Narrow indoor window sill shelving needed
June 21, 2010 2:32 AM   Subscribe

I need some sort of interior window sill shelving for the winter as my succulent collection has grown a bit out of control. I've googled and I can find next to nothing perhaps because I can find the right terminology.

I have two huge south(ish) facing windows with about 4 inch wide interior sills that don't open. I am looking for something that could give me a few levels and accommodate some 9cm pots without requiring me to do too much damage to the window frames (I am a renter).
posted by srboisvert to Home & Garden (6 answers total)
 
I'd just build something right inside the frames around the windows. The window frames will provide rigidity, so you won't have to worry too much about stabilizing the joints. In fact, say you wanted your first shelf to be 12" above the bottom sill -- just cut two 12" long, 4" wide supports, prop them on either side, then put your first shelf on top of them and tack it down with a couple of nails or screws (make a pilot hole first). You could put a shelf along the bottom sill, too (even making it an inch deeper if you wanted), to lend extra stability to your 12" supports.

Then, you can add more levels just like you built the first, including a small cross-piece along the bottom of each set of supports (maybe a dowel, or a 1x2, glued into place) for stability.

Since these are succulents, if your window gets cold in the winter, you might want to consider putting an extra layer of clear insulation -- maybe plastic over a thin frame -- as a layer next to the glass.

I wish I were there! This sounds like a fun project.

Do you have a router, or a friend with a router? If you rout the edges of the boards, they can look really nice. You could also cut the inside edges of the "shelves" (and even the supports) in a nice curve, for style. Use polyurethane on the shelves to make them resistant to water -- maybe not absolutely necessary if you're only going to put succulents on them, since they aren't generally wet, but you might end up wanting to put other things on there, too.
posted by amtho at 3:38 AM on June 21, 2010


What about some open shelves that sit on the floor in front of the window?
posted by orme at 5:43 AM on June 21, 2010


Response by poster: The open shelves would be a no go from a decorative point of view. It's our bedroom and I think my wife would completely veto that one.

Amtho, that was sort of what I was thinking but I was hoping for an easy to buy solution since I don't have any carpentry tools at all. I might just use some bricks and narrow shelvs to give me a second story. Mind you I was also thinking about building a growhouse/cold frame from some salvaged windows so maybe a I should just get myself a saw.

(Cold is not really a big issue - I'm in the UK so it isn't cold for very long and it isn't ever really very cold. I only move some of my succulents inside so they can avoid the damp. Even with last years 3 weeks of snow a lot what left outside came through unscathed )
posted by srboisvert at 7:58 AM on June 21, 2010


Yes, a saw will make your life better. I put off buying mine for too long. Also a drill if you don't have one already -- extremely useful; screws hold much better than wood, and you open up a universe of wall-mounted shelving (bathroom? kitchen?) that makes for some handy living.
posted by amtho at 10:59 AM on June 21, 2010


I meant screws hold much better than nails.
posted by amtho at 11:01 AM on June 21, 2010


Best answer: I once installed some shelves across a window in a rented house - it was in the bathroom, where there was little storage space. Here's how I went about it:

1. Measured the depth and width of the window, and the height and spacing I wanted the shelves at.
2. Went to a DIY store and brought some cheap wood, its width the same as the depth of the window.
3. Had a guy at the store cut it (most DIY places will do this for free, for simple straight cuts), so I had two horizontal pieces the width of the window, two long vertical pieces equal to the height I wanted the first shelf above the window sill, and two short vertical pieces equal to the height I wanted the second shelf above the first shelf.
4. I affixed the long verticals to the wall on either side of the window recess, using a glue I knew could be removed if needs be ('no more nails').
5. I placed the first horizontal piece across between the long verticals.
6. I affixed the short verticals above the bottom shelf, as I did the long verticals.
7. I placed the second horizontal piece across the top.

Illustration here.

Tools required: A measuring tape, some glue, a car to get the wood home.

My plan was, when I left the house, I'd just lift the horizontal pieces out, pry the vertical pieces from the wall, and tidy up the little glue I had used. However, I ended up leaving them in place, so I don't know how easy to remove they would actually have been.
posted by Mike1024 at 3:56 PM on July 3, 2010


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