Displaying family photos brings such warmth and personality to a home. I love the idea of having a gallery wall, but I also like to change and rearrange things quite often. Just ask my husband.
Gallery wall shelves let you change out photographs or artwork without having all those nail holes in the wall. They are perfect for filling a large blank space, such as over a couch. Theses ledges would also look gorgeous in a dining room or kitchen displaying a row of plates.
Today, I’ll show you how to build gallery wall shelves like the ones we have in our hallway. If you’re just starting out with doing carpentry projects, this is perfect because you only have to make straight cuts. If you don’t have a miter saw, you can buy a miter box, such as this one:
A nail gun is not an absolute necessity for doing this project, but it’ll make all of your future DIY projects a whole-heck-of-a-lot easier. Trust me! It’s one of those things that you never realize what you’ve been missing till you buy it. After reading countless reviews, I ended up going with the Hitachi NT50AE2.
Here’s a sketch of how the shelves were put together. The top and bottom shelves were made identically.
The Materials You’ll Need:
(I found everything I needed at Lowe’s Home Improvement.)
1. 4″ wide 1/2″ thick MDF strips. I used 1/2″ MDF since I already had it left over from the board and batten hallway project. Since our shelves span between the door jambs in our hallway, I didn’t want the bottom board to jut out beyond the depth of the jambs. You can use 1 x 4″ boards instead if the depth is not an issue.
2. 1 x 4″ primed finger joint pine board for the ledges that the pictures sit on. I think it is well worth paying extra for something that is already sanded and primed because all the boring prep work is already done for you.
3. 1 1/8″ lattice strips for the front of the ledge.
4. Crown moulding that runs under the top ledge. The moulding that I used is called Coronado crown and the bar code number is #7-16781-01290-2. This also pre-primed and comes in 8′ lengths for $15.00. I fell in love with this crown moulding years ago and was so happy that I found a way to use it in our home.
Total cost of building materials: $56.00 for (2) seven-foot long gallery wall shelves
Tools: level, stud finder, nail gun, and miter saw. If you’re not using a nail gun, you will need to countersink the nails with a nail punch.
Other: Heavy duty construction adhesive, wood filler, sandpaper and caulk.
The How-To:
Once you have the bottom board nailed into the studs, attach the crown moulding with construction adhesive and nails. Next, run a thin bead of construction adhesive along the top of the crown moulding.
Nail in the top ledge into the bottom board.
After that, nail the lattice strip to the front of the ledge.
After that, all that’s left is filling the nail holes, sanding, caulking and paint.
It took one can of spray primer and white spray paint to change all of the picture frames from black to white.
I love that our new gallery wall shelves are not only functional, but they also give our hallway architectural interest with the crown moulding.
If you’re looking for a little gallery wall inspiration, you can follow my Photography and Gallery Walls board on Pinterest.
Make sure you check out all the projects that have gone into our hallway. Just click on these links:
Monogrammed & Decoupaged Art That Hides the Doorbell
How to Make a Decorative Vent Cover
**Disclosure-this post contains Amazon affiliate links.**
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ed says
Love the blog by the way. I was unable to find that coronado crown at Lowes or Home Depot? Any ideas where to find it? They have normal crown moulding but not coronado…ugh…
Tricia says
Thank you, Ed! The molding I used is still showing up on Lowe’s website so they may be ship it free to your store. Here’s the link to what I used:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_14209-746-EC3609_0__?productId=3039909&Ntt=radiata&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNtt%3Dradiata%26page%3D2&facetInfo=
ed says
Thanks so much for your quick reply. Yes, that’s not in my store but this is a huge huge help. I will purchase online…so far today painted (BM Grey Owl), crown molding and the start of the shelves…see here: http://cl.ly/image/2L3O282W0z0X
laundry room makeover…
thanks again.
ed says
PS. Maybe make a change in your story to name the exact crown moulding: http://cl.ly/image/3j2c2Q1V1X0b
Thanks again.
ed says
Update: for anyone following the details above, as far as I can see Lowes is not carrying the crown moulding/chair rail moulding (at least not within 100 miles of my home). I went to a local lumber yard and was able to get two 8′ strips of crown/chair rail. I went to Home Depot for all supplies except the crown and my total cost was about $90 ($60 for just the crown alone).
I completed two 7’4” shelves…by my calculations I still saved about $100-$140 if pottery barn made this size. You just can’t beat the custom look…I will get pics up soon.
Thanks for all the help here.
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I’ve never seen this project done with crown moulding – very creative!
Rachel (Lines Across) says
I LOVE how these turned out. I bought something similar at IKEA to display books in my son’s room, but these are much prettier (and cheaper in the end). I’m pinning this and maybe I’ll get a chance to make some later. Thanks for sharing at Monday Funday!
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Bonnie @ Uncommon says
Ok LOVE these!! What a transformatio n your hallway is going through! 😉 Are you in SC??
Tricia says
I’m so glad you like it! Yes, I’m in upstate SC. I remember that y’all are, too, but I can’t recall which part. There’s going to be a meeting for bloggers in the Summerville/Greenville area on the 27th of this month at another local blogger’s home if you’re nearby. Just let me know and I’ll give you the details. I’d love if you ladies could come too!
Carrie from Carrie This Home says
I love this project because I’m not forced to hang individual photos! It turned out beautiful! Would you mind to share this on my blog hop? I think our readers would love to see this! Thank you!
http://carriethishome.com/2013/04/frugal-crafty-home-blog-hop-18/
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Love this! So easy and makes such a huge difference! Well done!
Di@Cottage-wishes says
I love it, I want so much to copy this! My hall looks just like yours, same before color and floors. Thank you for the inspiration. Di
Jen @ de Jong Dream House says
I love gallery walls. We aren’t very handy, so we buy the Ribba photo shelves from Ikea. You can see our latest gallery wall here: http://www.dejongdreamhouse.com/2013/03/chair-rail-family-gallery.html
Tricia says
I love all of your gallery wall ideas! Amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Melissa @ Keep Calm and Decorate says
I LOVE your shelves! I know what you mean about obsessing about DIY projects. My husband gets so aggrevated with me because I can’t make a decision. I usually have to think about it a good month and even then I doubt my decision. Haha!!!
Tricia says
I can so relate! I’m good once I make a decision, but before that I’ll drive my husband so crazy, he tunes me out. Lol! And don’t even get me started on choosing a paint color!!!
Kenz @ Interiors By Kenz says
I am OBSESSED with how your shelves turned out!!! They are so classy and chic!
Tricia says
It’s funny you say that because I was obsessed about how I was going to make them for about 2 weeks. First, I couldn’t find the cove moulding that I wanted to use and then I couldn’t figure out how to make both of the shelves match. It sort of came to me in the middle of the night. The things we DIYers lose sleep over!!!
rebecca robinson says
hi Tricia!
love the shelving project – looks great! i have been hunting all over for the perfect shade of grasscloth wallpaper for our new dining room. is that what this is? grasscloth? i just love the color and the look. would you mind sharing your source? thank you so much!!
rebecca
knoxville, tn