How to Make Farmhouse Shelf Brackets Out of Metal

Welcome back, friends! Today’s post is special because we get to share our first YouTube tutorial! Scroll down a little further to see our DIY Farmhouse Shelf Brackets video.

Jason and I recently made a Ballard Designs inspired shutter shelf and needed metal shelf brackets to complete the project. We couldn’t find anything like our inspiration picture in the store.

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Etsy has similar farmhouse shelf brackets that are made from 1/4′” thick steel flat bar but they’re at least $12.00 per set of shelf brackets plus shipping. So, to improvise, we made our own industrial farmhouse metal shelf brackets from 1/8″ thick steel flat bar from Lowes. The final cost for materials comes out to around a $1.00 per bracket! It pays to improvise, right?

If you’re looking for farmhouse style brackets and rustic wood shelves that are already made, you can purchase them on Amazon by clicking this link or the picture below.

Here’s a quick rundown of the materials you’ll need to make your own metal shelf brackets:

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A table vise or a couple of bar clamps that you slide onto 1/2″ galvanized pipe

Hammer

Dremel Rotary Tool

A drill with a drill bit slightly larger than the screws you plan to use

Spray paint primer for metal

Spray paint for metal in flat black

The metal used for this project is 1″ wide by 1/8″ thick so it’s easy to bend. This makes for a simple and inexpensive DIY project. We bought ours at Lowes and the item number is #44119. The shelves we used on our shutter shelf are made from a 1″ x 6″ board.

Just click on the video below to see the full tutorial:

I finished the brackets off by wiping them clean and giving them a coat of metal spray primer and a couple coats of flat black spray paint also made for metal.

These industrial farmhouse metal shelf brackets are the perfect solution for open shelving. Now, all you need is the wood for the shelf, and you’ve completed a simple DIY!

Click here to see the tutorial on our Ballard Designs Inspired Shutter Shelf.

Are you looking for a heftier type of farmhouse shelf brackets? Due to interest in the Fixer Upper style brackets we made for our cottage guest shed, we’ve opened an Etsy shop so we can sell the brackets seen in the picture below. Click on the picture below to go to the shop. We also do custom orders!