Building Your Own Floating Shelves

Have you ever wondered how those apparently “magic” floating shelves work, coming out of walls, while something “invisible” seems to be holding them in place?

Well, I did for a while. And I loved how they seemed to blend so well in spaces, with no obvious support. So one day, while my husband and I were contemplating some of our still empty walls (yes, our home décor process is still an ongoing thing), we decided we wanted to install floating shelves in one of them.

Of course, we were not going to pay the price to have them, but instead, it was going to be one of our projects. Coincidentally, we had JUST received some free wood from a good friend who is a contractor. He was going to get rid of it, but we decided to take it. We did a quick checklist of the materials needed to make sure we had everything, and we ended up buying just one of them (the Blend-Fil pencil), since we had the rest from previous projects. This is the list of items you will need:

• Plywood
• 2” x 2” Poplar Board
• Tape Measure
• Pencil
• Square
• Table Saw
• Sander (Optional)
• Sanding Sheets (we used grains 60, 120 & 220)
• Nail Gun & Nails (2 in 16 gauge)
• Rag
• Nitrile or Rubber Gloves
• Plastic Sheet (to cover the surface you are going to be staining the wood on)
• Stain (we used the same Dark Walnut we got for our office countertop)
• Blend-Fil Pencil for Wood
• Level
• Screws
• Drill

BUILDING YOUR OWN FLOATING SHELVES

STEP 1: MEASURE & CUT THE WOOD

First, we decided the size of our shelves. We wanted them to be 12” W x 30” L x 3” H, so we proceeded to use our tape measure, square and pencil to mark the plywood. We then used our table saw to make the cuts, and created two lateral pieces (11.25” L x 3” W), one top and one bottom piece (11.25” W x 28.5” L), and one front piece (30” L x 3” W) for each shelf (we made two of them). In addition, we cut a piece of 2” x 2” poplar (24”s long), to create the shelf support.

STEP 2: ASSEMBLE & SAND THE SHELVES

Using our nail gun and 2 in 16 gauge nails we attached the pieces together; creating the hollow “boxes” that would be our shelves. We then took our sander to make them as smooth as we wanted them to be. Since they were going to be up on the wall, we didn’t need them to be super smooth, so we only used sand paper grits 60, 120 and 220 (in contrast with our fabulous coffee table, in which we put waaaay more effort with the sander, because we wanted it to look like we actually got it from a nice store, and people were going to have direct access to it).

 

 

 

STEP 3: FILL HOLES & STAIN

With the Blend-Fil Pencil, we proceeded to fill the tiny holes left on the surface of the shelves, after nailing the pieces together. The pencil is really easy to use, and leaves a smooth, even finish.

Since we wanted the shelves to have a rich dark finish (to go with the rest of the wood in our living room), and we still had some of the Dark Walnut stain we used in our office countertop, we took a rag and applied 2 coats of it on them. You have a lot of wiggle room in this step, since you are the one who knows how light or dark you want them, or you could even paint them if that makes you happy.

 

 

 

 

* Whether you are going to stain or paint the shelves, remember to get a similar wood filling color to the stain or paint, so it doesn’t pop up once you are done. If your filling is stainable or paintable, you don’t have to worry about this, but not all of them are.

STEP 4: MOUNT THE SHELVES TO THE WALL

This is when the magic happened! After deciding the exact position of our new shelves, we took our poplar pieces and the level, and marked the wall, to make sure they would be straight.

Using our drill and a few screws, we fixed the poplar to the wall. Now, our “invisible” support was in place.

 

 

We then took one of the shelves, and placed the hollow side of it against the wall, fitting it in the poplar piece. With a few more screws, we fixed the shelves to the poplar, this time inserting the screws parallel to the wall, from the top of the shelves. This way, they wouldn’t be visible from the usual front or bottom views.

 

STEP 5: BUY DÉCOR OBJECTS FOR YOUR SHELVES!

Just kidding. There’s no step 5… Enjoy getting things to display in your new “magic” floating shelves. We had a blast finding ours! They look reeeally nice, don’t they?

 

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