DIY Floating Shelves

When moving into a new home, it’s great to add small, familiar touches such as photographs, mementos, etc. to make it feel like “home.”

What better way to display those items than on stylish floating shelves? I built these DIY floating shelves in my bathroom. But they would look great in your living room, den, or just about any room of the house. This easy tutorial will show you how to build these DIY floating shelves in your home. Just follow the step-by-step instructions.

But first… Cleaning when you’re moving in is an important first step to making your home truly yours.

Bounty paper towels make cleaning your new space easy….just wipe clean and toss!

The wall adjacent to the sink (where the shelves are going) had a few cobwebs, etc., so I pulled out a Swiffer Duster and wiped them away.

Then I cleaned the wall with an all-purpose Mr. Clean Magic Eraser before starting our project.

All clean and ready to go.

How to Build DIY Floating Shelves

Supplies

• (2) ¼-in. x 2-ft. x 4-ft. Sanded Plywood Project Panel
• (2)  1 in. x 2 in. x 8 ft. Select Pine Board
• Wood glue
• Clamps
• Screws
• Screwdriver and/or Drill
• Stud finder
• Level
• Brad nailer (with nails)
• Painter’s Tape with Edge-Lock
• Paint Brush (Wooster)
• Paint (BEHR Premium Plus Ultra – Ultra Pure White)

Step 1

Cut the wood pieces below into the following dimensions. Alternately, you can have an associate at The Home Depot cut them for you.

• 4 – 1-in. x 2-in. x 21-in.
• 8 – 1-in. x 2-in. x 6½ in.
• 4 – ¼-in. x 8-in. x 21-in.
• 4 – ¼-in. x 2-in. x 8-in.
• 2 – ¼-in. x 2-in. x 21⅜-in.

We decided to use a number of small wood pieces to build a frame inside the shelves that would make them extra sturdy.

Below, you see the layout to follow for building the frame.

Step 2

Screw these pieces together as shown below in order to make your frame.

Step 3

Glue (and clamp and/or nail) the sanded panels to the frame.

As you can see in the pictures below, there’s no glue on the front 1 x 2 board. Instead, it is attached for alignment purposes only while gluing and then removed so it can be attached to the wall.

Step 4

Once it’s glued, go ahead and remove the 1 x 2.

The photo below shows the 1 x 2 and the piece of finish that will cover it once it’s on the wall.

Step 5

Attach the shelf to the wall from the inside with a screwdriver. Use a stud finder and screw into at least one stud for stability.

Step 6

Make sure the shelf is level (both vertically and horizontally) before adding the remaining screws.

Step 7

Attach the second floating shelf the same way making sure of measurements and keeping things level.

Step 8

Re-attach the 1 x 2 boards to the fronts of both shelves.

Step 9

Glue the remaining ¼-in. boards to the front and use a brad nailer (or finish nails) to hold in place.

Wipe away any glue that may leak from the seam with a paper towel.

While that’s drying, tape off the shelves to get them ready for painting.

You’re almost done!

Step 10

Once the glue is dry, apply two coats of paint, allowing them to dry between coats.

The Scotch Blue Edge-Lock Painter’s Tape worked great for this! There’s not one bit of paint anywhere in sight, except on the shelves where it belongs.

And we’re DONE! Now you can decorate your sturdy DIY floating shelves with mementos and anything that is special to you. Since I live right by the coast, anything with a coastal feel feels like home to me. The picture of my husband and son fishing is a special one to me as well.

I’m loving my new floating shelves and the special things we’ve added to make it feel like home.

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