How to Build Wall Shelves and Style Them Perfectly

By Abid Haque

Regardless of where you live or your design aesthetic, knowing how to build wall shelves will offer you the rare opportunity to create practical storage while giving your space a makeover at a fraction of the cost of buying a new piece of furniture. Adding shelving to your home is an easy way to display art, keep valuable china out of harm’s way, or just expand your general storage space. Unfortunately, hiring a professional to design and build out custom wall shelves can be costly, but the DIY solutions for floating shelves present a much more economical option.

According to Mallory Micetich, home care expert at Angi, “Installing your own shelves can be a great way to save money on your home project.” Micetich adds, “It’s a relatively easy process as long as you have the right tools, enough time, and patience to install the shelves correctly.” But, if you lack any of the three, it’s probably best to look up a tutorial or splurge for professional help. If you’re ready to expand your storage and feel up to the challenge, keep reading for an overview of different shelving styles, things to keep in mind, and common pitfalls to avoid.

It can vary. Many times it’s not a cheap DIY project to build your own shelves from scratch, but it can be much more economical to purchase prefabricated shelving and mount them yourself as opposed to enlisting a professional to build custom ones. It can be cheaper to build your own shelves if you do it correctly and already own the tools required for the project. Mistakes can result in costly drywall repairs, so it’s important to do some homework by studying up on DIY project tutorials to avoid any damage to your walls as you mount the shelves.

If you’ve decided to build shelves, it’s a relatively advanced DIY home improvement project given the variety of tools and woodworking skill level needed, but it’s possible. According to Stuart Pumpelly of the Washington-based Four Brothers Design + Build, “It can be difficult to accomplish at home unless you have a decent inventory of tools. Thicker shelves require multiple boards to be laminated together so in almost all cases it's easier and cheaper to purchase online.” If you decide to opt for an easy DIY, purchase your shelves from an affordable retailer like IKEA or Amazon and just mount them yourself; luckily, that’s much easier to do.

Yes! Pumpelly says “Drywall anchors just don’t hold up over time, and in many cases, the wall studs are not in the correct place and blocking is required between studs…. If blocking is required, drywall will have to be removed and replaced to install the blocking.” It’s important to invest in a tape measure and stud finder to make sure you’re correctly measuring and planning out your shelving placement before you order or make the shelves. If you’re only using the shelves for decoration with light items, Micetich shares that most shelves are probably fine with just a drywall anchor.

Don’t be shy about mixing materials when building your shelves. A subtle way to combine wood and metal is by matching them; this means lighter wood with lighter metal and darker wood stains with darker metals. According to Jessica Davis of Atelier Davis, modular shelves are uber practical; she says, “The shelves are bamboo and white lacquered metal. They are modular, so you can really customize them. Some shelves are taller for areas to hold art and there is also plenty of [space for] closed storage which is key.”

For a clean and minimalist look, consider hiding your shelf mounts by using hidden metal supports mounted to blocking behind the wall. Thomas Morbitzer of Ammor Architecture notes that this type of wall-to-wall shelving requires a higher level of skill and recommends adding blocking behind the wall before replacing the plaster and then carefully locating brackets to slide the shelves on, securing them with a set screw.

Prefabricated shelving sets like these (from CB2) are a good DIY starter project and lets you avoid having to use heavy-duty power tools like table saws and nail guns. Anastasia Casey of IDCO Studio says, “These shelves are literally the perfect DIY project because they require such little effort. To elevate the look, we sourced three wall-mounted shelves from CB2 and spaced them 14 inches apart. Using drywall anchors, we attached the shelving units with a single screw on each vertical bar. The result is the easiest, renter or beginner DIY project for maximum impact without the cost or time investment of traditional built-ins.”

This set of wall-to-wall shelves by Samantha Struck of StruckSured Interiors was mounted using only wall studs and can save you from the headache of installing blocking. Struck grades these DIY wall shelves as easier to use than most, “The lower supports are 1x1s that run along the sides and back of the shelf. They are drilled right into the studs. From there, you just cut shelves out of whatever wood type you want (in this case walnut veneered plywood) and edgeband the front face to finish. If you want to skip the edgebanding, go with a solid wood piece but keep in mind it will be heavier.”

