One of the more difficult parts of renovating is living among unfinished spaces the majority of the time. And for a gal that works from home, a less-than-finished office can sometimes lead to a less-than-inspired workday. So, last week, Ken and I decided to fast track our office plans and finally make the space a priority. We’ll have much more to share in the coming weeks, but for now, we can’t wait to show you the insanely modern DIY shelf we recently finished building:
Grab a friend, and get to work!
As an art collector, I have more art than I know what to do with. Rather than investing thousands of dollars in permanent framing, I wanted a statement shelf where I could switch out a few of my favorite pieces periodically. I envisioned something modern, slim and seamless. And like he often does, Ken knew exactly how to create my dream piece.
Busting out the level...
One of the key components of our DIY shelf is the lack of bracket support. We wanted the shelf to appear as a floating mantle, so brackets were definitely not an option. Yet we wanted the piece to be sturdy in case we chose to display art / design books in the future.
Top brackets are hidden by artwork!
Enter a genius solution: we installed brackets on the top of the shelf, rather than the bottom. The art pieces cover the brackets completely, and our shelf appears as if it’s floating seamlessly! We also opted to build a slim lip for the shelf to keep our prints and paintings from going over the edge.
A modular lip prevents lightweight prints from tumbling away!
Ready to see the big reveal?
Introducing... an inspiring office wall!
We love the look, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve glanced up at our new shelf and smiled. There’s something to be said for surrounding yourself with things you love, and it was a dream to take my favorite pieces out of storage and onto the wall!
What do you think, friends? Who wants to come work in our office?
[...] via: My DIY: How to Build A Modern Art Shelf Category: Design Tags: BUILD, Modern, [...]
Love this!!!!!
What a lovely solution, especially for such a tall space!
thank you!
This really is impressive. I hope to try it soon!
I absolutely love it, Erin. It's gorgeous! I'd love to recreate the look in my home office
This looks very nice! I may use this for my daughters room for her favorite "buddies"!
I have always been told that you should display art either 6 inches above the furniture or at eye level in the way the room is used; this does not look like either. I would have move the shelf to be a little lower.
Just my 2 cents worth!
It looks light and airy and i'd love to duplicate it for our modern living areas. What did you use for the shelf material and is it one piece or is the lip attached separately? thanks for the help.
I like it as well, and was also wondering about the lip and how you did that. thanks in advance for the additional info.
Hi, Linda!
The shelf is 1"x4" premium grade pine (two 8' long pieces glued and screwed end to end with rabbet cuts). The lip is a solid 16', 5/8" thick piece of poplar trim left over from our baseboard. That trim piece was glued and finished nailed to the edge of the pine with the bottom crack wood filled before I sanded and painted.
If you want it that long, you can talk to a lumber yard and they"ll cut both solid pieces that length so you wouldn't have to connect 2 long 1"x4" pieces together. But if you only want it 12' most any big box store will have those lengths!
Might sound a lot more difficult than it actually is…the real pain is maneuvering 16' long pieces.
Hi, Robeano!
Yep! The general rule is 57-60 inches but because the ceiling is low, we wanted to bring the eye upward and create as much spare wall space as possible.
Personal preference!!! 
oh, love it Erin. Was looking for an unobtrusive though distinct way to lend "something" to an otherwise gorgeously seemless white space. perfect idea. going to home depot, now!
[...] collection. What’s not to love? Check out these examples from the web, including a DIY tutorial from HGTV on how to create your own “art shelf”. Now go forth and shelve things! #gallery-1 { [...]
[...] design is a great contrast to our streamlined and modern art shelf we shared a few weeks ago. Surprisingly, the cubes offer a great deal of [...]
love the shelf. and I'm wondering… could you tell me where your grey poufs came from? they're fabulous!!
aren't they lovely? you can order a custom one at mary marie knits via etsy.com!: http://www.etsy.com/shop/marymarieknits
He he, we have the exact same thing in our livingroom to display fotos. We put the screws right through the wood, hence no need for brackets, but the screws are visible from the front. Your version looks a little nicer. Now if only we would change the fotos more often …
I too love this idea. In fact, though my shelves are not as long .(hey can we upload photos to show what we mean?) Mine hold a row of my gourds, but I have to tip-toe to reach them – or get my hubby – he bought them, painted and decorated them, and I absolutely love them! I want more…
Hi Erin! I'm loving this. Wondering where the daybed/futon is from?
Hi LeahO –
We made it ourselves with plywood, wood scraps and some heavy batting!
Easiest project ever!
How is the lip modular? How did you affix it to the main piece? What type of hardware and plywood did you use and what was the weight capacity?
Love the idea! However, can you think of an easy way to earthquake-proof something like this? I guess I mean keeping the art up there during an earthquake, as I imagine the shelf itself would remain stuck to the wall.
Thanks!