DIY Floating Shelves

I finally put Mr. Awesomepants back to work!! I'm now 35 weeks pregnant, measuring in at 38 weeks & totally over being this large. I refuse to post a picture, you'll just have to trust me on this one! So, what better way to take my mind off "the countdown" than a quick and easy DIY project?! I was ready for something a little more elegant & just plain prettier in my water closet, that was functional too.  Besides, I'm about to pop this baby out & I'll need a place to hide all of those extra toiletries that you don't want your husband to know you need, like that amazing can of numbing spray (yeah, I went there).  

So anyway, here's my "before" picture... Not too bad, just not very pretty. 

My answer of course, are some awesome floating shelves, and these are SO simple & cheap!!!!! And it only took us a couple of hours to complete!

Here's what you'll need if you plan to make your own:

-A half sheet of MDF - About $30 at Lowe's for a full sheet

-Paint - We used leftover paint we already had on hand. If I had to guess, I'd say you only need about a quart of paint, which costs around $13-$15

-Caulk

-Nails

-Table Saw

The first thing you need to do is MEASURE. Measure wall to wall & then figure out how deep you want the shelves to be.  Ours were 35" wide and 12" deep. Next, decide how many shelves you want. I wanted 3, because I like odd numbers! Ok, got all that? Now it's time to make your cuts!

After you cut your shelves out, you'll need to cut your supports & the front trim piece that will give it the "floating" illusion.  For EACH shelf, you will need 2 pieces for the sides, one for the back & the "trim" piece for the front. We cut all interior pieces an inch and a quarter wide.  As far as length, you will want the side pieces to match the depth of your shelf & the back piece will need to match the width of your shelf. So, our measurements for the side support pieces were 12" long & an inch and a quarter wide. The back piece was an inch a quarter wide & 35" long. Got that? Ok, make those cuts!

Now cut your trim piece that will go on the front. This can be as wide as you want.  We cut ours 2 inches long & 35 inches wide.  

You should have all of your cuts made! Grab your nail gun if you've got it!! If not, screws & a drill will do the trick. 

First, we nailed in our side support pieces. Be sure to make sure everything is level!!! 

 

Instead of adding the back support piece, Mr. Awesomepants decided to go ahead and nail in the actual shelf, instead of hassling with leveling out the back support piece. After nailing in the shelf, then he added the back support, then the front trim. And here's what it looked like!

In case you are wondering, we put 13 inches between each shelf. Pretty easy so far, am I right???  Well, here's where that changes. Not that any of what we are about to do is hard, it's just a pain in the freaking butt. 

PAINT & CAULK. Yuck. I hate both of those things. We painted first, because when it came time, we couldn't find our caulk gun & our 2 year old was napping. So instead of losing time, we just decided to go ahead & paint & head to Lowe's after Princess woke up. Normally, Mr. Awesomepants likes to caulk first. Whichever way you decide, get to it!! 

Alright, all painted and caulked??? Pain in the rear end, huh? Well, it's over & you now have these beautiful floating shelves!!!!! 

Add all your pretty decor & you're done!!! 

My favorite piece is the little Owl candle that I got from Target for only $2.50. He's not scented, and he's actually a little beat up, but I just love him & I don't know why! 

Before & After: