Stylish DIY Shelves Anyone Can Make!

Are you looking to spruce up a space in your home with an easy and stylish DIY project? Or do you need some additional storage but you want to be sure it's pretty and stylish? If so, look no further! These DIY shelves are stylish, affordable and most are easy to make yourself. No matter what your aesthetic is – contemporary, classic or eclectic – these shelving ideas will help add character and storage into any room of your house.

From floating shelves, to industrial wall shelves and more, these are the best tutorials out there!

We have taken advantage of built-in shelves in each of our houses. They provide endless storage and ways to display my favorite home decor! I love using our family room bookshelves for displaying small pieces of art mixed in with my favorite decor finds. The shelves in our old kitchen were perfect for plants, my letter board and our favorite beautiful mugs.

I have gathered some of my favorite ideas for shelving. Floating? Industrial? Live edge? Metal brackets? Check out my favorite wall shelf ideas (including some I have made) and get inspired. These tutorials will make it so easy for you to create your own!

DIY Shelving Ideas

Freestanding Shelves / DIY Bookshelves

It isn't always possible to hang shelves on the wall, but these freestanding shelves get the job done when you need storage!

Modern Freestanding Bookshelf

This gorgeous shelving unit has cool gold accents and an interesting shape. It is smaller so perfect in a space that needs shelves but lacks the wall space for a large set.

DIY Rustic Wooden Bookshelf

This rustic wood bookshelf has a step-by-step tutorial on building this piece, right down to which wood stain to use! This piece is super versatile and can easily be used in a dining room like here, a living room for decor and books, or even a family room for toy storage shelves!

DIY rustic wooden shelves — source: Jen Woodhouse

IKEA Hack Bookshelves

You don't have to start from scratch for beautiful bookcases and shelving! IKEA bookshelf and built-in hacks are popular for a reason! These started as plain IKEA Billy bookcases and turned into something special with the wooden board top and bright paint color. This one takes a few tools like a drill and a saw, but starting with the IKEA frames helps!

DIY IKEA hack bookcase — source: Bless ‘er House

Industrial Iron Bookcase

Made from 2×10's and angle irons, this freestanding shelving has a slick industrial look. This one may be a little more daunting for beginners, but the finished product is a DIY shelf that looks professional!

DIY Angled Shelves

Bre modeled the design for her son's nursery bookcase after a wine shelf and it is perfect! The angled shelves are so interesting and she has step-by-step instructions for building your own.

DIY angled shelf bookcase — source: Brepurposed

DIY Floating Shelves

Floating shelves may be just the clean look you want in your space. There are so many options and tutorials for DIY shelf projects that make it easy and budget-friendly!

Easy Floating Shelves in Awkward Nook

Make your awkward “dead spaces” in your home usable! This is one of my favorite tricks–we added easy DIY floating shelves to an awkward space in our little girl's colorful room to create a nook for a built-in desk with shelves above it.

floating shelves and desk in colorful room — source: Kaleidoscope Living, DIY Floating Shelves

Live Edge Floating Shelves

These gorgeous DIY shelves are wood pieces that were finished with the live edge intact and then attached into the studs using specialty floating shelf brackets.

Narrow Floating Shelves

These smart storage display shelves for a boy's room are hung using the box system attached to a frame. I love that they have a slim profile but can still display a variety of things and are wide enough for his favorite books.

Box Build Bathroom Shelves

Add storage space for towels and toiletries with this DIY frame shelving idea. This is an affordable beginner project–it is held together with wood glue and screws!

floating box shelves — source: Ama Ryllis for Bob Vila

Thick Wall-to-Wall Shelves

These look like they are floating, but they actually have brackets you can't see in the middle and on either end. The wooden planks are so heavy a traditional floating shelf wasn't possible, but they made it work and still achieved their desired floating look.

wall to wall floating shelves — source: Chris Loves Julia

Heavy Duty Floating Shelves

These beautiful shelves are not overly complicated but took a lot of planning. The wood was purchased already cut to exact specifications and the bracket system was carefully designed to make sure it would all work together. Because these are heavy, hanging the brackets in the wall studs is a must, so having the proper tools like a stud finder is important!

heavy duty kitchen floating shelves — source: Bigger Than the Three of Us

Copper Shelves

These are a great example of knowing what you want and just figuring it out! Mandi made MDF floating shelves and wrapped them in copper sheeting. She managed to create what she originally wanted to buy and could no longer find (and for a fraction of the price!) and they were exactly what she wanted!

