Tag Archives: shelving

DIY Window Shelves for Plants

Posted on by
13

I recently shared my craft room tour. And as a little reward for cleaning up that chaos and getting organized, I treated myself to a little DIY project. I love one of the windows in this room. Here’s how it looked in the past:

vintage craft room

The window shown above nearly reaches from floor to ceiling and with the two different sized windows in the room (one tall window with trim original to the house/one high small window with no trim), window treatments always felt tricky or lopsided. 

So why cover that beautiful trimmed tall window at all? It faces the back of the house, it’s a second story window and it’s not a room for dressing or a need for privacy. I’ve always wanted to put shelves on a window for plants. Plenty of sunshine should assist in changing my luck with plants, right? 

Here’s what I did…

Materials:

  • (3) 1 x 4″ pine boards for shelves
  • (6) shelf brackets
  • Minwax Polyshades (Ebony)

I decided where I would attach the brackets to the window trim to calculate the measurement of my shelves.

measure

Then cut my shelves. 

window shelving tutorial

Sanded the rough edges and wiped them clean. 

window shelving tutorial

Then brushed on the Polyshades using a foam brush. I let it sit for a few minutes then wiped the stain away and let dry. I did all sides. (I may apply a wax finish to the wood shelves for further water-proofing but I was on a bit of a deadline.)

window shelving tutorial

Next I marked the holes for the brackets and drilled a pilot hole.

window shelving tutorial

Then I just screwed the brackets into the window trim/pilot hole (can always be patched with wood filler in the future). *Use a level to be sure they’re ‘level’. 

window shelving tutorial

Attach the wood shelves to the brackets with screws (be sure these screws are smaller than the shelf thickness so the screw doesn’t poke up from the bottom).  

It adds a bit of privacy without a long drapy curtain panel but still lets natural light into the room.  

window plant shelves at diyshowoff.com

It’ll take some maneuvering/removing plants to open the window but the shelves don’t interfere with the function. 

window shelves at diyshowoff.comwindow succulents

 

before

vintage craft room

after

Craft Room at diyshowoff.com

 

Facebook DIY Show Off - FacebookDIY Show Off - TwitterDIY Show Off - Pinterest DIY Show Off - FeedDIY Show Off - HomeTalkDIY Show Off - G+ photo Bloglovin_zps7a62ddb7.png photo instagram_zpsd219e830.png

Tips for Making a DIY Industrial Pipe Shelving Unit

Posted on by
177

I recently shared the open pantry before and after reveal and the star of that DIY ‘show off’ is definitely the industrial pipe shelving…Industrial Pipe Shelving As a part of the January Creative Storage challenge for the Lowe’s Creative Ideas team, today I’m sharing a tutorial on what we did to use as tips for creating your own.

Accessories: 

 

THIS IS LONG and sounds confusing BUT if you’re making one of your own, I think being detailed will help make the plan, design and build easier along with other tutorials and tips you may come across in your search for how to make DIY industrial pipe shelving. 

CONTINUE TO THE TUTORIAL

Pages: 1 2

Pantry Before and After

Posted on by
140

A pantry makeover, before and after…DIYShowOff Open Pantry before and after makeover

Did that space actually grow larger and taller with the addition of shelves or is it just me?

When we removed a pantry closet in our kitchen to move the refrigerator (more on that here), it decreased valuable storage space. What were we thinking?! What to do? Well, after much thought, the solution was to utilize an odd room/hallway to create more storage space. Lucky for us, that space exists in our home right behind the kitchen. Jackpot! Kismet. Fate. Whatever – it was finally time to make it happen!

The space is bigger than a hallway but six (6!) doorways make it too awkward to be a room. There are doorways opening to the kitchen, dining room, living room, old cellar stairwell, enclosed porch (original front door) and half bathroom. We walk through that room a gazillion times a day.

It’s approximately 6 ft. wide and 9 ft. long with 9 ft. ceilings. Ever since previous owners enclosed the front porch and re-routed the front door, this poor former entryway has been feeling forgotten. Perfect for some custom DIY industrial pipe shelving and a new job description as ‘open pantry’. 

Where is all started: The idea to one day call this area a pantry formed three years ago after drooling over this awesome pantry by Emerson Made on Design Sponge.Emerson Made open pantry

And then falling in love with this cool pipe shelving I spied at the Brick House…pipe shelving at the Brick House

inspired the transformation of this space…

before – boring, useless, a lamp for lightopen pantry before

now: a functional beautiful open pantry area…DIYShowOff Open Pantry

with new paint, new lighting and DIY industrial pipe shelving. It’s a small space…no room to get a photo straight on of the monstrous pipe shelves but plenty of walking room even with 20 inch deep shelving. I love storing dried goods in glass jars too. 

Before from another angle…pantry area before

After…isn’t the industrial pipe shelving unit awesome?!DIYShowOff Industrial Pipe Shelving

It’s super convenient with it’s location right off the kitchen.industrial farmhouse pantry makeoverThe shelves were designed to fit the wall to ceiling and floor space perfectly and to accommodate our microwave as well as dried goods and baskets. I’m still messing with getting it all organized but I loooove how this once awkward unused space is now functional and pretty! Hurray!industrial cottage pantry

More photos: Notice all of the doorways?DIYShowOff Pantryfarmhouse pantryfarmhouse pantry decor

Custom design was also handy when working around the heat vent…Kitchen Pantry

Why yes, that’s still a little Christmas hanging around for another week or so. Thanks for noticing!Industrial Pipe ShelvingI’ll share more about the lighting challenge soon too.farmhouse industrial pantry lighting

  • Paint – inexpensive way to brighten up a room lacking natural lighting. (accent wall tutorial) Base wall color: Valspar Cool Grey. 
  • Lighting – The Allen + Roth fixtures from Lowe’s were super affordable at around $57/ea. but electrical wound up costing more than I anticipated due to labor charges because there was no lighting whatsoever in the space from the get go and an outdated electrical outlet. (We did attempt DIY but it was over our heads and I’m not referring to just literally!) The exterior track/wiring adds to the industrial charm.
  • Pipe shelving – DIY means custom to fit our space and needs. Not a cheap DIY but still more affordable than purchasing two manufactured floor to ceiling shelving units. I’ll share how we did in in a couple of days! Check back!
  • West Elm Fiesta Tile Printed Jute Rug (sold out)
  • Flea Market Distressed Galvanized Metal Clock (DecorSteals – currently unavailable)
  • IKEA Burken jars with lids
  • Large Seagrass Basket (I got a set of three nesting ones on clearance at Wisteria a few years ago.)
  • Petite Cow & Bull Cameo Plaques, set of 2 – Antique Farm House
  • Grocery Sign – I had plans for this to be a DIY sign (mine would have been the same wood stain as the shelving with white lettering, not red) but with so much going on in December and the real life holiday home tour deadline…when I spied it at Hobby Lobby, I couldn’t resist.
  • Galvanized letter B – Hobby Lobby

DIY Pantry Makeover before and after

DIY INDUSTRIAL PIPE SHELVING TIPS & TUTORIAL

pipe shelving how to 

ACCENT WALL

easy painted accent wall

 

LIGHTING DETAILS

Industrial Pantry Light Details

  • This post is sponsored by my Young Living business! Check out my essential oils page for more information on how you can get these amazing oils in your hands too along with helpful freebies, a gift from me, and tons of support:
    young living essential oils @diyshowoff