DIY Floating Shelves

“Suckin’ at something is the first step to being really good at something…”

If there ever was a theme song for my DIY journey, this might just be it. When I made my first set of DIY floating shelves, it was a $*** show of measurements and installation. But, I’m better now. It gets better. It gets easier. I mean…I still mess up, but figuring out the mess-ups is way easier. Let’s make some easy DIY floating shelves!

Gather the Materials

pine boards for DIY floating shelves

4 36″ Pine Boards at .5″ x 5.5″ (Actual measurements*)
3 36″ Pine Boards at .5″ x 2.5″ (Actual measurements*)
2 36″ Pine Boards at 2×2
Chop Saw
Tape Measure
Pencil
Nail Gun with 1.25″ nails
Wood Glue & Small Disposable Paint Brush
DAP Wood Fill
3″ Wood Screws
Palm Sander with 220 Grit
80 or 100 Grit Sandpaper for French Cleats
Small and Large Clamps
Mineral Spirits with Clean Cloth
Stain (Apply with Sponge Brush, Synthetic Brush or Clean Cloth)
Polyurethane with Synthetic Brush

*Pine boards are standard at 1×6 or 1×3, which normally means the actual measurements are .75″ x 5.5″ and .75″ x 2.5″. I wanted .5″ so these non-standard sizes are just a little thinner at .5″ and I had to search them out amongst the standard boards.

Make the Cuts

cutting pine boards for homemade shelving

Tops & Bottoms: Cut the four .5″ x 5.5″ boards at 30″ lengths.

Front Panels: Cut two .5″ x 2.5″ boards at 30″ lengths, including both ends with mitered edges at 45º.

Side Panels: Cut four .5″ x 2.5″ boards at 6″ including only one mitered edge at 45º and one straight cut edge.

Interior Support/French Cleat: Cut two of the 2×2 pine boards at 28″ long.

Interior Support/French Cleat: Cut three supporting pieces of 2×2 boards at 2.5″ length.

Build Your DIY Floating Shelves

You can do the assembly in the way that makes the most sense to you. For one shelf, I attached the sides and front to the bottom before finally attaching the top of the shelf. For the other shelf, I attached the sides to the bottom, then attached the top, attaching the front piece on last. Do the assembly in the way that makes the most sense to you.

Dry Fit the Shelves

The important thing is for you to dry fit everything prior to gluing and nailing, so you know that you have the right pieces and a good fit. This includes putting the interior french cleat pieces inside. A large clamp can be a huge help!

dry fit all of the pine board pieces with a clamp

Apply the Glue…Carefully

Squeeze out some wood glue into a little “pile” on a scrap piece of paper so you can easily dip your paint brush in repeatedly. I find this easier than squeezing it directly from the glue bottle, since this shelving is really narrow, and if you have glue that leaks out of the cracks, it can affect the final stained look.

using a paint brush to apply wood glue

Nail the Pieces, One by One

As soon as you get one section painted with glue, nail them together. The important thing to keep in mind here is to know your nail gun, as it’s easy to shoot the end of the nail improperly–having it extend through the wood. (That’s experience talking!)

using brad nailer to connect boards

Use the Interior Supports

The interior boards aren’t just for the french cleats. They are very useful when assembling these DIY floating shelves. By placing them inside as you do the assembly, you’re ensuring that they will be a good fit when installing on the wall. But, you’re also making sure your tops and bottoms are flush. You may have to sand them down a bit to allow everything to fit together with flush edges. (Use an 80 or 100 grit sandpaper for this.)

putting interior supports in place for assembly of the DIY floating shelves

Continue Assembly

Place the top piece into position, resting on the loose french cleat. Don’t forget to apply the glue before you nail!

nailing the top of the shelves into the sides

Attach the Front

It’s all coming together…literally! If your dry fit went well, this step will be easy. Paint the glue on all the edges of the shelf, and insert the front panel before nailing in place. I also found it helpful to use a large clamp along the length to tighten the mitered edges as I glued and nailed.

front panel of the shelf being placed

Patch the Holes

When you choose a wood filler for projects, it’s a good idea to choose one that you’ve tested–many of them will say “paintable & stainable.” Now, I agree that many will be “paintable,” but stainable? I have basically ruined previous projects by trusting them. For this project, I used this DAP wood fill. It worked much better than other products, including the time I mixed glue + sawdust for horrible results. You can check the results down below.

using DAP wood filler to fill holes

The French Cleats

The french cleats are assembled using the 28″ 2×2 pine boards + three of the 2.5″ 2×2 pine boards. One can go in the middle and two on each edge. The increments aren’t necessarily the important part, just adequately spaced to provide support along the shelf.

Measure & Mark

As you set the spacing, make a pencil mark that extends from the middle of the short posts onto the long one. Do this for both french cleats–one set for each shelf. This will be helpful when screwing everything together–you’ll see why!

Prepare to Assemble

I decided to use the pressure of opposing french cleats to install the supports. I faced them opposite of each other, added glue to the specific pieces that needed to be glued, and clamped it all together! This is why it’s important to draw pencil marks on which supports are positioned where, and also which supports are connected to which of the long boards. (The marked lines don’t have to be perfect, just close enough!)

Then I just screwed everything together.

The french cleats are easily leveled and screwed into the wall.

The floating shelves slip over the top. I did all of this prior to staining so I could make sure that everything fit as intended.

Staining the Floating Shelves

I chose a dark stain for these shelves, to stand out on the white shiplap wall. This is Provincial by Minwax. I stained them, and then waited to put the top coat of polyurethane on.

My Mini Dining Room Makeover

Everyone loves to see the before and afters of rooms…so here we go! This is the day we moved in–wall decor was left behind from previous homeowners.

Our new look: I caulked the edges of the boards and the wall edges. I repainted the wall with an eggshell sheen so it wasn’t shiny, in Falling Snow by Behr. The bulbs were swapped out with soft white, instead of daylight bulbs, which results in a cozy vibe. The adjacent walls were painted in Greige by Behr. Much of the decor came from our previous home’s dining room, among other rooms.

The floating shelves were a great addition to this space. What do you think? Would you try these?