Today I am breaking down everything you need to know to make your own open kitchen shelving. This is by far my most requested blog topics, and I'm so sorry I haven't gotten around to writing it sooner!
When we were designing our kitchen, I knew I wanted open shelving. I wanted to make sure the kitchen felt as large as possible, which I knew the open shelving would help achieve that. I started pricing out the shelving, and everything I could find was around $200 per shelf, which isn't terrible depending on your budget. The only problem for us was that we had tapped out our budget and gone over. I started looking into other options and decided DIY shelves were the way to go.
One thing I knew I wanted for our shelves was gold brackets - that was my non-negotiable. I looked for a while and couldn't find what I wanted, but then remembered seeing some at World Market, so I headed there on my lunch break one day to see what they had in stock. Sadly, they did not have enough in stock, so I had them ordered to the store and picked them up the next week. If you do not have a gold theme going in your kitchen and would like to do black instead check out The College Housewives post, which shows how she made her own DIY brackets.
Next thing in order was to measure and then go find the lumber. I headed to my local Home Depot and found lumber that was within my budget. Looking back I might have upgraded the lumber I picked, but I'm still happy with how they turned out.
While you're at Home Depot, I suggest picking up a can of wood stain. Luckily, I had enough left over from when they stained our hardwood floor, so I was able to save there too. If you do not want to leave the wood finish, you can also paint the shelves, but I love the natural look. It's easier to maintain, too. Trust me, I've thought about it...a lot. At one point, I wanted to do black, but thankfully, my followers convinced me that it would look dusty and I would always be taking everything down to dust. Talk about a pain.
Okay now that we have gone through the process of picking out materials let me actually break down everything you will need! Tools & all.
Tool:
Drill
Carbide-tipped masonry bits (if you are drilling into ceramic tile - please make sure you are using the right bit for your drilling surface)
Masking tape
Wall Anchors
Screws
Wood Sander
Saw
Shelves:
2 2x12 - 10FT #2 Prime Douglas Fir (feel free to measure and use your own desired size wood)
1) Start by measuring the intended area for your shelves. You know what they say - measure twice cut once. DO IT.
2) Then, cut your wood to fit your space. Our contractors were still working on the house when I was doing these shelves, so I had their help. You can also ask Home Depot to cut down the wood for you. Just make sure you know your exact measurements when you go to the store. Refer to step one. :)
3) Sand down each shelf until it meets your standards.
4) Stain shelves. I used a new paintbrush to apply the stain. Make sure to apply evenly on both sides and let it dry overnight.
5) Time to hang those beautiful brackets. Start by measuring and marking your holes for your brackets and space them evenly.
6) Put a piece of masking tape on either side of where you will drill. This will keep your drill bit from slipping and scratching your tile.
6) Insert your wall anchors.
7) Mount the brackets to the wall.
8) Attach your wood shelving to the brackets.
9) Now stand back and look at your beautiful work!!
I hope this post was informative and inspires you to create those open shelves you have been dreaming about.
Photography: Hannah Q Photography
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