Last year during the One Room Challenge we renovated our sunroom into a home office. We needed storage and the only feasible place was on the side walls which acted as a walkway into the room out to the back patio. Needless to say whatever I did needed to be narrow. That is why I had to create a custom storage unit. I will walk you through how to create these custom bookshelves that have madethis space have almost a library feel. The height makes the room feel so much more grand.
The best part is you can modify the materials and measurements needed to make this. I used upper wall cabinets as my bases because the area I was building these was very narrow. Wall cabinets are only 12″ deep so this allowed me to add storage to this space. My bookcase shelves were only 9″ deep. Depending on the depth of the base cabinets you choose, just adjust the material used to make the bookshelves to be slightly smaller. This will make the base appear more grand having the shelves sit back slightly.
For this tutorial I will explain how to recreate these bookcases and you can easily adjust material as needed for your space.
DIY Bookcase
Materials Needed:
Step 1:
First I cut spacer blocks from scrap 2x4s to create legs to raise the cabinet bases. These are only 30″ high and I was needing to steal a little space from the bottom step to fit two cabinets here. I raised them about 8″ which made them countertop height as well. I used 6 total and placed the cabinets on top.
I secured the two cabinets to the blocks from the inside of the cabinets along with joining them together with screws. I was sure to keep the tops level with each other.
Lastly I found the studs in the wall and secured the cabinet bases to the wall at the studs from the inside of the cabinet. Be sure to have a level and shim the legs as needed before securingwith screws.
Step 2:
Next add the shiplap to the sides. The wall cabinets come unfinished so you really can put anything here. I decided on using these premade MDF shiplap boards that I had onhand already. I cut them own to 30″ so they would cover the base only. It only took 2.5 planks per side.
Step 3:
Take the 1×8 and cut it down to 60″ or the length of the entire base. I chose to miter the corner but if you are painting these like I did you don’t need to do this as wood filler can make the seam disappear. You will also need to cut a 12″ piece to fit along the side (or 2 pieces if you have two sides, I didn’t since the right side of my cabinet sits on the step!)
Glue and brad nail these boards together and slide it into place at the base of the cabinets to make these appear built in. Secure it with brad nails to the 2×4 spacer blocks that are holding the cabinets up.
Once painted this will all blend in and look like one cohesive unit.
Step 4:
To make the counter you will need a 2×12 cut down to 62″ along with a 2×2 the same length. I wanted a 1″ over hang on the sides and needed a slightly deeper piece of wood than a 2×12 (actual depthe is 11.5″) so I added the 2×2 by pocket holing them together. I sanded and distressed the wood and once stained it blended in and you cannot tell it is two joined pieces of wood. This saved on cost!
Once dry I installed it on to the top of the base and screwed in from the inside of the cabinet to secure it.
Step 5:
Next you will take the 3/4″ piece of sanded plywood and rip it down to 9″ pieces. You should get 5 strips that are 8 feet long. Depending on the height of your bookcase and the amount of shelves you desire you may need more plywood.
Mesure the height from the cabinet countertop to the ceiling at all 4 spots (2 side pieces for each “book shelf tower”) I had a sloped ceiling so these measurements were different for all of my side peices. If you have standard 8 ft ceilings it should be roughly 5ft.
Next decide how wide you want your bookcases. I went with 14.75″ because it is what looked right! I needed four 9″ x 14.75″ shelves for each unit so 8 total. Next I added 2 pocket holes on either side of each of the shelves to secure them to the side pieces.
Step 6:
Next decide on shelf placement. I decided to make three evenly spaced shelves on top and a smaller one on the bottom. Be sure to measure out the same distances on both sides of your long pieces so the shelves will be straight and the same on both towers for symmetry.
Another tip is to have the sides of the shelves with the pocket holes facing up on the top shelves and down on the bottom shelves so that they won’t be visable when installed.
Secure with wood glue and 1.25″ pocket screws. Clamps are very useful to ensure a tight fit. Wood fill the pocket holes if desired and sand everything down once assembled.
Step 7:
Install the bookshelves. I measured for mine to be even with the outside base about 1 inch in on the counter.
Find the stud and use the L-brackets to secure. I placed 2 L-brackets on either tower, one in the top shelf and one in the bottom shelf. This allowed me to not have to drill into the countertop at all. I chose to do this so that I could easily remove them if I chose to go for a different look later on. Once painted they completely disappear amd are not noticable.
They are going to be beautiful aren’t they?! When the shelving went up it immediately made this room feel so much more grand.
Step 8:
The last and final step before paint is to add the face frame. I used 1×2’s and first secured the long side pieces to the front so that they would be flush with the outside of the cabinet sides. After add the shelf fronts keeping them flush with the top of the shelves. Secure these with wood glue and brad nails.
Wood fill the brad nails and sand everything with 220 grit. Wipe down and you are ready for paint.
Step 9:
Prime & Paint! I painted the bases and bookshelves with a Zinsser Primer in grey followed by a beautiful green that was a perfect match to my wallpaper called Pinelands from Benjamin Moore.
One trick I did was prior to installing the cabinets with the L-brackets I traced the area they covered on the wall and removed them so I could paint the wall behind them the same green. This made it much easier and gave the appearance they were solid units. Once the back wall had the green and the shelves were painted I then reinstalled the shelves with the L-brackets and just did touch up paint as needed.
The bases I painted as well and stained the countertop with a heavy coat of Minwax Special Walnut for a rich contrast. Seel everything with a polyurethane top coat.
Optional Step:
I chose to add a peel and stick wallpaper to the outer sides of my bookshelves. The finishing touch was when I added Tempaper wallpaper to the outside panels of the bookshelves I built. I used the Grasscloth peel and stick wallpaper in sage green and it really made this space so much more elegant with a polished look.
Then of course the fun part, being able to finally style all of these shelves! I picked up most of the these items from local thrift stores, Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx and then I got a ton of books from a local book store! The gold knobs I found from Hobby Lobby
This is a great way to add a ton of character to your home and add functional storage as well!
Happy Building!
3 Comments
David Kohnke
I have open steps in my mud room. I want to create storage under them, but can’t access from the side. Do you have any ideas on closing the steps up and making a step removable so I can access the space?
Rose
Your tutorial is awesome. Sparks my interest in renovation. I am a 100% pro painter since 2006. Ive never been interested in carpentry ever. Now you got me thinking that i could try it. Thankyou!
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