Lincoln's DIY Bookshelf

Hey friends!

We have now been in our Nashville home for about seven months, which means that most of the house has been decorated - with the exception of a few hanging items. Woo hoo! With that, I am excited to share a special addition to Linc's room: the DIY bookshelf that I made. This bookshelf is extra special to me because it is the only thing I personally crafted in the house (ha!), and because it holds the most special possessions to our boys: books. 
Today, I wanted to share how I made this DIY hanging bookshelf - yes, it is easier than you think! Plus, it turned out so cute that I'm sharing the photos of the shelf, including our amazing collection of books that subside in it. Here we go :)

When decorating each boy's room, I knew that including a bookshelf was a necessity. Since announcing my pregnancy with our first, we have been gifted and have compiled a pretty serious collection of books. With the number of books that we own and the importance we place on reading to the boys several times a day, making this collection easily accessible in their rooms was important. In the past, I had purchased hanging bookshelves from both Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. In fact, V has the hanging bookshelf from RH Baby & Child, which you can find here. Yes, I love it, but it is not cheap. At $279 a pop, I wanted to figure out a way to make my own - plus, I had some scrap wood laying around the house. Go figure.

To my surprise, it was easier than I thought. Below, you will find the list of supplies you will need.

Supplies

• 8 pieces of 0.75"x2.5" x 4'6" wood
• Paint Brush
• 1 quart of latex enamel paint in a satin finish (I used Sherwin Williams - Anchors Aweigh)
• 19 screws
• 1 drill
• 4 L Brackets

How To Make a DIY Hanging Bookshelf

1. Start by painting all 8 of the slats of wood. On each piece, do a rough coat of paint (imperfectly) and let it fully dry. Continue to do this on each piece of wood until they are fully covered in paint. **click the link here for a good how-to paint wood.
2. After you have painted the wood and the pieces have dried, use the drill to connect the "frame" of the bookshelf. Start with the two vertical pieces and the bottom horizontal shelf to connect the three pieces into a "U" shape. Drill the horizontal bottom shelf to connect the two vertical pieces by drilling from the exterior in of the two standing vertical pieces.
3. Next, measure how far apart you want each shelf to be. I did so by taking an above-average sized book and using that measurement. You'll probably want the shelves to be somewhat equidistant to the eye. Mark this on the inside of each of the two standing vertical pieces.
4. Lay each horizontal flat lying shelf against each measurement, then again, drill from the exterior of the vertical pieces to connect each shelf.
5. Now, you'll want to add a protective piece to the outside of each shelf to ensure that the books stay put. Connect this standing horizontal piece to each shelf from the outside. Measure three equidistant points on the outside of the piece to drill in three screws (one on the left, center and right). Drill screws into those spots. Do this on all three shelves.
6. To finish off the piece, you can paint over the screws so they don't show, although I think it looks kind of cute and rustic to show the screws.

How to Hang A DIY Bookshelf
I have no clue(HA!) because I hired a handyman! I will tell you that he used L brackets, which is why I recommend buying L brackets. You can probably do this part yourself, however, I didn't want to risk doing it wrong and the bookshelf potentially falling down.

There you have it! Your own DIY bookshelf. Trust me when I say this project is super easy. Even if you don't have spare wood lying around the house (why would you?), you can easily go to Home Depot and purchase some for super cheap. I also want to admit that I hammered the nails into the wood rather than drilling them. I talked to my handyman who hung the shelf and he said that next time I better use a drill and screws for a better hold, thus, my recommendation.

Happy Woodworking, ladies!

​xx, ILA