Making Shelves with Your Own Hands: 8 Ideas, Examples, and Step-by-Step Video Guide.

Hanging shelf made of boards

This design will fit perfectly into a loft-style interior. To make an original shelf yourself, you won’t need much time or special skills.

Materials and tools

For work you will need:

• 2 wooden boards.
• 4 leather belts.
• 4 short and four long screws with dowels.
• Clerical knife.
• Ruler.
• Drill.
• Level.

The photo shows the necessary blanks and tools.

Step-by-step instructions

Let’s get to work:

1. Measure the required size with a ruler and cut the straps with a stationery knife. Fold each strap in half and drill holes with a drill.
2. Fix the resulting loops to the wall using dowels and large screws. Insert the board and align it horizontally using a level.
3. Additionally secure the straps with small screws. The original shelf is ready.

Fix the resulting hinges to the wall using dowels and large screws. Insert the board and align it horizontally using a level.

Additionally, fasten the straps with small screws. The original shelf is ready.

How to make a shelf from pallets?

Pallets are often used for decorating and making various furniture: tables, cabinets and, of course, shelves.

Materials and tools

To make a shelf with your own hands you will need:

• A pallet, which can be purchased at a hardware store or at pallet production. Some companies are willing to give away used containers for free.
• Circular or hand saw.
• Sander or coarse sandpaper.
• Hammer, nails and crowbar.
• Pencil and tape measure (or ruler).

The photo shows an untreated pallet, from which you can make two wall shelves.

Work process

Let’s start making the shelf with our own hands:

1. Using a crowbar, remove the central strips.
2. Nail the resulting parts to the sides of the pallet, which will become the bottom of the shelves.
3. We make markings with a pencil and cut off the lower and upper parts for the shelf, as shown in the photo:
4. Sand the surface to get rid of burrs and irregularities.
5. If desired, the finished shelf can be painted or stained.

Sand the surface to get rid of burrs and irregularities.

If desired, the finished shelf can be painted or stained.

Creating a plywood shelf on the wall

This is a simple and inexpensive way to create a functional decoration for any room.

The photo shows triangular shelves that look great in a child’s room.

Materials and tools

To make you will need:

• A piece of plywood 2 cm thick.
• Jigsaw.
• Wood glue.
• Sanding machine or sandpaper.
• Self-tapping screws.
• Primer.
• Simple mounting brackets.

The photo shows plywood being cut along pre-drawn lines.

Workflow

If you have all the tools at hand, let’s start creating the shelf:

1. Cut out three identical rectangles.
2. Make the ends beveled.
3. Clean the wood.
4. Let’s start assembling. To do this, glue the edges and fix the triangles with screws.
5. To hide the screws, prime the attachment points and sand the product.
6. Attach the finished product to the wall using corner brackets.

To hide the screws, prime the attachment points and sand the product.

Attach the finished product to the wall using corner brackets.

Laminate floor shelf

It happens that after renovation there are leftovers of various materials. You shouldn’t throw them away – you can make a nice shelf for shoes or decor from laminate scraps. This design will fit perfectly into a hallway or a country house.

The photo shows a floor shelf made from laminate scraps.

Materials and tools

To create a shelf with your own hands, you will need:

• Laminate scraps.
• Pencil and ruler.
• Electric jigsaw.
• Universal glue.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Let’s get to work:

1. Cut the parts using a jigsaw.
2. Glue them together according to the drawing. It is not recommended to drill the laminate, since the material is porous inside, so it will crumble when drilling, and the product will be very easy to ruin.
3. Since the laminate is no more than 12 mm thick, it is necessary to strengthen the structure with a vertical lamella, as shown in the photo:
4. It is not recommended to put a lot of weight on the shelf.

It is not recommended to overload the shelf.

Options for original shelves from improvised means

In the modern world, the idea of recycling raw materials is becoming more and more popular. In order to contribute to the preservation of the environment, many people try to reuse things and, using their imagination, create magnificent decorative elements. One such example is original shelves made from unnecessary materials.

