The simplest way to DIY a book ledge for any wall!
Honestly, this project was completed months ago. I made sure to take clear, quality pictures of each step at the time of construction. And then somewhere between then and now, the amazing step-by-step pictures have been lost in the wide world of the interweb.
Sooooo, I took crappy pictures of an already finished project to try my darndest to explain how the heck I made these things.
Honestly, these DIY Book Ledges are a pretty simple concept. I used 1″ x 2″ furring strips, outside corner moulding and brass corner braces. That’s truly all it took. But, in an attempt to help you better understand the process, I will proceed below with my subpar pictures and most-likely even lower standard of explanation….
You’re welcome (and I’m sorry!)
The first step was to measure the length of the wall I wanted the ledges to hang on as well as how many layers of ledges there would be. I also needed to make sure I knew the width of the books I was planning on displaying as I was hoping to use outside corner moulding pieces (these are traditionally about an inch or so in size) and a thicker book wouldn’t fit. These particular vintage books were a find on Facebook Marketplace and were all fairly thin, so my idea was perfect.
Once I knew the length of the wall and width of the books. Off to Home Depot I went!
After picking up 4 furring strips and the outdoor corner moulding (that I had found in the clearance section because they had been previously cut and each had a warped edge), I found the braces that were also the correct width to fit the moulding.
I waited in line for quite a while on a Saturday morning to have these bad boys cut for me. I have my own saws at home, but it was rainy and cold and it seemed like an easier option to have Home Depot cut the trim pieces instead. It’s actually a pretty sweet service they offer at no cost to the customer and saves loads of time on your projects! Just make sure you are 100% sure of your desired length – otherwise you’re stuck with a wrong size wood piece that you’ve already purchased and brought home.
The first step to actually constructing the ledges was to attach the furring strips to the wall. I decided to paint these white first (so they would blend in with the already white wall) and stain the corner moulding pieces to give the ledges a ‘warm’ look. Our walls are stucco and completely thin crap. Seriously. It’s a crazy pain to even find a stud and anything, heavy or not, must be attached to a stud. The function of the furring strips was to allow a foundation for the ledges that could be drilled into a stud and then be fully covered with the corner trim.
Next, after waiting for the stain to dry on the wood trim pieces, I attached them to the furring strips using the braces. I used 3 corner braces per ledge – one on each end and one in the middle. Learn from my mistake and be sure to use a drill bit extender or else you will jack-up your wood like I did here.
I personally consider these mess-ups to be a signature of sorts. Like, they say: “handmade slightly imperfectly by Kristin.”
