A few months ago, a friend asked me to help him create shelving to store his 1000 or so DVDs and video games. At first we contemplated book cases and other traditional and bulky alternatives. Then, I stumbled on the idea of floating shelves that look like they are just simply attached to the wall with out any visible supports. I got very intrigued with this and did a lot of research. My journey ranged from IKEA to some creative do-it-yourself options. My main design challenge was that we needed shelves that were almost eight feet long - most of traditional floating shelves are much shorter given the obvious support limitations their designs provide. We also didn't want extremely thick shelves, given they were holding thin cases. In the end, the lightweight of the DVD and video game cases helped us scale down the thickness of the shelves while still providing adequate support. They turned out great; Tony did a good job on the finishing process! Below is a quick summary of the process:
Frames
We set up our operation in his driveway on arguably the hottest day of the year. I was fasting so the five or six hours we spent really did me in. We ripped down 2x4s to one and one half inches for the frames. We then added little "arms" to the ends and in the middle of the long frame pieces. The two frames on the left side of the picture above are in the positions they would eventually be secured to the wall in. We used long 4inch coarse screws into the wall studs. We eventually found our rhythm and cut all the necessary frames and trim pieces.
Here you can see the frame attached to the wall and Tony now adding trim around the outside of the frame. The trim is MDF (medium density fiberboard) that is easy to work with and paints nicely. After he wraps the trim around the frame, he attaches thin plywood to the tops and bottoms. After a bit of wood filler and paint, the final result:
And with some of his 1000 DVDs and games:
This project was fun and innovative. It is far less bulky than a cabinet and best of all, it cost less than $75 to complete!
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