As you know I have spent the last several years clawing my way to the top of the Glues Stuff To Wood industry.
It hasn’t been easy. My competition (children ages 6-10) are clever and, of course, ruthless. Occasionally it’s nice to get a break from all that gluing and so, when Geralyn asked me to make a spice shelf for her kitchen I jumped at the chance (if by “jumped” you accept that I mean she asked me in October and I’m just doing it now…..)
I actually made a similar shelf for storing pots and their lids once before so I just kind of riffed on what I remembered.
I used scrap wood that I had on hand and power tools but I assure you it can be done using items found at a home improvement center and regular old screws or nails.
I used:
- 1 (one) 1/2″ plywood shelf cut to 30″ long by 6″ deep
- 1 (one) 1/2 plywood backer cut to 30.5″ long and 6″ high
- 1 piece of crown moulding 21″ long
- 3 pieces of 1′ high Poplar trim (I cut it down from larger trim pieces)
- 2 (two) pieces of 2×4 cut down into 45 degree triangular supports
- Wood Glue
- Wood Putty
- Sandpaper
- Semi Gloss Spray Paint
Assembly is pretty straight-forward.
I attached the Poplar trim to the front and sides of the shelf (just using simple butt-joints) with glue and pin nails.
And then attached the shelf to the backer with glue and larger nails
The triangular supports were glued and nailed in place and the same was done with the piece of crown moulding.
After a bit of touch up with wood putty
I was ready for painting (after a bit of sanding)
For these photos I just used D-ring hooks to hang it on my fence
We’ll need to determine how best to hang it on-site in Geralyn’s kitchen
For this picture I just used my Griffith Spice Jar Labels and round Ikea Kitchen Jar labels. You can find the tutorials and downloads at the links if you’re so inclined.
The whole thing – from sourcing the scraps to the final painting only took a few hours.
IF YOU WANTED TO MAKE ONE
I made the original all-those-years-ago while living in a 1 bedroom apartment in New York with no equipment except a drill so I can attest it’s quite do-able if you don’t have access to the tools I used this time.
A home store could easily cut 1×6 boards down to length and the moulding could also be cut in-store as could the triangular supports. Using screws rather than pin nails would work just fine.
