How To Build Front Facing Bookshelves
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We made these great front facing bookshelves for Willows room. It was one of the easiest projects that we have done recently. I have seen a ton of different ways to do this type of bookshelf for kids rooms.
I was especially interested in the book sling I featured in this post. I really liked this idea because it gives you the opportunity to use coordinating fabric.
Ultimately, I decided to do something that would add a little architectural interest in her room. Front facing bookshelves are a great option for kids rooms since babies and kids in general are so visual. They have the chance to see the front of their books so that even if they aren’t yet readers. Plus, they can point and let us know which ones interest them to look at. I am no reading specialist but…I AM just sayin’.
In Willows room they add a lot of color and kid-ness (for lack of another word).
Here is our finished product.
Here is how we got there.
I wanted this project to be super easy. I didnt want to do any cutting of boards etc. So I headed to Lowes to see what I could come up with I knew that the space I had to work with was between two and two and a half feet. I ended up with 1″ x 2′ x 6′ paint grade pine. I was making three shelves so I needed 3 boards and 6 brackets.
I chose stock shelf brackets with a scroll pattern.
Next, we had to put the two together. I wish I could tell you we did some kind of swanky carpenter stuff to get it together but really we winged it. It was a hot mess. Picture me and the Mr. in the kitchen while Willow is down for a much-anticipated nap. We have everything laying out on the kitchen counter. Do we set up some kind of workspace? No. Do we work right on the slippery slidey granite? Yes. So, I am trying to hold the bracket on the board…straight…while the Mr. tries to drill pilot holes from the bottom (the shelf is hanging over the edge of the counter). Okay, pilot holes weren’t that hard. But when you are trying to screw the board to the bracket from underneath the drill will kick the board out at the last-minute and cause it all to be misaligned. So then we did it again three times. Which may or may not be why there is a bottle of Advil in the lower right corner of the next picture. In retrospect, we should have glued the bracket to the board before we started drilling it up.
In the end, the brackets and boards were attached.
Like I said, I didn’t want to do any cutting so when I saw that the board was a tiny bit too long for the bracket I was nervous. At the same time, I was a little weary of the fact that the books could just slide right off when little hands start picking through them. It would be a book avalanche.
No need to worry. Dowel rods to the rescue.
I found these dowel rods in the same aisle as the boards. They are a perfect fit! Not only do they disguise the gap, they will create a lip to keep the books from sliding off. Whoop, whoop!
No need for carpentry heroics here, I just glued them on with wood glue.
Generally, shelf brackets are made to hold the weight of a shelf from the top, not the bottom. The hardware on the back of the bracket is made to hang by a screw that slides from the bottom up. This won’t work with this front facing bookshelf. We needed to do a little reverse engineering.
Unscrew the bracket.
Reverse it.
Screw it back in.
Done.
I spray painted them white to match Willows room, but I can see all kinds of colors for kids rooms.
Here is how they look in her room.
What have y’all been up to? Any great kids projects? Let me know and I might feature you in one of my upcoming round-ups!
I am linked to: www.atthepickettfence.com, www.betweennapsontheporch.net, www.savvysouthernstyle.net, www.thriftydecorchick.com
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My name is Amy and I am a wannabe Martha Stewart farmer. I love keepin' it real here on my little bloggity blog. I am a DIY maniac, mom of one beautiful little girl, one crazy spaniel, and one handicapped pig.
I am a photographer (for real), a housewife, a farmer, a chef, cleaning lady, financial advisor, interior designer, dog groomer, day laborer, and much more. I do it ALL. I blog about it.
Excellent idea! I was always picking books up and stacking them and picking books up and stacking them!! LOL…. this would have been a nice way to display them and if it’s low enough the child can help! They look great too! Good job!
[...] How to Build Front Facing Bookshelves by Grown from Scratch. My kiddos love their books facing forward. Learn how to create your own bookshelves with this tutorial. [...]
Amy -
I love this idea! I can’t wait to make them for the kids playroom. Thanks for sharing:)
Great! They were so easy, you will love them.