Hi! Patrick here for Week 4 of our One Room Challenge nursery project hosted by Calling It Home and House Beautiful. This week we highlight DIY Book Ledges placed beside the glider in Baby Girl’s nursery. I really enjoyed this project for two reasons. One: it was really easy and quickly came together (can’t say that about every project Diana and I have found ourselves in). Two: I absolutely love how the book ledges turned out in this space!
If you missed weeks 1-3 you can check them out here:
I must say there are good vibes in this room, especially when with my wife and daughter.
(Some links are affiliated for your ease of shopping.)
Supplies:
- 1 x 2 x 8′ Select Pine – 2
- 1 x 4 x 8′ Select Pine – 2
- 2″ Wood Screws
- Wood Glue
- Wood Stain (Miniwax Golden Oak)
- Polyurethane (Miniwax Satin)
Tools:
We have 4 ledges at 4ft in length on the wall. To make the ledges, we purchased 2 1X2 boards and 4 1X4 boards at 8ft segments. Each 8ft board was cut in half and utilized, leaving no scraps! As a cost engineer, I was stoked about the efficiency of material used.
Using a Kreg Jig pocket hole kit, we pre-drill holes to fasten the ledge front and back to the bottom. This allows the screws to be hid from sight and also provides great strength to the ledge. Clamps are a must for this step.
We wanted the ledges to have a vibrant yet natural look. So, Diana used 2 coats of Miniwax Golden Oak wood stain and 1 coat of Miniwax satin polyurethane to achieve this.
We measured and marked the wall with the studs where the shelves would go. I pre-drilled holes aligning with the studs on the back of each book ledge using a countersink bit. This gave a nice finished look and made the mounting process much easier.
Our ledges highlight brilliant illustrations that are imaginative and original; like immediate art displayed on your wall in a casual way. They are accessible and easy to switch the look around to keep the wall fresh. So I ask, ‘Why hide such beauty tucked away in a book shelf, when you can easily make a book ledge?’
For in-depth instruction on creating the ledges, refer to this post by Ana White. It’s the one we used as inspiration for our ledges. She lays out excellent step-by-step instructions, but you can easily customize the ledges, like we did, to make them your own.
I have read a few books to Baby Girl already and look forward to exploring new worlds within those pages with her when she arrives .
I’m interested… What children’s book holds a special place in your heart? Let me know in the comments below.
28 Comments
ashley@biggerthanthethreeofus
April 26, 2017 at 9:42 amLove the book ledges!
Morgan
April 26, 2017 at 10:25 amThese turned out so great! I love how simple they are but they let you make a big impact!
Tee @ Beauteeful Living
April 26, 2017 at 11:56 amThese ledges came out so nice! Better than store bought!
Diana
April 26, 2017 at 12:30 pmThanks! And much more affordable too 😉
Ariel
April 26, 2017 at 5:26 pmAww, the space is really coming together! Great little project too.
Diana
April 26, 2017 at 7:10 pmThanks Ariel!
kim
April 26, 2017 at 6:33 pmI love the little side table beside the glider. Where did you find it?
Diana
April 26, 2017 at 7:10 pmI found it at Ross, actually.
Kim
April 26, 2017 at 8:30 pmThis room is so sweet and such a great little project too! 🙂
Diana
April 26, 2017 at 9:34 pmThanks Kim!! 🙂
Kristen
April 26, 2017 at 9:52 pmThese are adorable for the nursery! love it! and seems very easy to do too!
Indya | TheSmallAdventurer
April 27, 2017 at 6:08 amI love this way of displaying books! Just having their spine showing saves a lot of room, but you miss out on seeing all the beautiful covers that books can have!
I have far too many books to display them all this way, but when I have my own house (one day!) I might choose the ones with the prettiest covers and display them on a ledge shelf, it really is a lovely thing to look at. Looks like this room is really coming together ☺️
http://www.thesmalladventurer.blogspot.com.au/
Emy
April 27, 2017 at 8:40 amThe book ledges are so pretty! Love the stain color!
Diana
April 27, 2017 at 3:32 pmThanks Emy!
Cassie
April 27, 2017 at 11:30 amthese look great! and my favorite part was reading about the good vibes…. such a cute happy family!
Diana
April 27, 2017 at 3:32 pmThanks Cassie! 🙂 We’re certainly excited for our new edition!
Jenny
April 27, 2017 at 12:50 pmThey look great! I’m about halfway done with the book ledges I’m building for our nursery, and I just picked up the exact same stain color on Tuesday! I can’t wait to see the finished room!
Diana
April 27, 2017 at 3:33 pmThat’s great!! I love the look of the natural wood.
Habiba
April 28, 2017 at 2:02 amLove the idea of making them on my own! I was planning on buying as I want to add book shelves to my work room, but now you got me thinking…
Diana
April 28, 2017 at 1:01 pmTo make shelves as long as we did, it definitely saved us tons of money by doing it ourselves. As long as you have the tools, it’s a fairly simple DIY. Best of luck!
Jamie Lott
April 28, 2017 at 10:54 amYou guys are adorable! And I love those shelves. I’ve always wanted to try those myself. Maybe in out playroom? When I finally get to the room that is. 😉
Diana
April 28, 2017 at 12:58 pmI think they would be great in a playroom! I totally understand that it takes time to get to all of our rooms. People expect to move in and get everything done right away. It definitely takes a lot of time…and money! The journey is fun though.
Andi
April 28, 2017 at 12:15 pmLove the stain finish on those! I just hung up this exact style of bookshelves for my cousin, and I love how they look with all the books. Can’t wait to see how the room turns out!
Diana
April 28, 2017 at 12:56 pmThanks Andi!! 😉
Diane Rath
April 29, 2017 at 8:37 amThese are awesome! And I agree, book covers are art and should be displayed as such! Over here, we are partial to “The Pout Pout Fish,” “Little Blue Truck,” and “Llama Llama Red Pajama!”
Lindi
May 1, 2017 at 5:02 pmLOVE love these ledges! So perfect for a nursery 🙂 Can’t wait to see the rest of the space!
Diana
May 1, 2017 at 6:52 pmThanks Lindi!!
Leslea
May 3, 2017 at 2:55 amThe shelves turned out beautifully! Love them!