How to build custom shelving

Every home could use more storage, but shelving can be very expensive. It is even more expensive if you need the shelving to meet specific measurements to fill a type of cubby or alcove in your home. While those areas may seem like the perfect place to put some built-in shelves, you’d be surprised at how expensive it can get. To save a bit of money, you can actually build the shelving yourself. And if you do all the work yourself, it will blend into your decor just as well as a baseboard radiator cover blends in to your wall paint. Here are five steps to building your own customer shelving.

1. Measure the space

Get in there and measure the space you want to put the shelves. You want to know exactly how many shelves you want, how far apart you want them spaced, and how big each of the shelves need to be. Draw out a plan before going to the store to buy your lumber, so you know exactly what you want when you have finished.

2. Prepare the ledge

To hold up the shelf and keep it stable, you’ll want to nail a ledge to the wall. The ledge should be 2”x1” and as long as the wall. You’ll need three pieces per shelf: one for the back and two for the sides. Miter the front edges of the side pieces to make it less visible. You can use a smaller piece of lumber for this, but this size will create a pretty stable shelf with the ability to hold a lot of weight. It should be nailed to the wall to studs in order to keep it stable.

3. Cut your shelf

Your shelf should fit exactly into the alcove, so make sure you have your measurements exact. Cut the wood to create a shelf, and put it in over the ledge. Some people will call this a done job, but it actually needs to be nailed into the ledge to prevent the shelf from shifting while it is holding things. Nail it every 10 inches along the back and side down to the ledger to keep it from moving. Some people also start with glue in order to prevent it from shifting

4. Decorative molding

Depending on what you want the finished look to be, you can add decorative molding to the front of the shelf to give it a fancier look. If you don’t care to change up the look, you can skip this step.

5. Paint/finish the wood

If you are hoping the wood will blend into the wall, you’ll want to paint it the same color of what is currently there. You can play with this a bit though. Some people will paint the back of the wall a different color than the shelves to give it a pop while other just paint it all one color to make it blend together. If you don’t care if the shelving matching the wall or are purposefully doing a different color, you can actually finish the material with paint or stain before putting it up on the wall.

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Source: diynetwork.com/how-to/make-and-decorate/decorating/custom-shelving-done-4-ways