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when sharing some videos our bathroom Recently on Instagram, a lot of people noticed that we added a simple update: a wooden floating shelf on the window. This is a pretty simple DIY project we came up with on a whim a while back (and it’s super affordable too!), so we wanted to show you the easy steps to making one yourself.
For reference, here’s what the window looked like when we first showed you before and after this space We’ve been using deep window sills for some decor and landscaping back in 2020, but adding extra shelves has given us room to put more stuff and generally adds some fun interest to previously unremarkable windows.
The steps to do this depend somewhat on your particular window, but here’s the one we use:
tools and materials
*You can also cut the boards to size at Lowe’s or Home Depot, in which case you don’t need a saw and can use a small handsaw or hacksaw to make thin quarter round supports.
We have all these supplies on hand – even scraps from butcher blocks – so All we need is a concave shape for about $2 Make this project a reality!
Why This Window Is a Great Place for Shelving
This project is not available for all windows, but ours is a good candidate for some reasons. first, it has a deep ledge (approximately 4 inches), which means we can add a 4 inch shelf without it completely banging into the room. Anything significantly shallower would probably make most things harder to put in there (although our wooden hands from Mexico only needed about an inch of wood to balance). Of course, we could have it protrude into the room a bit (if you have a narrow window sill, you can do that), but we personally like the shelf to be flush with the window frame, since it’s already deep enough to hold whatever we want to go there.
second, This window has frosted glass inside – which means it doesn’t need blinds or roller blinds to give us privacy. Most drapes will interfere with such a shelf, so any windows that require covering (bedroom or bathroom) may not be feasible. This would probably be great on a kitchen window though! Even though it’s not frosted and has a great view.It’s also worth noting that this window in our house is frosted, but we’ve Add frosted film to windows In many of our previous houses – so here is a tutorial If you want to remove your bathroom shade and frost your windows then add this shelf.
Finally, since this is not a sleeping space, we don’t need to worry about exits – i.e. the bedroom needs a viable escape route in case of an emergency.The bathroom does not need to meet the outlet, but we are sure to install the shelf in such a way allow windows behind it to open.
We also chose to secure the shelf with some small nails (you’ll read about it later) so it will stay attached to the shelf. Easily knocked over in case of a real emergency. These are good things to consider before adding any shelves in front of open windows.
How We Build Window Frames
The project went so fast we didn’t stop to take a progress photo, but I think you’ll find the process self-evident from the photos below. It’s basically a butcher block resting on top of two small concave moldings!
The wood we use is this butcher block because we left a piece of scrap This built-in storage item. If you’re buying it just for this shelf, it’s pretty pricey, so of course there are other options – even a basic 2×4″ will do! However, depending on the interior span of the window (ours are 28″), you may need something stronger than the standard 1″ thick board. Over time, something thin can sag if it’s not supported in the middle, especially if you plan to put heavy objects on it.
Since we know the butcher block is pretty strong, we just have to find a way to hold it in place.We didn’t want big, obnoxious braces, so we decided to try this understated Instead of dieperfectly blended with window decorations, almost Gives us the effect of a floating wooden shelf.
So, with the plan in mind, the steps themselves are simple:
- Cut the wooden shelf to size Use a saw (ours measures 4″ deep by 28″ wide) or pre-cut
- Cut two dies to the depth of the tracery (ours was 4 inches)
- Measure and mark the desired location Bottom of the shelf on either side of the window trim
- Nail the cove molding into the window trimuse a spirit level to make sure they don’t tip forward or backward.
- add your wood shelf And check the level again.
- Nail the shelf to the concave molding (we started below) to hold it in place.
- caulking nail holes and draw them to match your decor
The nails we used were just simple 1.5″ finished nails from a nail gun – not super heavy at all – because the shelf itself isn’t actually that heavy. You can even see where we nailed it (I guess they could use a second coat of caulk!).
Again, this was a very quick and super easy DIY project that we did on a whim with some leftover butcher blocks, but we love how it turned out and highly recommend it if you have a room that could use some extra interest.
Oh, and if you want to know more about what’s on the shelf – except for the two plants – those are wooden hands Shirley picked up and covered with Milagro ornaments Our Mexican Family Vacation last year. We like to joke that from the outside it looks like the hands are recreating scenes from the Titanic.
Other DIY Shelving Projects
If you’re looking for more DIY shelf projects, we have a lot of them:
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