Over time, we’ve added tons of cabinets to our houses – from floating cabinets and built-in bookcases to ornamental show cabinets and heavy-duty storage cabinets. So on this put up, we’re rounding up a few of our favourite DIY shelving tasks for anybody wanting so as to add sensible vertical storage to their area. We’re going to cowl:
- Floating Cabinets
- Storage Cabinets
- Ornamental Cabinets
- Tips on how to Fashion Your Cabinets
Our Favourite Floating Shelf Initiatives
Floating cabinets are a good way to show or retailer objects with a clear, trendy, and light-weight look. They are often hung nearly anyplace – in a kitchen, above a TV, in a bed room for books and toys, even in a eating room – and we’ve used each storebought floating cabinets in addition to {custom} DIY floating variations too.
1. Skinny Floating Cabinets For Our Bonus Room
The angled area of interest on this bonus room required some custom-sized cabinets, so we built our own floating shelves to the precise specs we wanted. Many floating DIY cabinets will be chunky and thick, however we wished one thing that wasn’t too visually demanding. The thin variations have been an incredible different and actually let the objects on the cabinets be the focus. Learn the tutorial for building DIY skinny floating shelves.
However cabinets aren’t only for books and toys, which brings us to…
2. DIY Wooden Floating Cabinets On A Tile Backsplash
Utilizing an identical strategy to the cabinets above, we constructed and hung floating wood shelves on the tiled backsplashes in our duplex rental property. By tweaking the thin shelf tutorial, we not solely created heavier-duty cabinets that might maintain the burden of plates, mugs, and different dishware – we additionally left the wooden look, moderately than portray them white.
This venture did contain drilling into tile, which generally is a little nerve-wracking. Fortunately this post covers the whole set up course of for you.
You may also see how we chose different wood finishes for every of the 2 duplex kitchens.
3. Inexpensive IKEA Floating Cabinets
Not each floating shelf must be home made! There are many nice store-bought choices, together with the IKEA Lack shelves that we’ve used a number of occasions – together with in our first home’s dining room (beneath left) and our previous home’s kitchen (beneath proper). They’re reasonably priced, straightforward to hold, and maintain loads of weight (hi there, plates!). Plus, they’ve that basic, clear, and trendy look – and are available a variety of sizes and finishes.
The photograph (above left) is our first dwelling’s eating room and was taken 15 years in the past. We hung the identical Lack floating cabinets in our current home’s bedroom. So now we’ve had them in 3 of the 4 houses we’ve lived in!
4. Rustic Pottery Barn Floating Cabinets
Earlier than we renovated our present kitchen, we additionally used some substantial wood floating shelves from Pottery Barn to provide us further storage and show area. We started off with just one set, and later upgraded to 2 as a result of we favored them a lot. Though they have been costlier than the IKEA cabinets, they have been an ideal match for the area and the precise model that we wished for this small area (typically the correct wooden tone is difficult to search out). They have been tremendous straightforward to hold too!
These cabinets have been additionally an incredible improve from the temporary floating shelves we built rapidly and cheaply proper after we moved in. They seemed like they have been floating, however they really weren’t!
5. Fake Floating Cabinets With Metallic Brackets
One other method we like to get the look of floating cabinets with the durability of historically supported cabinets is to disguise the brackets. That’s what we did with these easy shelves in our seaside home’s workplace. By selecting brackets like these iron ones that cradle the shelf, we might use the objects on the shelf to principally disguise the portion that’s connected to the wall so that they don’t dominate that again wall and steal any consideration. It allowed us to create a floating-ish look with these DIY cabinets whereas introducing a cool mixture of supplies with the wooden + iron mixture. Learn how we made these shelves.
You may also see how we used the same method in that home’s laundry room.
Our Favourite Storage Shelf Initiatives
As a lot as we love floating shelving, typically you additionally want sturdy utilitarian shelving that can stand as much as extra heavy-duty wants. Listed here are a few of our favourite DIY shelf options for when operate is the primary goal (these choices can maintain a lot and nonetheless look good doing it).
