DIY Shaker Shelf

We DIYed a simple shaker shelf for our mini coffee station and it has changed my life! As a bonus, you can do this kind of shelf when your studs are in wonky places for the shelf brackets (which was the case here!).

I had made a really simple shelf in our old kitchen and loved it. The main benefit (apart from being cute) was easy access coffee mugs, which are in rotation so much that the time spent opening a cabinet door to put them in/get them out honestly feels like it would add up in a week.

I like the idea of having some open shelving along with cabinets for storage, so when we designed our kitchen cabinets, I specifically ordered 30-inch tall cabinets for the couple places we would be adding shelves. A shelf can fit under each, so the heights of all the cabinets will be consistent, and we can have the functionality/openness of open shelving, without sacrificing much cabinet storage.

I got really into For the Love of Kitchens and just generally British kitchen design when planning our kitchen, and one thing I knew I wanted was a simple shaker shelf. They're so understated but so functional. And the design worked perfectly here!

The structure

My main goal with shelving is to be totally unencumbered by weight limits. That means there has to be a bracket or some sort of inner-shelf support or bracket, and most definitely the shelf needs to be attached to the studs in as many places as possible.

Since I didn't want a bulky shelf in this small space, floating shelves were out, and since our studs aren't symmetrically spaced in this area for brackets, I had to figure something else out.

Here's my work around: A shelf that's screwed into a cleat of the same length; both the cleat and the shelf are screwed into the brackets; the shelf is affixed to the wall via the cleat being screwed into the studs; backing is added behind the brackets.

Voila, the weight is successfully transferred to the studs.

If you want a really sturdy shelf in a space the studs aren't where you want them, you can use this same design!

Supplies

Here's what we used. You may want to change dimensions depending on the size of your project.

• 1 x 12 - for the shelf and the brackets
• 1 x 3 - for the cleat and bracket backing
• wood screws
• spackel
• caulk

How to build it

1. Cut cleat + shelf. Screw the shelf to the cleat.
2. Cut brackets from 1 x 12 using a jigsaw. (I cut squares, then used a serving bowl to trace the curve.) Sand. Position on shelf and affix using wood screws.
3. Cut backing pieces for brackets. (We have these, but if your cleat is longer than your brackets, you won't need them.)
4. Screw the bracket into the studs. Before tightening fully, place bracket backing (if using) and affix with a nail gun.
5. Spackle, caulk, and paint.

A couple of things to note:

Also added to this project was placing a bottom piece on our wall cabinet. This covers up a lot of things that bothered me and just generally makes it look more finished. We used 3/4" birch and routed the front edge.

I also used three coats of water based, matte finish polyurethane on the top of the shelf. That way, we can have houseplants, slightly-damp-from-the-dishwasher mugs, etc on it and not be worried about water damage.

You most definitely can buy wooden brackets to use here instead of cutting your own. I could not find any the profile I wanted at a price that I could justify not DIYing.

Sources

Illy espresso machine - a 2020 purchase that we still love.
Haden kettle - Used nightly for tea. I can now appreciate that the spout is really great because I saw that episode of For the Love of Kitchens.
Danny Trejo's cookbook - it gets prime real estate on the new shelf because I love it so much. One of the best cookbooks. I dare you to try the grilled chicken and tell me I'm wrong!