Making Wood Wall Shelves

Finding wood wall shelves online or at local stores is easy but if you want to get involved with a do-it-yourself project, why not make your own shelving unit! Many people love being creative and making shelves is one way. Although making wood wall shelves takes a little time and patience, the finished product is worth the investment of money, time, and effort. The following are great instructions for building your own wood wall shelves to give you an idea of what all is involved.

First, you need to get the proper tools together to include a skill saw, t-square, level, wall anchors, decorative brackets, wood for the shelves, pencil, stud finder, gloves, wood stain, goggles, sandpaper, and newspaper or drop cloth. One you have everything organized, the fun begins in building your very own wood wall shelves.

Wood – For your wood wall shelves, the choice of wood is important. Of course, you want wood that will enhance the style of the room, but also wood species that will be strong, durable, and last for years to come. Additionally, some wood species are easier to work with than others so if making wood wall shelves is your first project, consider something that is easier.

Sanding – With the wood chosen, put on the eye protection and with the sandpaper, begin gently going over the wood, making sure you move in the direction of the wood’s grain.

Measurements – Next, the wall where the wood wall shelves will be installed needs to be measured. This way, you will be able to cut the wood to size with one end going flush with the end of the wall.

Drawing – With the wood placed across a sawhorse and on the workbench, you want to put the t-square on the end of the wood. Then, a line would be drawn so one end of the wood can be angled and on the wood ends that will fit together when hung for corners. The outcome is perfectly matching wood so your wood wall shelves look professionally made. Additionally, with the t-square, the wood is marked.

Cutting – On the angles you marked, the wood is cut with the skill saw. When done, carefully brush off the sawdust and put the cut piece off to the side.

Anchors – At this point, the anchors need to be inserted on both ends at the location where the shelf’s ends will correspond. If your wood wall shelves will be used for displaying or holding heavier type objects, we recommend in addition to having a bracket on each end of the wood to also add one in the middle for the added support.

Brackets - After getting the wall anchors in, the brackets would be attached to the wall. An easy way to ensure the brackets are perfectly level is to place the wood shelf piece on top of the bracket and with the level, check. Additionally, be sure to check the levelness of the wood wall shelves on both ends and again, in the middle.

Staining – Place the newspaper or drop cloth down so you can start the staining process of the wood. For this, simply follow the instructions on the can and to make the job go quickest, use a roller. Remember, apply one coat of stain to the wood wall shelves and then if you want, you can always add more to darken the color. Along with staining the top and sides, you should also add stain to the underneath side so the shelving unit looks professional. Once dry, the wood is ready to have a coat of polyurethane added, which gives the wood a strong, beautiful finish.

Placing – After the wood is dry, set it on top of the brackets, using wood screws to attach together. If you choose regular metal screws, you can hide them to make the wood wall shelves more attractive simply by dabbing matching color to the head of the screw.

Display – After you have the new, wood wall shelves firmly in place, all you need to do is start decorating. When done, you can stand back and be in awe of what you accomplished.