Did you know that installing open shelves is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to give your home a custom look? That’s why I’ve installed them throughout our home. In this post, I’m sharing everything from location
Open shelves work well with a wide variety of decorating styles from modern to Boho to farmhouse and cottage style. However, the key to making the shelves work is choosing the correct placement, scale, and finishes to work with your individual style.
Location, location, location
The first step is to determine where to build your open shelves. If you’re reading this post, then you already likely have an idea of where you’d like to locate them. Hopefully, I can help confirm your ideas and help you determine the optimal placement. Open shelves really can work in ANY room in your home. In our home, I installed open shelves in our family room over a pair of cabinets, in our dining room above a buffet table, and in our master bath over one end of the bathtub surround. Generally, open shelves look best when they are visually balanced by a table, cupboard, or another weighty piece of furniture below.
Kitchens
Open shelves look great in a kitchen above lower cabinets – I love what Sarah from Dreaming of Homemaking did in her kitchen. Melissa at The Inspired Room has a great blog post on open shelves in the kitchen.
Other Spaces
If you’re not looking for a kitchen renovation and just want to spruce up some empty wall space, I recommend that you look for a place where you have a buffet table, dresser, or cabinet with open wall space above. That’s because these are spaces we tend to try to fill with artwork or a mirror, but we may not be satisfied with the result.
Create a focal point
Family room
Open shelves create a focal point, so they are best placed in a space where they will make an impact. In our family room, they are located on either side of the fireplace and are visible from the kitchen and the main hallway into the back area of our home. Initially, I wanted to install built-in shelves here, but the price tag wasn’t in our budget. I was able to build open shelves for a fraction of the cost of built-ins, and still create an eye-catching focal point.
Dining room
Likewise, the wall behind our dining room table is a good choice to create a focal wall with open shelving because it is the largest expanse of wall in our dining room, is visible from our front door, living room and dining room, and is nicely
Storage
Sometimes the purpose of open shelves will be solely to create storage space where none exists. This is the case in our master bathroom, where I wanted a place near the bathtub to store bath supplies. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to make it look pretty! Make sure to utilize closed storage spaces also. To see how I refreshed and organized our bathroom closet, click here.
Determining shelf length, depth, and spacing
This is perhaps the hardest part of the entire process for most people. You may wonder, how many shelves are needed, how far apart to place them, or how long and deep to make them.
Length
The length is usually determined by the width of the table or cabinet that is below the shelf location. I tend to choose a shelf length that is just slightly less than my cabinet/shelf width. For example, in our dining room, our buffet table is 57” wide. Therefore, I chose a shelf length of 54”. In our family room, our media cabinets are 37” wide, and since I wanted to maximize shelf storage space, I went with a shelf length of 36.5”. I would avoid a shelf length greater than that of the table below, to avoid an off-balanced feeling.
Depth
Next, decide on the depth of your shelves. I use two main elements to help me determine this: 1) the scale of the space and the table depth, and 2) whether I plan to use the shelves for storage or for purely decorative purposes. A large-scale space or very deep table/cabinet will warrant a greater shelf depth, 10” or greater. A smaller space or more narrow table/cabinet will necessitate a smaller shelf depth, 8” or less.
In my family room and dining room, I used 10” lumber for the shelves, whereas in the master bath, which is a much smaller space, I used 8” boards.
Consider what you will be storing
If you will be storing things like dishes, you’ll want to measure the depth of these items to ensure that they fit on the shelves you are planning. Purely decorative shelves will often be slightly narrower than those used for storage. Keep in mind that lumber comes in specific widths (6”, 8”, 10”, 12”) and unless you have the ability to rip boards (i.e. cut with the grain using a table saw), I would stick with the standard sizes.
Spacing and number of shelves
I find that for most homes 2-3 shelves is perfect. I used 3 in our family room, and 2 in our dining room and master bathroom. You’ll want a minimum of 10-12” between shelves, and you’ll need space below the bottom shelf and above the top shelf. It’s easiest to first determine approximately where you’d like the bottom and top shelves to go, and then see if there’s space for a third middle shelf or not.
