I have a growing collection of embossed antique milk bottles that have outgrown their cabinet and wire holders. In order to display them better, I decided to make some floating shelves. All you need is:
- Wood: 1x2s for the front, 1x4s for the bottom and back (if you prefer a higher back than a 1x6)
- Wood Screws and wood glue to attach the back to the bottom
- Nail gun to attach the front piece
- Wood Screws to attach the shelf to the wall
- Stain and/or sealant
Cut the wood to the length of whatever you're wanting to hold and assemble. Choose a stain color of your choice. After assembly, mark out the studs on your wall. Since I was holding glass bottles which are much heavier than smaller knick knacks, I wanted to make sure that no anchors were used and the screws went straight into studs. In order to do this, I drilled holes into the back of the shelves to line up with the studs. Attaching the shelf straight to the wall also makes it flush with the wall rather than a small drop forward that you get with a hanger off the back.
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| Flush mount |
And the finished product is flush and built to size for whatever collection you want to display! I added some old photos to match the bottles I was displaying.
