Modern DIY Shelves For Just $25!

So you probably love Pinterest just like me, right? I am always beyond inspired when I have a few moments to peruse Pinterest and once upon a time I found these bookshelves that got me excited. They were a modern, simplistic style I loved. Looking at the design, I hoped I could recreate something similar. This idea for modern DIY shelves would roll around in my thoughts for many months before I finally got around to building them.

Believe it or not, the source of the inspiration photo above is a bookshelf you can really purchase, for $315! I knew I could do better. I planned out what lumber I would need to buy and purchased the following:
 – Four 1″ x 4″ quality pine boards, 8′ long = $8.84
 – Two 1″ x 12″ quality pine boards, 8′ long = $16.76
The lumber for this project amounted to just around $25! I must disclose that I also purchased a Kreg Jig tool and used it to build this project. I’ve wanted a Kreg Jig ever since I first stumbled on Ana White’s amazing site two years ago and I finally decided to splurge and treat myself. The Kreg Jig K4 and variety pack of screws I bought cost me a total of $110.

This tool allowed me to build strong perpendicular joints for this bookshelf by drilling screws into the wood at a 45 degree angle. I was also able to hide almost all the pocket holes I drilled to achieve this, so there aren’t visible screw heads on the finished piece!

I put together a video of the building process for you to see. It doesn’t include every step, but it gives you the idea of how I put it together. Of course the wood was cut to size and stained/painted before I started videotaping assembly. I cut the 1″ x 4″ boards to 6′ long and used the remainder to make decorative shorter pieces you’ll see in the video. This gave the illusion the white boards were a continuous rectangle and the shelves were floating. The 1″ x 12″ boards I simply cut in half to make 4 shelves 48″ long.

The painting (semi-gloss white) I did in my basement and the staining (Jacobean) I got done outside one particularly warm day.

Modern DIY Shelves Video

Once the wood was all ready to go, I got to work building the modern DIY shelves!

The finished project turned out beautifully!

Even when the shelves were just bare, I was pleased with how they filled the space I’ve struggled so long to get right.

The shelves are just the right solution to cover this odd wall and are now the focal point of the living room. They are floating to allow air flow from the vent underneath, an issue that really limited what I could do with the space in the past.

Here’s the before and after of these modern DIY shelves:

Thanks for checking out this latest project. I hope you loved it and enjoyed the video I made for you! If you want to keep up with me, sign up for my newsletter or connect with me on social media!