Again, consider what you will display on the shelves. Measure the height of the items you wish to display and add a couple extra inches to give your items “breathing space”. If you’re in doubt, it’s better to use the lesser number of shelves to avoid a cluttered look. I think it’s best to create symmetry wherever possible, so space your shelves evenly between walls or windows, and make sure that the shelves are an equal distance from one another. In our family room our shelves are 11.5” apart, in the dining room they are 14” apart, and in the
Determining the style and finishes for your shelves
Pine boards
I have only used 1” (which is actually ¾” thick) select pine for my shelves – it’s the highest quality pine you can typically get at big box hardware stores like Home Depot. It’s inexpensive but varies in quality from piece to piece. Sometimes I have to sort through 50 pieces of wood to find 3 pieces that are of the quality I desire (few knots, no splits or chips in the wood, not yellowed with sap). Knotty pine is less expensive, but it will have significantly more knots. You can also purchase boards in a 2” thickness for a chunkier look. This is definitely recommended for larger scale spaces, or if you are using very long or deep boards. The 1” boards are good for smaller projects and are lighter and easier to support than 2” boards.
Other boards
Big box stores also sell other types of wood boards that can be used for shelving – birch, walnut, and oak to name a few. These hardwood boards are significantly more expensive, but you may want to consider them if they will give you the look you are searching for.
Stain or paint
You may stain or paint your boards (or even leave them unfinished). I love the look of stained wood boards and I find it very easy to do. Mid-tone stained wood fits my farmhouse/updated traditional style home very well. Dark stained boards or blond wood would look at home in a modern style house. You may want to consider white painted shelves for a more traditional home or a country cottage style decor. I use Homestead House Stain and Finishing Oil because it requires only one coat, contains the topcoat (finishing oil), and produces a beautiful even finish. In the dining room and bathroom, I used the colour Driftwood. I also really love the Cappuccino finish or the Cappuccino and Driftwood finishes in a 50/50 mix. For the family room, I used a homemade stain (steel wool/vinegar mix).
Bracket choices
There are style and colour choices to be made when installing open shelves. For instance, I like to contrast mid-tone wood shelves with a dark black or charcoal bracket. However, I also love the look of white shelves with white brackets. This works well for crisp modern interiors as well as farmhouse, French or shabby chic styles. The brackets themselves may have straight, clean lines or be more ornamented. I chose beautifully detailed ironwork brackets in our family room but opted for the more basic brackets (to save money) in our dining room and master bath. Brackets range in price from a few dollars each up to $50 or more.
Supply list
- Select pine boards in your choice of depth (typically 1 by 8, 1 by 10, or 1 by 12). Keep in mind that 1 by 8 boards are actually ¾” thick and 7 ¼” deep, and 1 by 10 boards are ¾” thick and 9 ¼” deep.
- 2 brackets per shelf
- E-Z Anchors (anchors and screws)
- 320 and 220 grit sandpaper
- Wood stain (Homestead House)
- Clean lint-free cotton cloths
Tools
- Compound mitre saw or circular saw, (or have your pieces cut at the store)
- Level (wide enough to span from bracket to bracket)
- Stud finder
- Pencil and eraser
- Tape measure
- Drill
- Screwdriver to fit with E-Z A
nchor screws
Easy DIY instructions
Cutting and prepwork
1- Cut boards to the desired length.
2- Sand board surfaces using 220, then 320 grit sandpaper.
3- Wipe entire wood surface with a slightly damp cotton cloth. Allow
Staining the wood
4- Apply stain to top and sides using a dry cotton cloth. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, then wipe clean with a fresh cloth.
5- Allow shelves to dry overnight, then stain
6- Allow shelves to dry at least 24 hours prior to installation.
Installing the shelves
7- Using a stud finder, mark the location of the wood studs. I find the studs are never in the correct place to have nice symmetrical shelves and brackets, and that’s why I use E-Z Anchors.
8- With a pencil, mark on the wall the location where your wood shelves will be hung. Use a level to ensure that this line is level.
9- Position your bracket below the shelf markings and mark the location of the bracket holes. If a hole falls on a stud location then you will use only a screw. If a hole falls on drywall then you will use an E-Z Anchor with a screw. Once your holes are marked, drill pilot holes and screw the brackets into the stud or the anchor.
10- Once the brackets are up, place your shelf on top. Most brackets will also have holes to attach the wood shelf to the bracket, so mark these holes on the wood and drill pilot holes before using the screws to attach them. That’s it, pretty easy!
Conclusion and Inspiration
I hope you have enjoyed this easy DIY tutorial on installing open shelves. For more open shelving inspiration, check out how Natalie, from My Vintage Porch, has installed them throughout her home. Natalie provided the initial inspiration for my open shelf love affair.
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