So you’re working on a new DIY furniture build and you know you want it to have shelves, but you aren’t sure where to start, this post is for you. In this post, we’ll break down three methods of building shelves, and 3 methods of installing DIY shelves into your furniture projects.
First off, shelves are not as complicated as you think. Hopefully by the end of this post, you’ll be laughing at just how easy they are!
3 Ways to “Build” DIY Shelves
I put “build” in parentheses, because the shelves we are talking about in this post aren’t really a complicated build per se. If you’re looking for more decorative shelves, this post has a whole bunch of DIY shelf plans. For this post, we’re talking about shelves that you are adding to a project. Think like adding shelves to an armoire or a cabinet.
DIY Shelf Using Plywood
This is arguably the simplest DIY shelf style to create. You simply cut a piece of 3/4″ plywood to the desired size.
Once the shelf is cut, you can leave it as is, or you can cover up the plywood edge using edge banding, or if you are painting, you can use spackle to fill and smooth out the edge. A great example of how effective spackle can be for plywood edges can be seen in this DIY rotating bookcase tutorial.
DIY Shelf Using Solid Wood
This next option is very similar the plywood option, but this time, you’ll use 3/4″ – 2″ thick solid wood. You may need to glue multiple pieces together to achieve the depth of shelf that you want.
DIY Shelf With a Face Frame
For most projects, this is our go-to. For it you’ll use 3/4″ plywood and a 1×2. If you prefer a really chunky looking shelf, you could be a 1×3 or 1×4 instead.
You’ll cut your plywood to be 3/4″ less deep than you want your final shelf to be and cut your 1×2 to match the length of the plywood shelf.
Secure the 1×2 to the front of the plywood with glue and 1.5″ nails if you don’t want to wait for the glue to dry. We prefer to line the top of our 1×2 up with the top of the plywood piece so that it’s flush at the top. If you prefer a lip on your shelf, you can line up the bottoms instead. You could also center the 1×2 on the plywood if you don’t want a full 3/4″ lip.
With this option, you’re going to have the appearance of a thicker shelf, but there’s also an added benefit. With the 1×2 (or 1×3 or 1×4) added to the front of the plywood, the shelf can now support more weight without sagging. The 1×2 adds some additional stiffness to the shelves.
FAQ: How Much Weight Can Shelves Hold?
Now you might be wondering how much weight your shelves can hold or how much they will sag. I can’t tell you that, but there’s a handy dandy sagulator that you can use if you are interested in an answer for your specific project.
3 Ways to Install Shelves
Option 1: Pocket Holes
This is a very straightforward way to install shelves. Add a few pocket holes to the sides of your shelf using the correct settings for your specific shelf thickness. The general rule of thumb is to have a pocket hole about 1″ from the front and back and your shelf and then every 6-8″ in between. If your shelf is over 4-6″ wide, you’ll still want to add a third hole for extra holding power.
Install the shelf into your furniture piece using the correct pocket hole screw for your project.
Option 2: Adjustable Shelf Pins
If you want to be able to move your shelves around to better fit whatever you are displaying or storing, adjustable shelves are a great option. There’s also so much less pressure because you don’t have to nail down exact shelf heights before installing them.
To install adjustable shelves, we highly recommend an adjustable shelf pin jig so that you don’t have to spend forever measuring and making sure that all of your holes are lined up just right. Kreg came out with an “updated” shelf pin jig a couple of years ago, but the instructions are the same for the new and old version.
For each cabinet, you will need at least 4 sets of adjustable shelf pin holes: 2 on each side of the cabinet.
Decide how tall and how low you want your adjustment shelf pin holes to start. We generally place our lowest holes 8-14″ from the bottom of the cabinet. Find a scrap piece of wood to sit underneath the guide. We like using a scrap piece of wood instead of measuring to ensure that the height is the same across all 4 rows of holes. I never worry about getting an exact measurement here. Since the shelves are adjustable, it doesn’t need to be as precise.
Next, determine how far back you want your front shelf pins to be. We generally place the first shelf pin holes about 1-3″ in from the front of the shelves. This does NOT need to be exact–you just want the shelf pins to be close to the front of the shelf rather than in the middle of the shelf.