Invisible shelves made from books

If you have a beautiful, durable, but completely uninteresting book gathering dust in your apartment, you can easily turn it into an unusual hanging shelf.

The photo shows a bedside shelf for books and personal items that seems to float in the air.

Materials and tools

To work, you need to prepare:

• Books.
• Brackets (one for each book).
• 3 screws (each with two washers).
• 3 dowels with screws for attaching the brackets to the wall.
• Drill.

The photo shows the tools needed to make an invisible shelf with your own hands.

Step-by-step instructions

Let’s start making:

1. Apply the bracket in the center, clamp it and make markings.
2. Drill the marked holes in the future shelves.
3. Put the bracket into the book, insert a screw with a washer into it – and secure the second washer on the other side.
4. Tighten all the screws screwdriver or screwdriver.
5. We drill a hole in the wall for the dowel and attach the bracket with the finished shelf to it.

We tighten all the screws with a screwdriver or screwdriver.

We drill a hole in the wall for the dowel and attach the bracket with the finished shelf to it.

House shelf

This shelf can be used for kitchen utensils or in a children’s room for toys.

Materials and tools

To make a shelf with your own hands you will need:

• Boards or plywood.
• Jigsaw for cutting out parts of the required sizes.
• Glue.
• F-shaped clamps.
• Primer and paint.

Step-by-step instructions

Let’s get to work:

1. Cut out the planks of the required size, sand.
2. Glue the parts together, clamping them with special clamping devices:
3. After drying, prime the surface and paint in the desired color.

After drying, prime the surface and paint it in the desired color.

Honeycomb shelf

We offer another budget way to create an extraordinary hexagonal shelf with your own hands from ice cream sticks.

The photo shows an unusual shelf for a flower made from scrap materials.

Materials and tools

You will need a minimum of materials for the job:

• Ice cream sticks.
• Paper and pencil.
• Glue.
• Paint or stain, long-bristled brush.
• Fasteners for mounting to the wall.

The photo shows the materials needed to make a honeycomb-shaped shelf.

Step-by-step instructions

To make a neat shelf, you need to be patient:

1. Draw a regular hexagon on paper.
2. Glue the sticks together as shown in the photo.
3. Coat the product with paint or stain and get an eco-friendly shelf made with your own hands. Several of these structures can be connected together to create a wall composition with an interesting design.

We cover the product with paint or stain and get an eco-friendly shelf made with our own hands. Several of these structures can be connected to each other to create a wall composition with an interesting design.

Hanging shelf on ropes

Such a shelf will look great in Scandinavian, country and eco-style.

The photo shows an easy-to-make hanging shelf on ropes.

Materials and tools

To create a shelf with your own hands you will need:

• Drill with a drill.
• Blanks-blanks.
• Sandpaper.
• Jute rope.
• Scissors.
• Paints and brushes.

The photo shows the materials needed to make the shelf. You may also need clamps.

Step-by-step instructions

Let’s get to work:

1. Using sandpaper, carefully process the boards.
2. To ensure that the holes are symmetrical, fold the parts together and connect them with clamps.
3. After fixing, select the drill diameter: it should be approximately 5 mm larger than the rope diameter. Drill holes:
4. You can paint the shelves if you wish: completely or partially, making only the edges colored.
5. Assemble the structure. To do this, tie a knot that will hold the board, thread it through the hole, tie another knot. Repeat the process for all the other holes.
6. Pass the rope through the holes of the second shelf. The main thing is that the distances from knot to knot are the same on all parts of the rope.
7. Connect all four sections and attach them to the ceiling using an anchor with a hook.

If desired, you can paint the shelves: completely or partially, making only the edges colored.

Assemble the structure. To do this, tie a knot that will hold the board, thread it through the hole, tie another knot. Repeat the process for all the other holes.

Put the rope through the holes of the second shelf. The main thing is that the distances from knot to knot are the same on all parts of the rope.

Connect all four sections and attach them to the ceiling using an anchor with a hook.

Video

3 detailed master classes for creating a shelf yourself.