How to Install Shelves

This article includes affiliate links.  Please visit my disclosure page for more information.

The upstairs half bath had an ugly step-sister…  an unfinished closet.  With the help of a fabric remnant, some paint, and installed shelves, it is now the bell of the ball.  Ok, that’s a bit dramatic since there still is a hot water tank and a vent to the attic but, hey, this gal’s got a vivid imagination!

The house was built 12 years ago and owned by two different people before us and no one ever finished this closet!  Drove. Me. Crazy!  Yes, that is unpainted drywall and unfinished flooring.  TWELVE YEARS!  Maybe they didn’t know how to hang shelves so I’m writing this post to show how easy it is to do – even Monkey Cindy can do it! LOL  

Back to the project at hand…  Here’s what the closet looked like initially.

I gathered up my supplies…

Cordless Drill

4 shelf brackets

2 rods

Small level

Stud finder

Paint brush

Drywall primer/paint

Screws

Marker/pencil/pen

4 – 2″x8″ boards cut to fit at store

 

 

The first step for installing the shelves was to create a support base for them to hang from.  Since the hot water heater is to the right of them, there was no wall on that side to just hang the shelving units that way.  I also couldn’t attached the bracket just anywhere on the drywall because it would not support the weight.

Add the support boards

To add the support boards, first I needed to locate and mark where the studs in the wall were located.  Read about how to locate studs in the wall using a stud finder here. 

Next, I measured approximately how far I was going to want the height of each rod and how far apart the two shelves would be and marked the wall near the corner.  Next I took a board and held it in place where the mark was located.  Using a level, I drew a mark all the way down the length of the board.  (See the picture below?  When the bubble is in the middle that’s when it’s level.)

Last, I got the drill and a 4 screws per board and attached the board to the wall making sure I was anchoring it to the studs.  

Now it was time to paint.

I didn’t bother painting the backside of the boards since I knew they wouldn’t be seen.  When I painted the closet with the anchor boards installed, I went ahead and painted the two boards I would be using for the shelving.

Already much better with two coats of paint…

Quick tip:  If you want to continue to use your paint brush or roller the next day(probably not much longer than that), simply wrap it up as tightly as possible with plastic wrap.

Now it was time to mark the location of the shelf brackets.  I decided that the shelf would be flush against the top of the front of the support board.  I had to measure the thickness of the board.  Then I measured and made a mark from the top of the support board to know where the top of the bracket would go.

 I put the bracket on the support board lining up the top of the bracket with the mark I made and then marked the holes for the screws.

Some people might try to hold up the brackets and screw in the brackets in without pilot holes, but I’m not that coordinated.  I used the same screw to drill about 12 pilot holes.  

Does it sound like a waste of time?  

Trust me.  Klutzy should be my middle name.  Don’t believe me, then take a side trip to this post to see what happened to my thumb and then come back…  I’m so glad you’re back!  Ok, drilling pilot holes is super helpful for uncoordinated people like me.  Instead of trying to hold the bracket and screws in place while using the cordless drill, I could go ahead and twist the screws into place to hold the bracket.

Tah dah!  All four brackets were secured into place…

Next was to add the two shelves and add the two rods.  There were two holes per bracket to secure the shelves from the top of the bracket to the bottom of the shelf.  And for the finishing touch… a high-end carpet remnant (for only $10) was added for flooring.

VIOLA!

We official have another closest in our home!

At some time in the future we will be adding baseboards and casing will be added to the closet side of the door.  Until then I’m just so excited that clothes won’t be stored on a wobbly rack in the bathroom any more.  Good times!

For more articles regarding the Bathroom/Closet makeover visit these links:

How to repurpose holiday clearance items

How to use a stud finder

On a roll – how to install a toilet paper holder

Thanks so much for visiting this tutorial.  Leave me a message in the comments below if you have any questions or want to chat!

Don’t forget to pin this for later…