Shelves

Hey there, I made some shelves. 

These were inspired by this bookshelf from Target. 

I had really wanted to have my books in my room. Rather than hidden in my office. But, alas, no bookshelves. So, on to Pinterest I go and I find an easy DIY Method.

I found this tutorial on Adventures of a DIY Mom.

It's a great step by step process. 

I didn't use her measurements, I wanted a larger size. But the rest of the instructions are very clear. I bought (8) 1"x12"x6' top choice pine board. At Lowes.

My final dimensions for this project was 4' tall, x 12" deep x 20" wide. I only had enough room for 20" so I wouldn't crowd the space, or knock my shoulders on them. 

I had gotten a better quality top board pine for this project. It has less knots and holes, and is less warped. I mean, it's still warped some. So you have to check out each board carefully to see how straight they are. I was sanding a lot to get a smoother surface. I had cut all the pieces and was starting to assemble them, but while a circular saw is great for rip cuts. It wasn't that great for precision. So everything would come out a/ 1/8" off. Even with a straight edge clamp!!! I had already screwed them all together and then pulled them apart after I realized so wobbly they were.  So, I begged my brother for the use of his mitre saw.

Ah yes. It's glorious. Reminds me of making canvas frames in College. Ah, that weird day where our Professor Wally Connelly taught us how to buy wood, (check for straightness) how to use a miter saw, and how to staple your canvas and then use Gesso. 

I also used a kreg jig to get pocket holes. That way the screws aren't visible.

I used some old bead-board for the backing. The picture above shows

how off balance my shelves were. 

So, I re-sawed all the wood to measure as exact as I could. I had to re-drill

a few pocket holes. But in the end, it worked out.

Yay!!!!

I had wanted a pop of color. So I chose an washed aqua stain.

Now, it came out much more intense than I expected. You can 

barely see the wood grain. So, I should have done only one coat. Or mixed it with paint thinner. But when I had done a test coat, the one coat wasn't enough. 

So, after doing two coats on the shelves, I noticed, wow, that is not at all like my test strips. Even after wiping the stain between coats. Go figure.  I followed up

with a coat of clear poly in satin finish.

Before my shelves. 

Yay, Book Shelves.

With actual books!!!!

It came out to $120 for materials. (not included the borrowed miter saw, and my kreg jig) The original was $118 a shelf. I made mine for $60 a shelf. Granted, I'm not including my labor. But that's the fun of DIY right? 

Till next time, Ruth