Midcentury DIY Floating Shelves

These midcentury-inspired shelves are gorgeous and not too hard to make! They are so unique and are perfect if you are looking for shelving but want something really different than your average floating wall shelves.

midcentury style DIY floating shelf — source: Clark and Aldine

Floating Corner Shelves

Make the most of the space you have by taking advantage of an empty corner! This DIY is clean and I love that it looks almost like it is part of the wall. These are perfect for a bedroom, desk or reading nook!

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Don't want to undertake a DIY project but can't stop thinking about adding floating shelves? We also have our favorite options for floating shelves you can buy. These are also stylish and will take a lot less time and energy to add to your decor!

Fixed Bracket Shelves

Sometimes you want a shelf with a fixed bracket instead of a floating shelf. It is a different look and often they are more adjustable. There are lots of ideas out there for do-it-yourself options for bracket shelves!

Easy DIY Wall Shelves

We made the absolute easiest DIY shelves using the same method in both our family room and in our laundry room. Quick, easy and gorgeous.

DIY Plywood Shelves

I love the look of this plywood shelf system. Nice clean lines and it is customizable. And the best part is it was under $70 and only took 5 hours to build!

plywood shelving system with brackets — source: Homemade Modern

Budget Bookcase

This plywood bookcase with white brackets fills this big blank wall perfectly. The hardest part of the project is probably getting all 25 brackets hung perfectly!!! This is a stylish but low-budget way to create lots of storage with wall shelves.

plywood shelves in dining room — source: Done By Myself

Small Wooden Shelves

These craftsman-style open wood shelves are perfect for a small space and a great way to use up wood scraps you have been saving! (We all have that pile, right?!)

craftsman style DIY shelves — source: Decor Hint

Copper Peg Shelves

These are so cool and different–a modern twist on the simple shelf. I love the copper pipe with the raw wood accent in contrast with the white shelves. Proof that do-it-yourself projects do not have to be boring!

floating white shelves with copper pegs — source: Vintage Revivals

Pipe Shelves

We made these shelves with metal pipes for our DIY home bar in our dining room and they were perfect! It is not hard to make–check for local hardware stores that can cut pipes in your area and create your own!

Plank Wall Library Shelves

This is one of the coolest shelf ideas for a cozy reading nook. It starts with a plank accent wall (which acts as the bracket) and the shelves are built out from that. I love how it sets the whole area apart and the dowels on the edge are the perfect library touch!

library shelving with plank wall — source: XO My Home

Poured Concrete Shelves with Metal Brackets

These concrete shelves are so cool and different. They bring something so interesting to the space that really elevates the style and a totally different feel than a plain wooden shelf. Perfect for a space that already has a lot of wood, like this ceiling!

floating concrete shelves — source: Houseologie

Leather Strap Shelves

These rustic wood shelves are held up with leather straps and gold screws. This is such a simple DIY shelving idea and perfect for small space storage. It takes practically no tools and you can use almost any piece of wood that you love!

floating shelves with leather straps — source: Around the Houses

Corner Shelves with Brackets

These corner shelves are an adjustable DIY. They are designed and made so that the shelves can be extended into an office space and desk later, which is so smart!

Want to create your own shelves with brackets? These are our favorite bracket options to get you started!

Aren't these all amazing?! These DIY shelf tutorials have me SO inspired. You can add DIY shelves to any part of your home–from your basement to your attic and any space in between!

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