Introduction:
Hi friends, this weekend I’m excited to share an easy DIY project with different ideas. Building DIY wood shelves is a fantastic way to enhance your home’s organization and aesthetics. These DIY wood shelves are practical and fulfilling for any home enthusiast. Whether you want to organize your garage, dining room, or laundry room, add storage space to a room, or showcase your favorite items, creating your own DIY wood shelves can be a straightforward and enjoyable endeavor.
These DIY wood shelves are strong enough to support heavier items like paint cans or large tools. This guide will explore simple yet effective methods to craft sturdy and stylish wooden shelves, empowering you to customize your storage solutions effortlessly.
Recently I’ve grown my Instagram family and the most requested tutorial is on our Garage DIY wood shelves. We built those about 2 years ago and I never thought I’d be sharing my projects on multiple platforms. So I didn’t record the entire process of DIY wood shelves in detail, but I have some time-lapse videos and a few pictures.
It was a great starter project that gave us the confidence to tackle more home decor projects. Even though our garage isn’t always clean and organized, we now have a dedicated space on shelves for all our tools and countless other items
Let’s begin crafting our simple DIY wall shelf in the easiest way possible.
Table of Contents
Materials:
Simple wood shelves supplies
Tools required:
How to Make Simple Wood Shelves Step-by-Step
Step 1: Take the measurements:
The first step is to decide where the wall shelves will go. We chose this corner because it has wall space uninterrupted by doors or switchboards. Since it’s a corner, we decided to build L-shaped shelves to best use this space.
Standard studs are typically 2″ x 4″ x 8ft (actual size 1.5″ x 3.5″ x 8ft), and the plywood comes in sheets measuring 4ft x 8ft. Therefore, we opted for 8ft x 8ft shelves to minimize cuts and waste. We used the studs as they are for the vertical and horizontal supports. For the base, we simply cut the plywood sheets in half, resulting in two pieces measuring 2ft x 8ft each.”
Step 2: Plan the build:
We wanted to leave space for our large shoe stand and accommodate longer items, so we devised a design plan that met our needs. Here’s a rough sketch of our plan.
Shelf 1 – Longer Side of the L-shaped shelf (Right side)
Shelf 2 – The shorter side of the L-shaped shelf (Left side)
P.S: The actual measurement of a 2×4 is 1.5in X 3.5in. Keep this little thing in mind while planning the build for any project.
You are stuck with my freehand drawing until I find a better tool to draw 😛
Step 3: Make a cut list:
It’s time to create a cut list. You can always ask for assistance at Home Depot or Lowe’s for these cuts since they are in different sizes. I’ve also shared some shopping tips on my Instagram highlights. However, having a miter saw (Table Saws) at home is undoubtedly convenient.
| Shelf 1 (refer build plan above) | Count | |
| The horizontal support for shelves | 2×4 – 8ft | 8 |
| 2×4 – 4ft | 2 | |
| The vertical support posts | 2×4 – 8ft | 3 |
| Depth | 2×4 – 21inches | 18 |
| Base plywood | 2ft x 8ft | 4 |
| 2ft x 4ft | 1 |
| Shelf 2 | Count | |
| The horizontal support for shelves | 2″x4″x6′ | 6 |
| 2″x4x3′ | 2 | |
| The vertical support posts | 2’x4’x8′ | 3 |
| Depth | 2×4 – 21inches | 12 |
| Base plywood | 2’x6′ | 2 |
| 2’x3′ | 2 |
Step 4: Mark studs on the wall:
It’s time to mark the studs on the wall. I used a stud finder (finder) to ensure we avoid hitting any pipes—double and triple-check your markings.
Next step, draw lines where you want the DIY shelves to be. Remember, the total height of the shelves will be 8ft. You can always choose to have shelves of different heights. When calculating your desired shelf height, take into account the baseboard height and the width of the shelves.
For example, my baseboard height is approximately 1 foot, and I plan to use 5 horizontal 2x4s to create 4 shelves. Therefore, the bases of my shelves would be 3.5 inches + the height of the plywood sheet ~ 4″. So the remaining space would be 96″ – (12″ + (5 x 4″).
