In the desire to update the furniture in the living room, we decided not to take the easy way out. We needed a shelf that could be used both for growing seedlings and, in the off-season, as decorative and stylish furniture for decor, books, houseplants, etc.
We monitored all the ready-made options offered by furniture stores and realized that what we wanted could be made independently, which would be cheaper, faster, and more practical. So, we are sharing our experience.
Step 1: Planning
We started with a piece of paper and a pencil, simply drawing what we needed.
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Then the drawing began to grow with the necessary dimensions and details, which allowed us to calculate the list of materials and their quantity.
Spoiler: A good friend who designs furniture helped us with the drawings of the ready-made shelf. Huge thanks to him for that ;)
As a result, to make the shelf according to our parameters, we needed:
Materials:
beam 20×20 mm – 12 m (for frame elements, painted black)
slat 20×50 mm – 9.6 m (for shelves)
slat 20×40 mm – 2.3 m (for cross braces)
self-tapping screws 3.5 mm – 100 pcs (with a margin)
black rubber paint 1 l
From our own experience, we recommend taking wood materials with a small margin. When cutting details, there may always be a few centimeters short. The margin will not strain your pockets.
Tools and consumables:
jigsaw or saw (we used an electric jigsaw)
screwdriver
wood drill 2 mm
sanding machine with a round base (optional)
sanding discs for wood with grit from 120 to 240 (optional, if the wood is not sanded)
Step 2: Cutting Details
For the main frame, we used a beam 20×20 mm. To make it, we need to cut:
4 × strips of 170 cm
10 × strips of 26 cm
For the shelves, we need to cut 16 elements of 60 cm in length from slats 20×50 mm
For the cross braces, we need to cut 4 elements of 26 cm in length from slats 20×40 mm.
Step 3: Assembling the Frame and Painting
We assemble the side elements of the frame from the prepared details of the beam 20×20 mm. We fasten them with self-tapping screws according to the drawing and photo. To avoid splitting the wood, we drill pilot holes before screwing in the self-tapping screws.
After assembling the frame, we paint it with black rubber paint. It dries quite quickly (no more than two hours).
Step 4: Installing Shelves and Cross Braces
The slats 20×50 mm were not sanded to perfection, so we had to bring in the "heavy artillery" in the form of a sanding machine. Once we removed all the knots and splinters, we could move on to installing the shelves.
Our shelf has 4 full shelves. The first starts at a height of 4 cm from the base. The height of each is 40 cm. The top one is open (that was our idea). We attach the slats with self-tapping screws from below for an aesthetic look of the shelves. And we also drill a pilot hole first.
The final step is to add cross braces from slats 20×50 mm. We fasten them similarly to the other elements of the shelf. Since they protrude 1 cm above the shelf, they will also serve as a kind of limiter.
Shelves can be covered with varnish, aquazur, or any paint of any other color.
The shelf turned out to be sturdy, easy to assemble, and functional. Thanks to its simple design, it can be adapted for various needs. We hope our experience will be useful to you!
