Planked back bookshelf

Our living room is coming together quite well. I finally feel like it's not a constant work in progress.  I had this idea, and I really, really wanted it for our living room. Although we don't really have the space, I wanted to make this bookshelf, and I wanted the back to blend all the different tones of 'Dark Walnut' I have happening in my living room. I haven't quite decided where it will live permanently, but for now, I just love sitting on my couch and looking at it.

It's a super easy bookshelf, that will cost you less than that press board (insert not very nice adjective here) that you can buy at a big box store. It won't sag, and it won't take you much more time to build from scratch than putting that other one together!

I made mine a little tall and skinny so it would fit in either of the spaces I'm thinking it will go. Mine is 2 feet wide, 3 feet tall and about 13 inches deep. Here's how you can make your own!

What you need (I got all mine from Lowe's):
1- 1x12 @ 8'
1- 1x12 @ 6'
1- 1x2 @ 8'
1- 1x3 @ 6'
1- 1x8  @ 4'
Wainscoting (like this)
Screws
Glue
Finishing nails
Finishing supplies

Cut them like this:
4- 1x12 @ 24" (shelves)
2- 1x12 @ 36" (sides)

2- 1x3 @ 27 1/4" (top trim)
1- 1x8 @ 27 1/4" (top center)
1- 1x2 @ 24" (bottom support)
2- 1x2 @ 12 1/8 mitered, longest point to longest point (bottom trim)
1- 1x2 @ 27 1/8 mitered, longest point to longest point (bottom trim)
Wainscoting: I cut mine at 40 1/2" (make sure you measure to cut yours to fit!) You need 7 pieces of 4" tongue and groove to fit the back. I used wainscoting because that's what I had laying around. You could also use a piece of 1/4" plywood.

I used my handy-dandy Kreg Jig to put my bookshelf together, but you can easily do it without a Kreg Jig, especially if you're planning on painting the basic shelf.

First, I drilled holes in the ends of all my 24" pieces. These will be the top, bottom and two shelves. Then I simply screwed the shelves to the sides. The bottom shelf should be 1.5 inches from the bottom edge of the side. The very top shelf should line up exactly with the top of the sides. I placed my other two shelves at even (ish) increments in between.


*If you're not using a Kreg Jig, you can just screw from the outside of the sides into the shelves and then fill your holes. I like to use self-driving screws with a square head. That way I don't have to drill holes and my screws never strip! These are my favorite! They come in a variety of sizes. They're pretty pricey, but they save me so much time. And we all know time is money.

Since I didn't want my shelf to sag, and I knew I normally place our heaviest books on the bottom shelf, I added another support. It is a 1x2 that is 24 inches long. It fits exactly under the bottom shelf. You can  just screw straight through the 1x2 into the bottom shelf with some longer screws (a 1x2 is 1.5 inches wide, so you need 2 inch screws).

Then you add the 1x2 trim around the bottom, mitering the corners. Nail it on.

The top is your 1x8 with 1x3 trim on either side. You can either use your Kreg Jig to attach it all together or just screw each piece to the base of the bookshelf from under the top shelf. I used my Kreg Jig to put it all together first.

I filled all my holes, waited patiently (haha) for them to dry, sanded everything down and started painting! I painted the base my very favorite off white. The spray paint is Rustoleum's Ivory Bisque, but I had Lowe's match the color (literally, we broke the cap apart and stuck it in the little machine!) so now I have it in a can too! Hooray!

I stained the top Dark Walnut, another favorite! I'm pretty sure everything in my downstairs is some combination of dark walnut and Ivory Bisque. :)

For the planked back, I laid out all 7 pieces of my wainscoting. I then quickly stained six of them with a brush, keeping a close eye on my watch. I wiped off two after about a minute, the next two after about 5 minutes and let the other two go to about 10 minutes before I wiped them off. On the remaining piece, I just wiped the stain on with the rag I'd used to wipe off the other pieces since I wanted it really light!

Then I laid them all out to make sure they were in the order I liked. I linked them all together, and then sealed them with another favorite, This Rustoleum Matte Poly. They aren't kidding about the soft touch thing. It really is so smooth and dries so fast. And looks great. Love it! I sealed my top with this too.

Once everything was dry, it was time to put it all together! I laid the bookshelf down on it's front and then nailed my wainscoting to the back. I set the whole thing up and then screwed on the top from under the top shelf. All done... and surprise, I love it! So fun and different!


For picture and updates between posts, find me on Facebook! and if you don't want to DIY, find AutumnOstlundDesign on Etsy.

Goodbyes are for the birds!

"I hate and love this part! Every project has my blood, sweat and sometimes tears in it. I hate to let them go, but love, love, love seeing them in other people's homes!"

This was my facebook status yesterday. And I truly meant it. I love that I get to build furniture. I am so blessed that my husband holds down the fort and I get to spend my days in the garage. I love providing exactly what a customer is looking for, giving them the opportunity to have a say in what color, style and size they want their furniture to be. After all, that's why I started building in the first place. 

I am a little picky. Or maybe a lot picky. But I can't fathom spending tons of money on something that isn't perfect for us. And very rarely is something produced from a big box store perfect. And you still have to put it together. Seriously. If I'm going to have to assemble it anyway, why not just do the whole thing myself. At least that way, when the screws don't go where I think they're supposed to, it's my own fault and I waste a lot less time cursing the stupid instructions or store and spend a lot more time fixing it. 

But I digress. The reason I started building was to create something perfect for us. And hopefully save some money doing it. And then other people saw it and wanted that too. And I wanted to give it to them. Because no one should have press board in their house. 

But loading a project that I've spent weeks building, sanding and staining into someone else's car, to go to their home breaks my heart a little every time. These projects are my babies. I spend my entire day with them. I talk to them sometimes. I kick and cry over them because I can't quite get it right. I drop pieces of them on my toes and jump around screaming at them. And I definitely sweat over them. Especially when the trade winds aren't blowing. Literally, every project I finish has my blood, sweat and tears in it. 

And then I get nervous. I know what I like, but did I understand exactly what they're looking for? Did I get the color right? Will they love it as much as I do? Will it fit exactly where they want it to?

So watching them leave kinda sucks.

Then, I get a picture of it in their home. And it fits perfectly. And it matches perfectly. And they are so proud of that one piece. And that one piece will last them a lifetime. And then their kids can have it. And their grand kids, who probably won't want it, but will take it because they have nothing else, and eventually will come to love it. That's why I build furniture. Even though sometimes it makes me cry to watch it leave.