DIY Rustic Industrial Shelves are a great weekend project to add some cool shelves anywhere in your home. Perfect for farmhouse, eclectic or boho interior designs.
I would put this DIY project at a beginner to intermediate range. You will just need to be able to find studs, work basic tools and stain wood.
Materials Needed:
- 2 x 10 x 8 ft Douglas Fir Board
- (4) 1/2 inch Black Iron Floor Flange
- (4) 1/2 inch Black Iron Caps
- (4) 1/2 inch Black Iron 10 inch Nipples
- 3 inch Dry Walls Screws
- 60 Grit Sandpaper
- Stain – we used Varathane in Early American
- Old dish towel or paper towels
- Foam Brush
Tools Needed:
Goo-Gone and shims may also be needed.
DIY Rustic Industrial Shelves
DIY Rustic Industrial Shelves will take one day to complete.
My Measurements
- Shelf length: 39 1/2 inches
- Distance between shelves: 15 1/2 inches
- Distance between nipples: 16 inches
Instructions
1. Gather materials and find an area in your home or garage where you can stain. We are in the middle of a basement renovation so we just used that open space.
2. Determine length of shelves and what wall they will be going on. My shelves are in the dining room to hold extra cake stands and odd items. You can make super long shelves(maybe for open shelves in the kitchen area)and just add more brackets so the shelves are secure and sturdy.
3. Use the stud finder on the wall to find exactly where your studs are because that is where you will make your brackets and secure the flanges. Use a pencil to mark the placement of where the flanges will be screwed into the wall in a stud and a level to make sure it is nice and straight.
4. Secure the flanges into the wall with dry wall screws.
5. Screw the nipples into the secured flanges, followed by the caps.
6. Using the tape measure, double check the length your shelves and use a saw to cut the wood. Double check the shelves with your level.
7. Using the electric sander and sand paper, smooth your boards on all sides. You can round the edges slightly also.
8. Stain your shelves using a foam brush and old dish towel and paper towels. Dip the foam brush into stain and brush onto board. Immediately wipe off excess stain with towel. Repeat on each side and let dry. We only needed one coat of stain but if you want to deepen the color, repeat this process again.
9. If your shelves are near water like in the kitchen or bathroom, I recommend doing a couple layers of poly over top to protect the wood and the stain. We didn’t need to do this because I’m not worried about my shelves getting wet.
10. When the shelves have completely dried, place them on the brackets you made. Check again with the level to make sure it is perfect. If there is a spot slightly off because of a slightly warped board, you can shim it to be level.
I am happy with how my DIY Rustic Industrial Shelves turned out! They fill out the open space in my dining room and are a pretty way to showcase and store some extra items. We ended up also painting the dining room white to brighten things up and the opposite wall has Magnolia wallpaper (yes, I said wallpaper) which I will be sharing soon!
Questions or comments? Let me know in the comment section below.