6. Making Customized Constructed-In Pantry Cabinets
We majorly upgraded our seaside home’s kitchen storage with built-in DIY pantry shelving across the fridge. They have been straightforward and cheap to create, plus we received to completely customise the configuration and colour. They’re made totally of easy-to-work with MDF plus some 1×2″ pine boards to make the cabinets look chunkier alongside that entrance edge. It’s one among our favourite strategies to create built-in cabinets! See how we made this built-in pantry shelving.
Maybe essentially the most sturdy workhorse cabinets you’ll ever want is perhaps in one other space of the home although…
7. Constructing Heavy Responsibility Shed or Storage Cabinets
This storage shelf tutorial is a foolproof method to create tremendous sturdy DIY cabinets in a storage, shed, or attic. It makes use of 2×4″s and plywood, plus a fairly cool trick for getting all the pieces sq. and stage. They’re tremendous sturdy and strengthened, making them nice for storage bins, instruments, paint, yard gear, or different weighty objects. We beloved this step-by-step course of a lot we’ve utilized in two completely different sheds!
You may also see how we repeated this course of to make shelves for our beach house shed. I’m even gearing as much as do some once more for our present tiny shed! Psst – in case you didn’t know we had one right here in our smaller dwelling, you possibly can see it in this post!
And as you possibly can see, they are often custom-made to suit the precise area you’re working with. The one above is even holding heavy containers of additional tile too. They’re certainly very heavy-duty!
8. Wall-To-Wall Laundry Room Cabinets
Once we wanted a fast method to benefit from the room above our washer & dryer, we built these simple wood laundry shelves. These wall to wall DIY cabinets make this closet way more useful for us. They’re made out of primary 1×2″ pine boards and plywood, however are nice for holding all the pieces from towels, linens, and even further vacation decor! We even made an identical countertop over the home equipment that may elevate off if wanted.
This method is nice for including cabinets to any closet, like we did in our son’s closet too. We painted them white and used MDF as an alternative of plywood for the model you see beneath (both technique works). Learn the tutorial for building these closet shelves here.
However wait, cabinets like this could maintain a lot greater than baskets or garments…
9. Adjustable Toy Closet Cabinets
If you’d like one thing just like the closet above, however with a bit extra flexibility, this answer we utilized in our former toy closet could do the trick. We used a Rubbermaid closet shelf system that was easy to install. It simply entails hanging these metal tracks in your again wall. Then you possibly can add solid shelves (not wire!) anyplace utilizing these metal brackets. They turned out to be an incredible answer once we transformed a spare coat closet into toy storage for our daughter. Learn how we installed the adjustable closet shelving system
In case you have an additional coat closet (or only one you by no means use) this can be a nice answer for household board video games, craft storage, and so on.
10. Creating Hybrid Constructed-In Shelving That’s Adjustable
Right here’s a venture the place we used a mix of custom built-ins and adjustable track shelves to create an ideal, however versatile, match for our former laundry room. We had a slim hole subsequent to our stacked washer and dryer, so we used wooden to create storage between the home equipment and the wall. However when it got here to truly including the cabinets, we used an adjustable observe system (much like the one above). That method we might pull out the cabinets and entry the vent pipe within the again each time essential. Learn how we built these custom laundry shelves.
So yeah, we’ve got put in fairly a little bit of shelving. And in case you assume we’re carried out with this round-up… what’s that they are saying in all of the infomercials? However wait, there’s extra!
Our Favourite Ornamental Shelf Initiatives
As a lot as we love the operate of including vertical storage, typically cabinets are an incredible aesthetic addition to a room. Whether or not you’re speaking about drawing the attention up and including structure to a room, or creating the proper spot to show stuff that you just love. So listed below are a few of our favourite shelf tasks that added a ton of fashion to our areas.
11. Constructed-In Bookcases Round A Doorway
Utilizing an identical approach to the built-in pantry shelves, we dressed up our front room with this built-in bookcase that wrapped across the doorway to our kitchen. We used inventory cupboards on the underside to include closed storage. Then we used a mix of MDF and 1×2″ pine to construct DIY cabinets on prime. They added a lot architectural element to the room whereas giving us plenty of area for books an ornamental objects. See how we constructed these traditional bookcases around the doorway.
