Easy DIY Floating Shelves & Desk for an Awkward Nook

DIY floating shelves are one of the easiest projects you can tackle, even with limited DIY skills. We transformed this awkward nook in our daughter's room by adding floating shelves and a floating desk. What was once wasted space is now filled with practical storage and function. Learn how you can make your own floating shelves with this step-by-step tutorial.

Does anyone else out there have any weird nooks in their homes? I feel like most homes have at least one weird nook or wasted corner in them that leaves you scratching your head about to make them look pretty and function well. As it turns out, we discovered that adding DIY floating shelves is the answer to some of the most awkward nooks. Floating bookshelves are easy to make and install, plus they look great and add practical storage. They are a big win all the way around.

For those of you who are here for the first time or don't remember what Attley's room looked like when we first moved in, let's take a look back. This room had this very awkward nook, created by the fact that the chimney runs up through the room.

After brainstorming some ideas, we decided to create floating shelves AND a desk to fill the nook and now it is absolutely one of the highlights of the room. This project proves that you just never know when a room problem can become a design highlight.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Click here for my full disclosure policy.

How to Build and Install Floating Shelves

Materials Needed

• Plywood
• 1 x 2 pine boards
• Stud finder (this is our favorite stud finder–it's inexpensive and we find it to be way more reliable than more expensive options)
• Table Saw or Circular Saw (this is the one we have and love)
• Circular Saw Guides–these are optional but very, very helpful. These are the two we use regularly for DIY projects like this:
  • Kreg Rip Cut Guide
  • Kreg Accu-Cut Guide
• Straight edge or
• Level
• Brad nailer
• 2″ Brad Nails
• Paint or stain

Anatomy of Floating Shelves

Here is a little diagram of the “anatomy” of the floating shelves, which will put everything into context as you read through the tutorial.

Steps to Build DIY Floating Shelves

Step 1:

The first step is to measure the area where your DIY floating shelves will hang. The nook we were dealing with was 33” x 15”.

Step 2:

Once you have your measurements, you are ready to cut your support pieces. We had some old 1” x 6” pine boards left over from an old bed frame, so we decided to use them to make the side and back support pieces. We used our table saw to rip the boards to an equal width of 1 1/2” each. But I would recommend that you buy 1 x 2s (as listed in the materials needed) to use as your support pieces and save yourself some work.

No matter what, you will need to cut your support pieces to the correct length. We cut ours to length with a circular saw. There were some irregularities in the nook which required us to measure for each shelf separately. Each back support piece was between 32 1/2” and 33 1/4” and each side support was between 13 3/4” and 14 1/4”.

Because we were dealing with irregular wall measurements, we marked where each shelf would hang on the wall with painter's tape and labeled each support piece accordingly. Our mantra is measure twice, cut once.  Labeling each piece allowed us to cut the material for all the shelves at one time.

NOTE: if you plan to stain your shelves, we recommend staining the support pieces before moving on to the next step. 

Step 3:

Next, you are ready to install your support pieces. To do that, grab your stud finder and level. After finding the studs with a stud finder, we used a brad nailer with 2” brad nails to install each side and back support piece on the wall. Make sure to level each support piece before securing it to the wall. Our shelves were not going to be holding anything heavy, so we knew simply nailing them to the studs would provide enough support. But if your shelves are going to be longer or hold anything heavy, you should use screws or heavier gauge nails and make sure to hit the studs.

We installed the desk supports at desk height and spaced the upper shelves 14 inches apart.

Step 4:

Now you are ready to cut the plywood for the shelves. Again, each of our shelves had slightly different dimensions because of the irregular walls (fun, fun) so we carefully measured each one before we started cutting. We used our circular saw and straight edge to cut the plywood, but only because we had not yet purchased our Kreg Rip Cut Guide. Note: our plywood was only 3/8” thick which worked for this area because it was so small and would not hold anything heavy. For longer shelves, we would recommend using a thicker plywood.

NOTE: if you plan to stain your shelves, we recommend staining the plywood shelves you just cut before moving on to the next step.

Step 5:

Next, attach the plywood shelves to the support pieces you already installed. We used our nailer to tac down the plywood shelves onto the support pieces using 1” nails.

NOTE: if you plan to stain your shelves, we recommend staining the front support pieces before moving on to the next step.

Step 6:

For the front support pieces (which also serve double duty since they give the shelves a more substantial and finished look), you will install something wider than your side and support back pieces–this is so the other support pieces and the edge of the plywood are fully covered hidden). We ripped the pine boards to a width of 1 7/8”. But if you've used 1″ x 2″ wood for your support pieces, you could probably use a 1″ x 3″ material for the front piece, depending on the thickness of the plywood that you used.

Step 7:

Once all your shelves are installed, fill the nail holes with spackle and lightly sand everything. After you have sanding and wiped all the dust away, caulk any gaps between your shelves and the walls. Once the caulk has dried, you are ready to paint your shelves. We painted ours the same colors as the walls in the room. Note that if you don't have leftover paint and want to do the same thing, you can use these tips to match a paint color that is already on your walls.

This project only took an afternoon to complete and we are so happy with how it all turned out. What used to be an awkward nook is now one of our favorite features in Attley's room. Plus, it gives her additional storage AND a small desk.

I hope you are feeling inspired to tackle some DIY floating shelves for yourself. If you love the idea of adding shelves to a space but want an even easier option, be sure to check out this tutorial on how to make the easiest wall shelves ever.

More DIY Furniture Posts

SEE ALL DIY POSTS

How to Paint IKEA Furniture and Mistakes to Avoid

How to Make a DIY Dog Crate that Looks Like Furniture

How to Decoupage Furniture With Fabric

IKEA Lack Hack – A high-end look on a dime!

Easy and Gorgeous Ikea Desk Hack

DIY Headboard With Customizable Messages

Wondering how I approach transforming rooms and spaces in our home? Check out Designer in a Binder®.

And if you want exclusive content and behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, be sure to subscribe before you head out!