next shelf up. With that figured out, I attached a 1×2 support piece in that spot. That left one more support for a shelf, so I positioned it where it looked right and nailed on that one too.
With that one side/set of legs done, I took the other 2 table legs and positioned everything exactly the same so everything would be level and equal on either side of the shoe rack.
Step 4: Attach the shelves. Starting at the bottom for stability, I held up one side (2 legs with supports) and set one of my 8-inch wide shelves on that bottom support. I lined it up so that the back of the shelf was exactly lined up with the back of the back leg, and the front of the shelf hung over the support and past the front of the front leg a little bit. Then I nailed down through the shelf into the support it rested on.
Shelf sitting on legs’ support.
After repeating this on the other side, I had my bottom shelf connected to both sides/sets of legs.
I did this again for the next shelf up, then the next, and finally the top shelf piece. Each time, I made sure to keep things square by holding the shelf tight against the table legs (sides) when I nailed them on.
All shelves on.
Step 5: Add additional pieces. Because I wanted nothing getting lost under the shoe rack, I used another 1×2 to run across the very bottom, under the overhanging bottom shelf, to cover the front of the rack at the bottom. This I cut to 23.5 inches long so that it fit inside, between the legs. I attached this front piece by nailing it into the ends of the bottom support pieces. I did lay the rack down with the front side up to make this easier.
Bottom front piece on under bottom shelf.
While I was at it and had the bottom of the rack exposed, I added some screws through my bottom supports into my legs, just to help out my little nails.
Standing the rack back up again, I took my two 8-inch 1x2s and positioned them over the tops of the legs, making sure they sat flush with the ends of my top shelf. I attached these by nailing down through the pieces into the tops of the legs. I was worried this might look weird, but because of all the slats going on – and running in different directions – it looks like added detail that belongs.
Ends 1x2s to cover the top of the legs.
Lastly, I added a crosspiece to the back of the rack to help with stability. I figured out the angle of my cuts by holding the 1×2 in place and then marking lines with a pencil. Once it was marked, I used my miter saw to cut along the lines. I attached the back by nailing each end onto the back of the legs. I like the rustic detail this gives, plus you can’t really see it from the front once shoes are there.
Back support on.
Step 6: Stain or Paint. My wood already had stain…in places. Rather than sanding it all off, I embraced the rugged look this would add. Taking a rag dipped in darker stain, I wiped stain over the whole thing. This gave a really cool, aged effect to the wood where the stain took differently to the stained and unstained wood.
You could paint your rack, obviously. That would look nice too, though I’d suggest a darker color to help hide dirt from the shoes.
Step 7: Set in place and add shoes! The rack fit great in the space – not too big, not too small. I really like how rustic but detailed it looks because of the slats and old screw holes and such. It looks old but in the right way now. 😂 And, most importantly, the girls’ shoes aren’t in a pile!
