I have been dreaming of shelves above my buffet for awhile now. When I saw this image from Restoration Hardware, I knew they were perfect! I just needed to make a larger version.
I am in love with how they turned out. Each shelf is 4 feet long.
This is not a super cheap DIY project. The cost of a 4 foot shelf and 3 shelf brackets at Restoration Hardware is $380 before shipping. For all of my supplies I came in right under $200. It works out to be a quarter of the cost since I built two shelves. Much more reasonable! Here is what you need to make them:
- 8 foot long 2×10 board (try to pick a straight one)
- 6 – 10 inch ¾″ galvanized pipe
- 6 – ¾″ floor flanges
- 6 – ¾″ pipe caps
- Rust-Oleum Textured Spray
- Rust-Oleum Protective Enamel Spray Paint Black Flat
- Minwax Special Walnut Wood Stain
- Toggle blots and screws
The handy guys at Home Depot cut the wood in half for me so I had two perfect 4 foot shelves. Then comes the labor intensive part. Get ready for some sanding.
I wanted the wood to look older so I had to sand the edges down- a lot! I tried to do it a little uneven too so it looked naturally worn. I also smoothed the top and bottom down so they were smooth to the touch.
Next came the staining. I used the special walnut because its a very neutral wood color, not too red or too yellow.
For the pipes, I first sprayed them with the textured spray paint. It doesn’t matter what color you use because you are just going to spray over them with the flat black. I also sprayed them fully assembled so I could get them on tight and not have the textured spray paint interfere with the pipe threads.
I used a paper plate so that I could spray the screws too.
Then it was time to install. We used a huge level and made sure we got them very straight and perfectly spaced.
We installed them into the wall with toggle bolts since the shelves would be holding a lot of weight.
I didn’t use any polyurethane on the shelves to keep them as natural looking as possible. Once you have your pipes up you simply lay the wood over the pipes and they stay in place and are remarkably sturdy.
The pipes have a great iron look to them.
You can see the wood has imperfections and I love them!
The overall look is great. Now I just have to decide what color to paint my buffet!
Lisa
You can cut some cost also by using 1” wooden dowel rods in place of the pipe. You have to carve down the ends to fit into the flanges but that makes them fit nice and tight. I also used some e6000 to ensure a secure hold. Spray painted everything and you can’t tell the difference.
Gerald White
Are the shelves attached to the brackets?
Greg
I doesn’t look like like she attached them but you could use a U-bracket underneath the shelf to attach it to the pipe.
Patsy
You can buy theses brackets on Amazon and they come with a u-brackets you can get different sizes I done a lot of these
Christina Olvera
Hi,
I am curious about the weight of the 4 inch shelves. I bought 1x pine boards which are very light weight, but the look isn’t right, but the 2x is very heavy.
Any input is appreciated. Thank you!
Amy
Hi, can I ask where you bought the metal parts from? What are they used for normally? I have been searching the Internet and can’t find anything like it, I am based in the UK any suggestions? I have my reclaimed wood ready to go!
Any help would be greatly apprecIated! I love these shelves sooooo much!
Thank you.
Amy x
Susan
The metal pipe is used for plumbing. The wall brackets are commonly called floor flanges. They are a galvanized pipe.
Patsy
Buy the bracket on Amazon
Rebecca
It’s plumbing parts so wherever they sell plumbing supplies in the UK
Amy
Hi, can I ask where you bought the metal parts from? What are they used for normally? I have been searching the Internet and can’t find anything like it, I am based in the UK any suggestions? I have my reclaimed wood ready to go!
Any help would be greatly apprecIated! I love these shelves sooooo much!
Thank you.
Amy x
Greg
These are galvanized pipes used for plumbing. Not sure if they are used in the UK but you can check with the plumbing department of a hardware store. Good Luck, i am going to put them up this weekend.
Karen
My husband found black ones at Lowes.
Gino
You misspelled ‘THEIRS’ on your pinnable image. FYI
TriedandTasty
Ohmygosh, are you serious?! I am in LOVE with this!!! Love, love, LOVE it! Pinning!
Carissa Ashby Rasmussen
can’t wait to build an industrial table. I loove the look!
Sydney Andersen
Love it!! I really love that industrial look too but hate how much it costs! Definitely going to be trying this.
Emschen
Great! Looks beautiful!