DIY Floating Shelves

Hello!  I just posted about updating my son's room and wanted to explain how I made the floating shelves. 

I knew that I wanted some long shelves for this wall.  He needed room for all of his legos and stuff.  Also, this wall needed something large to fill up the space.

I started looking for floating shelves in various stores.  I liked IKEA's Lack shelving but a) they weren't the length I wanted, b) they weren't the width I wanted, and c) they were a little more than I wanted to spend.

I ended up spending about $20 on wood and have more wood left over. 

I started by taping off where I wanted the shelves to hang, and how wide I wanted them.

I purchased 2  1"x6"x8' preprimed mdf boards (one for each shelf) and 2  1"x2"x8' preprimed mdf boards.  I cut the 1x6 boards down to the length that I wanted the shelf (68 inches) and the 1x2 boards a little shorter (67 inches). 

Then I used the sturdiest screws I could find in the house (sorry if thats a poor description) and screwed the 1x6 and 1x2 together to create an L.  I used 5 screws down the length of the board, I wanted it to be sturdy.

To hang the shelves, we first located the studs.  I marked a small 's' on the tape to indicate where a stud was.  There were 4 studs across the space each shelf would hang. 

We then held the shelf up to the wall and created a helper hand using the ladder.  Really, Alex was holding the shelf as I drilled a hole through both the shelf and the stud. 

To get this first screw in, we took the shelf down and drilled the screw in so it was poking through the shelfabout 1/4 of an inch.  That way Alex could hold the shelf and we could guide the screw into that first pilot hole.   Then, finish screwing that first screw.

The rest of the screws were easier now that the first screw was supporting the shelf.  Just check for level and screw through to the next stud. 

 My screws are visible, but won't be noticable after I paint the whole shelf with a coat of white paint.  If I do this again, I have to make sure to get screws that I can countersink (or maybe I have to drill so I can countersink?). 

Here I am filling in nail holes and touching up paint.

Not too hard and I'm so happy with the size of the shelves.

Thanks for stopping by!

---Adrienne

Linking:

http://www.notjustahousewife.net/2012/08/show-me-what-ya-got-89.html