Easy DIY Floating Shelves Tutorial

Hello everyone!

Remember our Bathroom Makeover Reveal we shared with you a few weeks ago? Just in case you missed it, you can check out the final reveal here. I promised you a tutorial for the floating shelves my amazing husband built and I’m here today to show you how you can make your own!

Easy DIY Floating Shelves from www.joyinourhome.com

I love the extra storage these shelves give our bathroom… if you remember our “before” pictures, we had a medicine chest that held a ton of stuff and while it was totally practical, I wanted some open shelving. I love how these turned out!

Easy DIY Floating Shelves from www.joyinourhome.com

For the pieces that mount on the wall, you will need:

  • (A) 2 – 23″ by 5 3/4″ pieces of MDF board. I got a big sheet of it from Home Depot back when I made our Chalkboard for our kitchen and I had lots leftover so these shelves didn’t cost a penny to make!
  • (B) 2 – 2″X 2″ that are each 23″ long
  • (C) 2 – 2″X 2″  for the side pieces that are 3 3/4″ long

First of all, we glued and then screwed piece B to piece C.  We put two screws in the back and then one on an angle from the inside to the outside.  Then we glued the thin MDF board to these supports and then used small finishing nails to nail the thin board onto the 2X2 supports.  Depending on how high you plan to mount the shelves, it is possible you will see the thin MDF board on the bottom so if you need to, fill any nail holes and sand smooth.  This now forms the base of the floating shelves and is the piece you will screw to the wall.  

Easy DIY Floating Shelves from www.joyinourhome.com

We painted the sides and the bottom of the thin MDF wood and then screwed the supports to the wall as you can see above.

Next, we worked on the actual shelves themselves.  For them, we used left over pine wood from when we built our coffee table.  Ours was 3/4 inch wood.

You will need:

  • 2 – 24 1/4 by 6 inch pieces of pine
  • 2 – 24 1/4 by 2 1/2 inch piece (for the front of the shelf)
  • 4 – 5 1/4 by 1 3/4 inch pieces (for the ends)

Easy DIY Floating Shelves from www.joyinourhome.com

As shown in the picture above, glue the smaller pieces to your big piece of pine. We then used small nails to help secure the pieces together. We chose not to use an air nailer because the pine was too soft, but if you’d like to, go ahead (it just might mean more filling in holes).

Carefully fill all nail holes with wood filler. Once dry, sand and repeat if necessary. We then painted the shelves before we hung them on the wall.

Easy DIY Floating Shelves from www.joyinourhome.com

 Here you can see the bottom shelf “sitting” on the wall bracket that we built earlier. We were planning to screw the shelf to the wall bracket but opted not to as they sit pretty tightly. Our kids won’t be taking anything off these shelves and there’s no danger of them falling off. If you want, you can add a screw on each top to secure them to the brackets.

Easy DIY Floating Shelves from www.joyinourhome.comI

 

   Easy DIY Floating Shelves from www.joyinourhome.com

Here’s a quick little side-by-side of our bathroom. Don’t those shelves make a world of difference? I might just be getting my handy husband to make me some more!

Easy DIY Floating Shelves from www.joyinourhome.com
 

Thank you for stopping by today and have a wonderful day!

xo, Kendra

 

 

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20 comments

  1. Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom says:

    These shelves look great and wow hand made, too! You are awesome and they are one of my favorite parts of your bathroom. I need to pin this, I am almost done with our Master Bathroom and want to work on our Hall Bathroom next. This is great for inspiration.

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

  2. Amanda Fettig says:

    Oh I love these! I want some just like this in our guest bath too. However…we don’t have the tools necessary.. YET. But, totally pinning this for future reference! Great tutorial, Kendra!

    • Kendra says:

      Thanks, Amanda! It’s funny how your selection of tools keeps growing as a DIYer. You just might have to give David a saw for Father’s Day so you can make shelves 😉 But you do fabulous, girl! Thanks for stopping by!

    • Kendra says:

      Thanks SO much ladies!! You’ll have to try those floating shelves… soo easy! I want my husband to build a few more 🙂 Have a wonderful weekend! xo

    • Kendra says:

      Thanks Lauren! That space above the toilet was always bare too and I think these are perfect there! Good luck making some 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the week!

    • Kendra says:

      Thanks so much Sarah! I soo appreciate your sweet comments! I seriously want my husband to build a few more… love them too! Hope you’re having a great start to the week!

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