Easy Shelving Ideas

Screw-On Hangers

• Perhaps the easiest way to install shelving is to screw hangers directly into wall studs. You should use screws that will penetrate the stud by at least an inch, which means they should be 1 1/2 inches or longer to account for the thickness of the drywall. Use a spirit level to ensure you install the hangers at the same height, and drive the screws with a drill. Most hangers have a curve on the end to hold the shelving, so you have to match the thickness of the wood to the space between this curve and the wall.

Adjustable Shelf Brackets

• If you want to have the ability to change the heights of your shelves, use adjustable shelf brackets. The rods, or standards, have notches equally spaced along their lengths, and specially designed brackets hook into the notches to secure the shelves. Install one standard onto the surface of the wall directly in front of a stud. Use a spirit level to plumb it, then screw it into the stud. Install each successive standard at the same height on an adjacent stud, then hook in the brackets so that they are at the same height. Place the shelves on the brackets.

Homemade Wooden Shelves

• It isn't that difficult to make your own wooden shelves from scrap lumber and plywood. Cut braces from 2-by-2 or 2-by-4-inch lumber and screw them horizontally to the wall, driving the screws into the studs behind. Cut the shelving from plywood to any width you like, then cut front braces high enough to extend about an inch above the top shelf. Notch the front braces with a jigsaw to hold the shelves, then screw through the braces into the shelves to hold them. Simple wooden shelves like this are a good option for a storage or utility closet.

Simple Display Shelf

• A simple wooden display shelf can be a good project for a handyperson with a facility with power tools. You can cut and shape the two main components, the shelf and the backing, with a jigsaw or a bandsaw. Make a rabbet, or groove, in the backing with a table saw and glue the shelf into this groove, then attach it with screws from behind. Sand and finish the unit, then drill 1/2-inch holes about 1/2 inch deep on the back, spacing them the same distance as the studs in your wall. Drive screws into the studs, then hang the shelf on the screws.