If your shelves go all the way to the front of your cabinet, you can line the front of your jig up with the front of your cabinet.
If you have a frameless cabinet, you can also use the fence that comes with the shelf pin jig. We usually leave it off since it has to be removed for the back holes anyway, but it’s an option for frameless cabinet with shelves that go all the way to the front of the cabinet. You’ll just “hook” the shelf pin jig onto the front of the cabinet using the provided fence. The fence clips into the holes on the back. of the jig.
If your shelves don’t go all the way to the front, you’ll need to set your jig back slightly. And if you added 1×2 to the front of your shelf, you’ll also have to make sure that the holes are set back enough to avoid that.
If our shelves aren’t full depth, we like to mark where the front of our shelf will fall. We then line the jig up with that mark. This spacing will work regardless of whether you added a 1×2 to the front.
Now that you have the spacing figured out, you can set your jig at the necessary setback and place it on top of your scrap piece of wood. The manual explicitly says that you should clamp the jig in place, but I’ve found that is not always possible.
What I do is I carefully hold the jig in place by applying pressure to it with one hand. I’m careful with my hand placement and do not let my hands get too close to the drill bit or the hole I’m drilling.
Insert the provided drill bit into your drill and insert into one of the holes in the jig. Get the drill up to full speed before making contact with the wood and then drill through the hole. Drill until the stop collar on the drill bit hits the front of the circles on the jig. Keep your drill running as you remove the drill bit from the jig (no need to flip it into reverse).
Drill through all of the holes on the jig. Once you run out of holes, you can remove the jig and insert the provided pin into the top of the holes that you just drilled. Place the jig onto the pin. This will give you consistent spacing and allow you to add more shelf pin holes.
Another quick tip with the jig is that sometimes it’s easier to place your cabinet box on the side. Then you don’t have to fight gravity to keep the jig in place.
Once you have your shelf pin holes drilled, you can place your shelf pins at the same height and place your shelf on top of the pins.
Optional 3: A Bracket
This can either be L brackets that are purchased from Lowe’s or your can make your own bracket with a 1×2. You’ll cut one piece to be the same width as the back of your cabinet or furniture piece and then two pieces that are 3/4-2.5″ shorter than the depth of your shelves.
We like to cut one end of the two brackets that will on the sides partially at an angle for a more decorative look, but this is optional. This is the technique that we used for this DIY bar cabinet since we knew the top shelf might get pretty heavy.
First install the back bracket using glue and nails (likely 1.25″ if the back of your furniture piece is 3/4″ thick). Then install the side brackets so that they are in line with the back bracket.
Now you can place your shelf onto the bracket and the bracket will help support some of the weight to minimize sagging. We like to nail the shelf onto the brackets so that it doesn’t move.
Yes, you could also just install the brackets on the sides if you are using something like 1/4″ plywood for the back, but we the pro of adding the shelf backet all along the back is that the shelf is supported all the way across, making it less likely to sag and hold some extra weight.
How Big Should I Make My DIY Shelves?
When you are determining the size of your shelf or shelves, it will depend on your installation method. If you are installing the shelf with pocket holes or a bracket, you’ll want the length of your shelf to match the width of the opening. Both sides should touch the inside of the furniture structure.
If you are using adjustable shelf pins, you’ll want to cut your shelves to ~1/4″ less wide than the inside of your furniture piece to account for the shelf pins and allow you to be able to remove and adjust the shelves as needed.
When it comes to the depth, that’s really up to you! As long as the cabinet doors shut (if applicable), you can make them as deep or as shallow as you want to to fit your furniture piece. If you’re adding shelves to something like cabinets, 11-12″ is a pretty standard size.
If you are doing the face frame shelf option, be sure to cut your plywood to be 3/4″ shorter than your desired final depth!
There you have it! Now you know how to build and install DIY shelves to add to your next furniture project. There’s really no right or wrong option to choose.
If you want to build your own cabinets to add shelves to, check out our comprehensive DIY Cabinet Building Bundle.
