Cheap and easy wall shelves
December 13, 2019 3:57 PM Subscribe
I want to put shelves for my art supplies over my art table. The most I can pay is $50 and I'm not at all handy. I live in an apartment but landlord won't care if walls get damaged a little. I don't want anything that rests on the table. Can anyone recommend some very specific ideas for things to purchase or super foolproof things to rig up?
If you have an Ikea near you, that would definitely be my first suggestion. They have some very cheap wall-mounted shelves (such as the Ekby shelf for $8) and they've also got a simple pegboard-like system that might be easier to mount securely and has neat little pen cups and shelves with edges, which has a combo with a few shelves and cups for $36. You can probably find similar things at a hardware store if you don't have an Ikea, and they should be able to get you set up with the proper mounting hardware for drywall. That's probably the only tricky part of the process, but if you have the right hardware and an electric drill, it's not bad.
posted by duien at 4:13 PM on December 13, 2019
posted by duien at 4:13 PM on December 13, 2019
IKEA Done.
posted by Freedomboy at 4:19 PM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Freedomboy at 4:19 PM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
The important thing when choosing shelving is figuring out how much weight the shelf needs to hold...then get one that can hold a bit more than that.
sacrifix's suggestion is good and can hold up to 100lbs of stuff. I've put this kind of shelving up and it's pretty straightforward.
If you go the Ikea route, you can check how much the shelves can hold. It'll be listed in the product description.
posted by burntflowers at 4:28 PM on December 13, 2019
sacrifix's suggestion is good and can hold up to 100lbs of stuff. I've put this kind of shelving up and it's pretty straightforward.
If you go the Ikea route, you can check how much the shelves can hold. It'll be listed in the product description.
posted by burntflowers at 4:28 PM on December 13, 2019
I like shower shelves because they have rails to keep things from falling off, and the glass and polished metal are attractive and very easy to clean; the linked unit is ~$30.
posted by jamjam at 4:59 PM on December 13, 2019
posted by jamjam at 4:59 PM on December 13, 2019
But it is hard to hit studs for a shelf and have the shelf still be where you want it. Use plasterboard anchors always. They're easy once you get used to them.
posted by tmdonahue at 5:10 PM on December 13, 2019
posted by tmdonahue at 5:10 PM on December 13, 2019
Response by poster: I don't have an IKEA.
posted by mermaidcafe at 5:19 PM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by mermaidcafe at 5:19 PM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
I love standard pegboard - cheap, and there are a zillion products and hacks designed to go with it. Easy to attach it to the studs - here’s an article with pictures of standoffs and clever approaches for paintbrushes, ribbon. Zillions of pretty examples on craft blogs, but you can buy a 4’ square in white, put it up with four screws, eight bolts, and a level, and do the decorating as you organize your supplies.
posted by clew at 5:20 PM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by clew at 5:20 PM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Thinking about your “not at all handy” - do you know how to find studs in the wall? Do you have a battery powered drill? Neither of these things are hard but they’re hard the first time. Tell us if you need more details, this is the kind of thing there are great YouTube videos for.
posted by clew at 5:23 PM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by clew at 5:23 PM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
You can totally suspend a board from two stud-driven hooks in the wall!
Get:
- a solid wood board (NOT particle board, composite, or plywood - these will fall down and/or sag a lot - I prefer poplar) the size of your proposed shelf. Get it in a length that's about (integer * 16") + 3";
- four screw-in cup hooks, plus two more for every 2-3' length over 3';
- two of the screw-in hooks that have a long screw part;
- stud detector and maybe a small level unless you can find studs and level lines another way -- these aren't very expensive and they're really useful
- chain to hang the shelf, about 4x the hanging distance (maybe 16 feet), with links that you can open and close with pliers. Make sure links are smaller than about 1/2" - 3/4", and that they will fit into the cup hooks.
- Make sure you have two pairs of pliers available (not cutters) to open and close the chain links.
1 - prepare the board. Make tiny pilot holes -- not all the way through the board, these are for the cup hooks -- about 1" in from the edges of the board, at all four corners. If your board is super long, make more pilot holes at 16" distances along the front and back edges. Screw cup hooks into each pilot hole.
2 - set up chains. Decide how far below the wall hooks you want to hang the board. Imagine the chains hanging to support the board - the front ones will be at an angle, and so should be slightly longer than the back chains. Use Pythagoras' theorem to calculate how many links you need for the front chains vs. the back chains. Use pliers to get chains to the correct length. Close all links and attach chains to cup hooks.
I think that when I did this, I experimented with different lengths until I got ones that were close to an integer number of chain link lengths.
3 - set up wall hooks. Find studs in the wall about 3' above (at least - go higher if you can) either end of where you want your board shelf to go. Studs are usually 16" apart - hence the shelf length constraint above.