Contemporary shelving doesn’t have to be bold or colorful. You can create shelving that perfectly blends in with its surroundings and then add layers with artwork and books. Ashley Macuga of Collected Interiors says, “I love incorporating art into bookshelves, it is an opportunity to layer pattern and color and give your styling arrangements a little height. There are plenty of incredible sources for prints, but if you are feeling extra creative—pick up a paintbrush and try a little DIY abstract art yourself.” This type of built-in shelving is more complex if you don’t already have the space and would require around a weekend to complete.

If you have a room with tall ceilings, instead of viewing it as a difficult space to fill, approach the space like McKenzy Golding of Goldenbird Design and view it as an opportunity for extra storage by installing modular shelves and library ladder. Golding says, “Wall shelving can deliver on both form and function. We recommend installing modular shelving that you can move around to fit your current accessories, be it art, books, or vessels. We also love installing a library ladder if you have higher ceilings. This can grant you full usability of your up-high shelving.” If you decide to opt for this look, be sure to source the appropriately sized ladder and track before building out the shelves and keep the backs of your shelving a neutral color to have the ladder pop.

Standard floating shelves are often flat, but if you want something more unique that doesn’t look basic, you can add short vertical edges to ends for a traditional feel. This simple change can be done with leftover materials and a miter saw. Simply cut your desired height and secure with finish nails.

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Full disclosure: Clear shelves are typically not feasible to build from scratch at home. However, purchasing and mounting prefabricated units provide economical and stylish home decor options for most rooms and a way to avoid any complicated carpentry.

Golding is a big proponent of using existing spaces to create storage solutions. Here she converted unused closet space to built-in shelving. The office originally had a large glass sliding closet door which they divided in half to create built-in storage shelves. This type of project requires a fair amount of carpentry and use of power tools so be sure to set aside at least four days if you tackle this on your own.

If the more complicated shelving inspiration has been preventing you from taking the leap into DIY’ing your own shelves, fear not. Simple floating shelves like the ones pictured above by Marea Clark Interiors are an easy design hack that use stacking identical pieces of wood to create visual interest. You can even use shelf brackets to hold them in place without cutting into the wall to add blocking.

By Mel Studach

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Staver Ward & Christie Gray specialize in creating a vintage, lived-in feel in their spaces. The duo decided to design shelving similar to kitchen cabinetry to showcase a collection of pottery, collected items, and tea towels. Ward & Gray say that “the open shelving helps to open up the space as we wanted to avoid something that feels like a heavy mass. We designed the bottom shelves below the countertop to slide out so that these ledges become more functional for arranging florals or having extra counter space. The shelving is white oak and we used a Belgian bluestone on the countertop that is honed and tumbled so it feels like it’s been there forever.”

If you’re interested in creating shelving from scratch, you don’t have to buy your floating shelves. Like the shelving above by Four Brothers Design + Build, you can make your own using MDF and your choice of wood. This setup uses elmwood walnut cabinets with grain-matched walnut shelving and takes around five days to complete, but does demand a higher skill set.

An easy way to add personality and secure your floating shelves is by adding brackets. They come in a variety of styles and colors, so your options are limitless. It’s best to use them as an opportunity for contrast or match them to other metal accents in the room.

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If you decide to play it safe with monochromatic shelving that blends in with its surroundings, consider using wallpaper to subtly elevate the design of your shelves. Here, Golding uses wallpaper to add depth and visual interest. She says, “We recommend selecting a small-scale print to add dimension without overpowering the space.”

An often overlooked part of creating shelving is the lighting of the shelves after. In this project by Tami Ramsay of Cloth & Kind, Ramsay paid special attention to ensuring that there was a light source directly above the shelves to draw attention to the objects. She says, “Custom bookcases don’t have to break the bank—you can actually use paint-grade plywood to great effect with a really good paint job that is topped off with interesting hardware and lighting. Our client is a huge storyteller and likes to reference his travels through his collections, so creating display shelving in his personal office was important.”

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