Mark where your shelves, i.e., the 2x4s, will go to visualize how the shelves will look. This will allow you to make any necessary changes to the plan. By now, your markings should resemble something like this:”
Step 5: Add the DIY back support:
It’s time to attach the wall studs. Start with the bottom one and work your way up while marking for the other shelves. Use a level to ensure they are straight line. It’s crucial to maintain their level, especially if the floors are uneven.
To fix a 2×4 to the wall, make sure to use long wood screws that go into the studs inside the wall. Your stud markings will be crucial for this step.
Step 6: Make the DIY front frame:
This is the most important yet easy step. You need to build a front frame that aligns exactly with the back support, otherwise, your shelf will be uneven. So, here is the tip:
Screw another 2×4 onto each of the existing 2x4s using 2.5″ screws (let’s call them “X”) just to hold them in place temporarily; these will be removed later. If it’s confusing, think of it as creating a shelf with no depth. This step ensures the front and back sides of the shelf align perfectly.
Now we’re going to screw the vertical posts into the second layer of horizontal 2x4s we just added. According to your build plan, mark where you want the vertical posts to be. Remember, these posts are purely for support and do not create a separation between the shelves.
Now that the front frame is ready, separate it from the back support. Unscrew the second layer of 2x4s by taking out the “X” screws. This frame will be back on after we add some depth to our shelf.
Step 7: Adding Depth to the shelf:
We used 2x4s here as well. Calculate the length of the 2x4s that go in between the front and back frame, based on your desired depth. We wanted our shelves to be 24in deep. So, taking out the front and back frame’s width, the length of these should be 24 – (1.5 + 1.5) i.e., 21 inches.
Place these strategically so that the weight of the shelf can be evenly distributed and you still have space to add screws. Ensure they are not positioned directly behind the vertical supports of the front frame, as this would prevent you from driving in a 3-inch screw.
Now, to attach these, we used Kreg joints for the back support and butt joints for the front frame. You will need a Kreg Jig to create pocket holes. Alternatively, you can use L-shaped visible brackets or other aluminum braces, but a Kreg Joint will provide the strongest connection.
Please note the added 2x4s to the wall support.
Step 8: Attach the DIY front frame back:
Now, just attach the frame back by adding the long wood screws to the 2x4s we just added to give the depth.
Step 9: Add the DIY wood frame on the other side:
We did the same thing on the left side. Add the screws where the shelves meet in the corner to make them one single unit.
Step 10: Add Plywood Sheets to the Top and Bottom of Supports Stain:
We used 3/4-inch plywood sheets (pine boards) as the base for these long shelves. We inserted 2-inch screws from the top of the plywood, driving them into the 2x4s below. The plywood is strong enough that we didn’t have to worry about supporting heavy items. However, because the plywood itself is heavy, ensure the back piece support to the wall is securely fastened.
And yes, we stress-tested the shelves as you can see in the pic below:
Step 11: Add the bench:
We needed a workbench and wall panel to organize all our tools, so we extended one of the longer shelves for this purpose. We chose this location because it had an outlet convenient for charging our power tools. We installed a metal pegboard above the space to neatly arrange all our tools.
Constructing this setup is similar to building wood shelves. We created a rectangular frame using 2x4s, added legs on one end, and attached the other end to the shelf. To provide a secure attachment point for the bench, we added an additional 2×4 at bench height along the side of the shelf. We covered the top with plywood and enclosed all sides with brown paneling to achieve a smooth texture.
Still a work in progress, isn’t it?
Step 12: Add DIY doors:
The last step is adding doors to it.
I immediately knew we needed doors, but we didn’t have extra room to open/close such big doors when we put the car in. So we decided to go with sliding doors. Once we added the doors, Voila! It’s all covered and our garage looks much more sorted.
I wrote a separate blog post in detail for just the sliding doors.
Conclusion:
Creating our own shelves at home can be a fun part and rewarding project. With the help of these simple steps, you’ll be well on your way to making your own unique simple shelves in no time! Start gathering the tools and materials today and create custom new shelves and shelving unit for your home that will be both beautiful and functional.
Hope this helped you. Feel free to let me know if I missed any details. I’ll try my best to answer.
Good luck!
Hi!! I'm Gowthami
I am passionate about changing my builder-grade house into a home I love. I love DIY and sharing all my successes and failures in this process and I hope to inspire your next project. Thank you for hanging around!