Drill small pilot holes there - make sure they go into studs (wood - you don't want to try attaching this shelf to drywall only), and make sure that the imaginary line between them is accurately horizontal.
Screw in large hanging hooks, then attach chains and board. Voila.
posted by amtho at 5:34 PM on December 13, 2019
Get:
- a solid wood board (NOT particle board, composite, or plywood - these will fall down and/or sag a lot - I prefer poplar) the size of your proposed shelf. Get it in a length that's about (integer * 16") + 3";
- four screw-in cup hooks, plus two more for every 2-3' length over 3';
- two of the screw-in hooks that have a long screw part;
- stud detector and maybe a small level unless you can find studs and level lines another way -- these aren't very expensive and they're really useful
- chain to hang the shelf, about 4x the hanging distance (maybe 16 feet), with links that you can open and close with pliers. Make sure links are smaller than about 1/2" - 3/4", and that they will fit into the cup hooks.
- Make sure you have two pairs of pliers available (not cutters) to open and close the chain links.
1 - prepare the board. Make tiny pilot holes -- not all the way through the board, these are for the cup hooks -- about 1" in from the edges of the board, at all four corners. If your board is super long, make more pilot holes at 16" distances along the front and back edges. Screw cup hooks into each pilot hole.
2 - set up chains. Decide how far below the wall hooks you want to hang the board. Imagine the chains hanging to support the board - the front ones will be at an angle, and so should be slightly longer than the back chains. Use Pythagoras' theorem to calculate how many links you need for the front chains vs. the back chains. Use pliers to get chains to the correct length. Close all links and attach chains to cup hooks.
I think that when I did this, I experimented with different lengths until I got ones that were close to an integer number of chain link lengths.
3 - set up wall hooks. Find studs in the wall about 3' above (at least - go higher if you can) either end of where you want your board shelf to go. Studs are usually 16" apart - hence the shelf length constraint above.
Drill small pilot holes there - make sure they go into studs (wood - you don't want to try attaching this shelf to drywall only), and make sure that the imaginary line between them is accurately horizontal.
Screw in large hanging hooks, then attach chains and board. Voila.
posted by amtho at 5:34 PM on December 13, 2019
Pegboard and rail solutions are nice because they work even when the studs aren’t right where you want them. In a rental, I feel like stud finding is actually a bit safer and easier than Molly bolts or other anchoring systems, which can be very fiddly, especially if you’re not dealing with modern construction.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:34 PM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:34 PM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
If cost is your main concern I would check thrift stores. They often have small bookcases that can easily be mounted with some cheap brackets from the hardware store. Or you can just buy wood slats (home depot and Lowe's both have cutting stations) and L-brackets to make your own.
Amazon will also have lots of options that come with hardware.
In either case make sure you screw into studs. Most drywall and plaster is not strong enough to hold shelves with anything even vaguely heavy on them.
posted by ananci at 6:07 PM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Amazon will also have lots of options that come with hardware.
In either case make sure you screw into studs. Most drywall and plaster is not strong enough to hold shelves with anything even vaguely heavy on them.
posted by ananci at 6:07 PM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
I suppose you could go full old school hippy and stack cinder blocks with boards in between.
Craig's list always seems to have Slatwall removed from renovations, it's pretty simple to use.
posted by Marky at 11:45 PM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Craig's list always seems to have Slatwall removed from renovations, it's pretty simple to use.
posted by Marky at 11:45 PM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
If you use a stud finder, use this magnetic stud finder. Cheaper and better than the electronic ones.
posted by asperity at 8:05 AM on December 14, 2019
posted by asperity at 8:05 AM on December 14, 2019
The ReStore, thrift stores, Kijiji, Facebook marketplace, and Freecycle type sites are good places to find options. You will need some basic tools as described above, but maybe you can borrow them? Sorry I just realized you asked for specifics.
posted by Enid Lareg at 9:45 AM on December 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Enid Lareg at 9:45 AM on December 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
To be really specific, pegboards, some of the pegboard hooks, and a cordless drill at Amazon add up to $68, above your budget but now you have a drill. Oh, and you'll need four wood screws about 1 1/2" long and eight nuts to be spacers between the pegboard and the wall. You might be able to get things cheaper at a hardware/lumber store -- in the US I would expect them to have cheap MDF pegboard in 4x8 foot sheets, and to usually be willing to cut one of those sheets in half and sell you half.
Also, if you have earthquakes or cats, I anxiously urge you to try attaching to studs, because they're much much stronger.
posted by clew at 10:58 AM on December 14, 2019
Also, if you have earthquakes or cats, I anxiously urge you to try attaching to studs, because they're much much stronger.
posted by clew at 10:58 AM on December 14, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by sacrifix at 4:11 PM on December 13, 2019 [9 favorites]