I have a budget on the baby's room and I am now highly offended at the prices of floating shelves. You want a decent looking 2 foot shelf? Be prepared to shell out at least thirty bucks for just one tiny shelf! I knew I had to delve deep into the crafty corner of my brain, as well as scour some ideas on the internet. I now have the exact shelves I wanted, plus more! My husband thought it was the pregnant crazy woman talking when I told him we were buying a rain gutter and hanging it on the nursery wall, but he is now a believer as well!
The above picture is one wall that I really wanted books on, so for this set of shelves, we left the gutter open so that the books would sit nicely inside. For the other shelves, we put a top on the gutter so that items could sit nicely on the shelf. To do this yourself, you will need:
Vinyl rain gutter (they come 10 feet long, so get as many as you need.)
Gutter end cap set (one set per shelf)
Gutter drip edge (same number as the number of gutter you buy)
Hacksaw
Screws
First, you will want to measure and decide how long you want each of the shelves.
Next, you will want to cut the rain gutter into pieces according to your measurement, using a hacksaw. Keep in mind that the end caps will add on a half inch or so on each end. Once you have a piece cut, you will want to snap the end caps on and make sure they are secure.
Once the end caps are on, you will want to hang the shelf. The open part of the gutter will be the top of the shelf. I know, that sounds strange, but trust me! Screw the shelf to the wall's studs. Repeat until all shelves are in place. Now, as they are, they make a great spot for books. However, if you want to set items on top of the shelf, you are not quite done! Take the drip edge and cut it into pieces that are slightly shorter (about 3/4 of an inch shorter) than each shelf. There is normally a lip on the drip edge. The side with the lip will go face down into the gutter, but you will want to snip about a half inch to an inch of the lip off of each end. Finally, just snap the drip each down into the gutter. The ends will rest on the ledges provided by each end cap. Now, you have floating shelves for next to nothing! No one will ever guess that you have rain gutters hanging on your walls!
Total cost of supplies for six shelves: $50
Six pre-made floating shelves in home improvement store: $220
LESS THAN TEN BUCKS PER SHELF!
I am linking this post up to the following blogs:
Transformation Thursdays at The Shabby Creek Cottage