HOW TO BUILD MID-CENTURY FLOATING SHELVES

You guys, our mid-century modern floating shelves are absolutely insane. They totally made the living room space when we remodeled it as part of the Fall 2019 One Room Challenge, and now they are looking for a new home in our home because…we took that wall out! That’s right, these shelves are just sitting and waiting to be installed elsewhere. But we’ve received so many questions about them that we thought why not share with you all how to make them for your home. This is our tutorial on how to build mid-century modern floating shelves.

The shelf design we chose was inspired by a fellow husband and wife team – Weekley Design & Build. They are an incredibly talented duo who does the most insane custom builds, so check them out. And while their shelf design was slightly different than ours from a build and install perspective, this tutorial holds true on how to do it for yourself. We will cover a 5 shelf, two tier unit in this tutorial.

Tools You Will Need

• Miter Saw
• Table Saw
• Pencil
• Tape Measure
• Level
• Pocket Hole Jig
• Power Drill/Impact Driver
• Brad Nailer
• Extra Credit – Planer and Jointer

Supplies You Will Need

• 2x4s
• Solid White Oak, or similar – we used 1×10 white oak
• Construction Screws
• Brad Nails
• Wood filler
• Sand paper (or rotary sander)

How to Build Mid-Century Modern Floating Shelves

1. Measure the space where you want to build your shelves. You will need the total width and depth of the space to ensure your vertical runs are spot on.
2. You will now locate the studs in your wall…they should be spaced 16” apart on center, but may vary depending on the home. Once you locate them take your level and draw a line down the wall for reference, then measure the true space between each mark and write that down…we will come back to that.
3. Begin by cutting all of your horizontal shelf boards. Our design has 5, so in this case you will want to cut 5 at exactly the same length.
4. Choose 1 end to begin from, and mark where your studs fall on each horizontal board. Remember to consider where you want each side of the unit to start and end on your wall…this will determine where you mark those lines. You should have at least 2 marks on each board.
5. Next, using your pocket hole jig, pre-drill for stud screws on the marks you made for each board.
6. Determine the amount of space you want between each shelf and mark the remaining boards for your vertical runs. We spaced ours 10” apart, so had 3 total boards at 10” x 10”.
7. If you have a jointer and a planer available to you, this would be the time to use them. We set our jointer to remove ⅛” from the sides of each of our boards, then ran each of them through the planer for a smooth and level surface. You do not have to do this, but if possible it would be great.
8. Once you have the all of your boards ready it is time to make the 2 sections of shelves. You want to mark where you want your vertical boards to fall on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd horizontal shelf. This will help you line them up perfectly.
9. There are two ways you can attach your vertical divider boards to your shelves. 1st, pre-drill your holes using a 5/32 wood bit and attach together with construction screws. The 2nd, and most tedious way, is to join them with biscuits. More woodworkers and makers have a biscuit joiner but it is not a common tool you would keep at home. So for the sake of simplicity we will stick with attaching with screws.
10. Continue attaching the vertical boards until both units are assembled.
11. Remember those pocket holes you pre-drilled? You’ll be glad you did it early on because it is now time to install the top unit. A second and/or third set of hands would be ideal for this step.
12. With assistance, hold the top unit in place ensuring the top shelf is at the height you want and the pocket holes are on the horizontal line you marked for studs. Throw a level on the top shelf to make sure you are level, Once ready, attach with construction screws.
13. Repeat for each shelf, and place the level vertical on the sides too to make sure it is all installed level and plum.
14. Once your top unit is installed, repeat steps for the lower unit.
15. Pat yourself on the back and style those shelves!

And there you have it. As always, please let us know if you have any questions in the comments section below. And if you decide to build a set of mid-century modern floating shelves in your home, send us pictures and tag us! We want to see how you did it in your space. 

-much love