Tuesday, May 10, 2011

DIY Bookshelves

Disclaimer: This is a long post. With a lot of pictures. I venture to say it’s taking me longer to get this post around than it was to actually do the project. With the cabinet finally finished, I realized that my daughter really needed some more room for her books. I didn’t want to fill that pretty thing with all books, so I had to come up with something.

So here’s the something.

DIY bookshelves

I will admit that it’s the first project involving wood/nails/labor that I’ve done completely by myself. Needless to say, I was a little apprehensive, but it turned out better than I expected.

DIY bookshelf

As the books were being placed on the shelves, my little one kept saying, “Hey! I forgot about that book!” “Oooh, I wanna read that one!” Mission. Accomplished.

front facing bookshelf   DIY bookshelf

How about a tutorial for this oh-so-easy project? The first stop was to Lowes for some primed MDF strips. I spent more money with the primed version; However, I know you could do this for less money. I knew I’d be painting it light, so I didn’t want to worry about priming it. Worth the money, really.

MDF with wood glue

I drew a small bead of wood glue along the edges to be nailed and held it for a few seconds. It offered some support and kept things from shifting while I was nailing them together.

how to build bookshelves

I knew I wanted three shelves, and they measured out around 27” each. This meant I needed an 8 foot piece of each. I took the three pieces up to the wood-cutter guy (official name) at Lowes and had him cut them. Yeehaw! How easy is that?

how to make bookshelves

After painting them (including the exposed edges), my husband screwed them into some studs on the wall. I didn’t bother hiding the screws. Who’s gonna see them?

DIY bookshelves

Because the beauty of this project is really in the color of the books, I wanted the shelves to be as simple and streamlined as possible. Luckily, that was also the easiest to build.

front facing bookshelves

And of course, it wouldn’t be a success unless this goofball liked them. I think she approves.

green beanbag

Supply breakdown:

  • 8 feet, 1x6 (three shelves at @ 27” each)
  • 8 feet 1x4
  • 8 feet 1x2…………………………….Total of $28.00
  • Wood Glue $2.97
  • Nails/nail gun, paint—already had

45 comments:

Jessica said...

ha! Love your daughter's picture!

Carmel said...

Love it! Nice to see you using a nail gun because to me...those seem intimidating!

- Brittany aka Pretty Handy Girl said...

Love those shelves! They are so simple and clean looking. Thanks for sharing.

Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl)

Chelsy@ Sweet Pea Kisses said...

I have the wood downstairs to make some shelves just like this! I'm so glad to hear how easy it was from you. I'm making some for books in my sons room and also for DVDs in the family room!

P.S. "If you take a mouse to school" is one of my favs!

Bec@littlelucylu said...

We (well, mostly my husband) is in the process of making some shelves just like this for my daughter's playroom!
I LOVE the way they turned out!!!
AWESOME!
~Bec :-)

Kate Riley said...

I loooooove these Chris, they are perfect for this space, how cool that you built them yourself, great tutorial, bravo girl!!!!

xoxo
Kate

Letti said...

love it!!!!

Kara @ Mine for the Making said...

Love these shelves Chris! And for the cost...even better! Shelves can be so pricey! I love how the book covers are visible too! Nice job :)

Cap Creations said...

Great job! Love that last photo of your girl!

Did you get my email about the giveaway?

RNSANE said...

Having raised three SONS to adulthood, I am so envious of your delightful daughter. What a great job you did on the bookshelves. She should be quite proud of her room!

Marianne said...

That is one impressive nail gun. I still have to use a hammer and nails (my poor thumbs). I guess that's why I try to avoid nailing something together like the plague.
But your cute little shelves might just have convinced me otherwise.
Great project. And hooray for your girl loving the books again.

Jenny said...

Nicely done! I need a solution like this for my daughter's room and I love how easy and functional this is! And the fact that it doesn't take up floor space is a major bonus. :-)

Jodi said...

Love it! Great tutorial as well. Your daughter is gorgeous and looks like she is so much fun!

Speckled Lamb said...

They are lovely ;) Thanks for sharing the how to!
Lissa

Lisa @ Shine Your Light said...

