looking for narrow (<11.5" deep) open shelving

May 12, 2017 5:33 PM

I'm trying to create storage in my laundry area. I have a tall, deep space which is only 11.5" wide, and am hoping to buy shallow open shelving and slide it into that space. So far I've struck out finding such a thing. Any suggestions? Thanks!
posted by stewiethegreat to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Are you willing to do a little DIY? You'll just need a screw driver and a hand saw - A trip to home Depot will get you the shelf brackets you need and then you can just pick up some plywood or wood as deep as your space, then just saw it to 11.5".
posted by Karaage at 5:46 PM on May 12, 2017 [4 favorites]

How deep? Can you just get some 1x8s cut to size at Home Depot and use those? Any mounting brackets should work, and you can stain or paint them as desired.
posted by brainmouse at 5:47 PM on May 12, 2017

Ah same idea as Karaage - you actually don't even need the hand saw, Home Depot will cut lumber to size for you right there.
posted by brainmouse at 5:47 PM on May 12, 2017

Maybe something like this shelf at Target? End-on, it's just over 9 inches wide, and the wheels would make it easy to pull out of your niche to get to the stuff in back.

These Metro-style wire units are pretty universally modular; if there isn't a taller version, you could bodge one together with separately purchased long poles.
posted by mumkin at 6:26 PM on May 12, 2017

If you've never mounted heavy things on the wall before, watch a YouTube video or otherwise find instruction on hanging shelves on the wall. You'll either need a stud finder -- so you can drive the screws straight into the wood behind the drywall -- or drywall anchors plus the screws that go with them and a hammer. Drywall anchors usually come with brackets, but sometimes they're not made for the kind of load that laundry room shelves often carry.

Get a lot of brackets, maybe mount one every 18" along the shelf.
posted by amtho at 7:10 PM on May 12, 2017

Lots of 1X12 lumber is actually just about 11.5" wide.

In your situation, if I could install strips of moulding with the flat side up on each of the walls of the space, I'd be tempted to arrange things so that I could slide the boards in and out individually on the moulding so I could reach items deeper in more easily (assuming that's not what you intended in the first place!).
posted by jamjam at 7:38 PM on May 12, 2017 [1 favorite]

Standard 1 x 12's are 3/4 x 11 1/2, so would work perfectly for you. Just grab enough shelf supports for the weight you want on them and the appropriate anchors for your wall type.
posted by Grumpy old geek at 7:38 PM on May 12, 2017

Response by poster: Hi! For some physical reasons, not looking for anything that requires construction. I'm looking for an open shelving unit like the one mumkin linked above, wheels or no wheels would both be fine.
posted by stewiethegreat at 7:45 PM on May 12, 2017

I'm going to say that you might not want to take up the entire space with shelves or storage. In my laundry room, the space that gets used the most is a tension shower rod that I use to hang up clothes coming out of the dryer. It's only about 18 inches long, but is so handy to have.
posted by raisingsand at 8:04 PM on May 12, 2017

This option is 10 inches wide. It looks like you could turn these shelves in the other direction to fit.
posted by oceano at 9:33 PM on May 12, 2017