Making a wall to wall shelf might seem like a daunting task. I thought it would be fun to have a high wall to wall shelf along the black accent wall that I painted for my son’s room. However, I wanted it to be as easy and inexpensive as possible. My husband and I came up with this DIY wall to wall shelf that anyone can make. The great news about this tutorial, is that you can make a seamless wall to wall shelf with multiple boards instead of having to buy one the entire length of your wall!
How to make a DIY wall to wall shelf? First you will need to measure your space. Then, cut notches out of your boards so that they fit together like a puzzle. Next, attach brackets to your wall. Attach your boards to the brackets and lastly, use wood filler to hide any remaining seams. This is quick project that you can do in an afternoon.
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How To Make A DIY Wall To Wall Shelf
Creating a wall to wall shelf might just be the visual pop that you need to complete a room. Not only is it a great way to add some extra storage without having to add furniture, but it adds depth and visually breaks up a boring wall.
When I was giving my son his big boy room, I thought it would be fun to make a high wall to wall shelf along his black accent wall. I didn’t want to clutter his room with a lot of furniture or bookshelves, but I did want a way to display all of the vintage toys and books that I had collected for him when he had his camping themed nursery.
We chose to do a natural, unstained wood along his black wall and I love how clean and modern it feels. The good news about this tutorial, is that you can customize it to fit your personal style. You can stain the wood, or paint it. Choose brackets that will blend with your wall color, or ones that will pop.
The other amazing thing about this particular tutorial, is that you don’t need to buy a giant board that fits the length of your wall. That would be difficult to find and impractical to transport. I could not find any tutorials for wall to wall shelves that did not require huge, long boards. We figured out how to make a seamless shelf with shorter boards that are easier to find. It’s so easy and I love how it turned out!
Materials Needed To Make A DIY Wall To Wall Shelf
Here is what you will need:
Instructions For DIY Wall To Wall Shelf
1. First, measure your wall to find out how high you want to place your wall to wall shelf.
You can make it high or low, it doesn’t affect the rest of the tutorial. Customize it to fit your space!
2. Buy 2 pieces of common board that will combine to fit the length of your wall.
You want to give yourself a few extra inches on each board. You can choose wider or more narrow boards, depending on your needs.
3. Using a reciprocating saw, cut a rectangular notch out of the end of each board, so that they will fit together like a puzzle.
Make sure the notch is exactly the same width on each board.
So, if you cut the notch out of the bottom of one board, cut it out of the top of the other one.
4. Trim the ends of each board to fit the wall, if necessary.
This will require some measuring and trial and error. You can always trim more if needed. We needed to go back and trim an extra 1/2 inch or so to get our boards to fit exactly.
5. Use a level to place your brackets evenly across the wall. Make sure one bracket will go directly under where your two boards fit together to hide the seam.
Make sure to use wall anchors. We used 5 brackets for our particular wall, but if your space is larger, you will need more brackets.
6. After attaching the brackets to the wall, place your wood pieces on top.
It may take some time to get the 2 puzzle pieces to fit exactly. Again, make sure your center bracket fits directly under the puzzle piece seam that you made.
7. Use wood filler to fill any remaining seams.
I chose to keep my board as raw wood, so I was hesitant to use wood filler. But, it actually was a perfect match and hid the remaining seam. This would work even better if you choose to paint your board. This photo is taken BEFORE I sanded the wood filler.
8. Sand the wood filler and touch up any wall paint.
Now have fun styling your new wall to wall shelf (the best part of this process!)
This little project was so quick, it just took us an afternoon and I love how it turned out. If you are looking for something to give your room a little personality, try making your own DIY wall to wall shelf!
Here are more tutorials from the big boy room makeover!