And issues don’t all the time need to be that concerned. This subsequent one was such a straightforward replace.
12. Reclaimed Wooden Kitchen Cabinets
Within the kitchen pictured above, we wished to decorate up an empty wall by making these decorative shelves that have been simply as visually attention-grabbing because the objects on them. So we sourced reclaimed wooden, stained it a classic tone, and paired it with polished nickel brackets that matched the {hardware} in the remainder of the room. These elegant DIY cabinets have been a enjoyable method to combine supplies and create a extremely lovely place to show a few of our prettiest kitchen objects in an in any other case cabinet-filled room. See how we made the reclaimed wood shelves.
It’s all the time enjoyable so as to add crops and stacks of books to any cabinets – from the kitchen to the toilet to an workplace.
13. Assertion Cabinets With Painted Wooden Brackets
In one among our prior kitchens, we wished to create statement display shelves to pop towards our penny tile backsplash. We used store-bought wooden brackets that we painted a crisp white to make easy DIY shelving. Then we styled them with a mixture of kitchen objects and a few cheerful ornamental objects for a enjoyable colourful look. See how we built and installed these wood kitchen shelves.
In hindsight, we might have used fewer brackets on that venture. Perhaps three on that aspect would have been nice.
14. Easy Butcher Block Show Shelf
We dressed up our cramped utility closet with a easy DIY shelf made out of some store-bought metal brackets (spray-painted brass) and a leftover piece of the identical butcher block we used for the countertop beneath. It earned us a slim shelf that has grow to be very useful for storing further objects, whereas additionally making this utility closet so much higher to have a look at. You possibly can see the whole utility closet makeover.
By no means underestimate the facility of even one small, well-placed shelf.
15. Constructed-in Child’s Bed room Bookshelf
Our son’s room is small, so we wished to squeeze each inch of operate that we might out of that area, whereas nonetheless making it look good and welcoming. Enter a built-in bookshelf on the foot of the mattress, stage proper.
It makes such good use of a previously ineffective sliver of ground area, and built-in cabinetry all the time feels so custom-made. This bookshelf will get tons of use and will be seen from the hallway. So we love that it’s each useful and handsome. Learn extra about how we built it here.
We even snuck a hidden storage nook into the bottom of it. That rectangle of wooden on the underside that you just see within the photograph above pops out.
16. Multipurpose Metallic Shelving Items
Final however not least, we’ve got to shout out one among our favourite store-bought bookshelves. We’ve owned these two Fjalkinge metal shelving units from IKEA for nearly a decade! They first appeared in our last house’s home office. We beloved that we might customise the combo of open cabinets and closed drawer storage. The drawers can home varied workplace provides and paperwork. And the cabinets will be extra ornamental – which is how we used them again in Richmond.
Once we moved to this home, we first used them in our kitchen to retailer meals and dishes. The cabinets seemed fairly with stacks of plates/cups and the drawers have been nice as a little bit pantry. These infants are versatile! We later moved them up to our family room (seen beneath) and the underside drawers disguise instruments and workplace paperwork. In the meantime the tops stay largely ornamental, with books, crops, frames, and so on.
These shelving items have labored so nicely for us over a few years and rooms. So that they felt like a good way to finish this put up. Plus, they embody our favourite mixture of useful and ornamental. Hardworking, however nonetheless straightforward on the eyes.
How To Fashion Your Cabinets
Let me finish this by assuring you that there’s no proper or unsuitable method to refill your cabinets. Some households want or need cabinets to be purely useful and hardworking. And others simply wish to show issues that they love taking a look at. Our favorites are sometimes someplace in between. And in case you’re struggling for the right combination of things to place in your cabinets – books? artwork? knick-knacks?!? – we’ve got a timelapse video to assist in giving you recommendations on how we style our shelves:
Be aware: You may also watch this video on YouTube.
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