I love the simple lines of the shelves and that picture of your daughter is the cutest!!!

Kathy said...

What a simple and great project! Love the model haha. :) Great job!!

Janell @ House of Fifty said...

Fabulous, functional and how pretty do all these books look on your new shelves! Great job! Janell

To The Moon and Back said...

love it!

Becky said...

Love this! About to work on a project and need thinner types shelving for my sons books and this works perfect, thanks for sharing!

Colleen said...

the picture of your daughter is priceless! love this project.

Bossy Betty said...

Adorable--both the project AND the model!

courtney said...

love these. and the books even look great against the blue wall!

Mindy@FindingSilverLinings said...

Great job!!! I agree with you on buying it primed. One less thing right?! Your daughter is awesome for posing!
xo
Mindy

Screaming Meme said...

I want some now...thanks for adding more to dos to my to do list! lol
If you get the chance come see my before and after...

http://thescreamingmeme.blogspot.com/2011/05/lets-have-garden-party.html

Danielle (Life with the Hewitt Family) said...

I LOVE it! I am going to have to make some of these too!

Jocelyn said...

Those look great! I've seen this sort of thing before and will love doing it with my millions of kids books!

Unknown said...

What a great idea! I think I need to try this in my kids room...your daughter is adorable too!

Unknown said...

Turned out great and very functional!!

Stacy CUrran said...

Great job! I love that the children can see all of the books, too...makes them more enticing I think!
-Stacy

Michelle said...

Thanks so much, Chris! Your post was particularly timely for me, as I was planning to make some similar shelves from ana white's site but was going to need to borrow a jigsaw from the tool library to do it. These are a little different than what I had in mind but so much simpler that I'm going for it. Thanks again!!

Lisa said...

These are great! Thanks so much for the detailed tute. I've been thinking about making something like this for the nursery.

Janice Fiori said...

Great Job!! I just saved the info as I hope to accomplish the same.

Jen@BigBrownChair said...

oh wow! i love your blog! and I just realized I am your 5000th follower!!!

Anonymous said...

I love them! Thanks for sharing and providing the information to make them. I have a slight addiction to books...and am in desperate need of a way to rotate through them all. Perfect solution:o)

-Mollie

Winks and Daisies said...

I love these shelves. Sweet, simple and just perfect. Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

very cute! we could use some of those! hope all is well! susan

Katherines Corner said...

Looks great. Anything that encourages reading get s a smiley face from me.Hugs.
P.S. I have your lovely blog on my cottages page at Katherines Corner :-)

Heather @ REOlisticRenovation said...

These are so cute! I totally need something like this. Cute picture of your daughter too. :)

Beth said...

The photo of your daughter is just priceless! What a beautiful girl! And these shelves are fantastic! Sure wish I had a nail gun!! Thanks for the tutorial!

The Fifield Kail Family! said...

This is so awesome! I can't wait to do this in my sons room it'll be so cool Thanks for all the great ideas. Have you seen Hallmarks new children's book there really good books. I went there today for the first time since December and they have a book corner and probley 50 books or so, we bought Watson the interactive squirrel and pip the monster they were outstanding. =)

Alex said...

wonderful simple but a great WOW! impact! Love it and your daughter is super cute too!
Alex
http://www.youhadmeatcraft.com/

Jennifer said...

Those are great! I love how those shelves show off the covers of the books, which can be so cool. It's like free art. You don't get to see the covers with traditional bookshelves!

Robin {keephomesimple} said...

Chris,
I LOVE these bookshelves you made! I featured them on my blog. You can see the link Here: http://keephomesimple.blogspot.com/2011/05/budget-friendly-inspiration.html

BTW, I've spent so many hours this weekend looking through your blog. I think it's my new favorite. Thanks for being so inspiring. Have a great week!
~Robin {Keep Home Simple}

Barb said...

What a great job Chris. I am beyond proud of you and all the wonderful things you do for your family. Olivia looks VERY pleased. What a good picture of her.Loved your flash gaget for your camera. What a difference in the pictures. Great buy. Love you very much!! Mom

Unknown said...

What a great project, you make it look so easy! I love the photo of your daughter in the end, I agree with her, 2 thumbs up!

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