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12 DIY Floating Shelves

Updated on 12/03/21

A floating mirror and shelf in a bathroom — Remodeaholic

These DIY floating shelves appear to "float" on the wall because the hardware is hidden from sight. They're a little more complicated to build than a traditional wall shelf, but still a great project for a beginner builder.

You can use these DIY floating shelves anywhere in your home from the bathroom to the living room. They make a great home for decorative items and books but built on a larger scale, they're also great to use for general storage.

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Easiest DIY Floating Shelves

Bitterroot DIY

This DIY floating shelves project builds some classic shelves that would look great in any room in your home. This tutorial takes you through the whole process from start to finish, including how to get a white oak color on the finished shelves.

Easiest DIY Floating Shelves from Bitterroot DIY
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Hexagon and Triangle Shelves

My Love 2 Create

Put a twist on the traditional floating shelves with these hexagon and triangle shelves. They're a unique shape that really adds some interest to any space in your house. The best part is, they are extremely budget-friendly and you can build them for under $10 each.

Hexagon and Triangle Shelves from My Love 2 Create
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Laundry Room Floating Shelves

Thrifty and Chic

Floating shelves are a great solution for a space like a laundry room. The process for building these is a little different than other tutorials, but I found it to be really easy to follow. You can also easily change the dimensions given here to make some to fit perfectly in your own space.

Laundry Room Floating Shelves from Thrifty and Chic
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Hoop Shelf

A Beautiful Mess

This hoop shelf is another great example of how you can take something ordinary and make it unique. This is built as a floating shelf with dividers above and below the actual shelf. The whole shelf is then wrapped with DPI board to create the hoop.

Hoop Shelf from A Beautiful Mess

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Wood and Leather Towel Shelf

The Merrythought

This floating shelf is perfect for a bathroom. The single wood shelf can hold decorative items or necessities. Hanging from the shelf is two loops of leather, which are great for holding rolled up towels. This might be just the solution you're looking for if you're short on storage space in your bathroom.

Wood and Leather Towel Shelf from The Merrythought
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How to Build a Floating Shelf

Refresh Restyle

This floating shelf is used to build one that can be used for a mantel underneath a TV. It builds a nice large shelf that would also look great over a fireplace or anywhere in your home where you really want to add a substantial shelf.

How to Build a Floating Shelf from Refresh Restyle
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Sunrise Floating Shelf

Remodeaholic

Give your bathroom the refresh it deserves with this free plan for a DIY floating shelf that covers a circular mirror. Even if you don't want to include the mirror in the project, you can use the basic building directions to make this floating shelf and put it anywhere you'd like.

Sunrise Floating Shelf from Remodeaholic
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Natural Wood Floating Alcove Shelves

Designing Vibes

If you have an alcove or a wall niche, you can take that seemingly unusable area and create a place to store books, show off your knick-knacks, or for anything else you'd like to put on a shelf.

Natural Wood Floating Alcove Shelves from Designing Vibes

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Pallet Shelf

A Piece of Rainbow

Create a unique floating shelf with this plan for one made out of a pallet. This tutorial takes you through the process of taking apart and reassembling the pallet to make it into a shelf. Here it's used as a charging station, but you could use the shelf for anything you like. It would especially look cute in a kitchen. It's also a great budget project because you can often get pallets for free.

Pallet Shelf from A Piece of Rainbow
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Round Floating Corner Shelves

Bitterroot DIY

Here's a fun spin on a floating shelf, these are rounding floating shelves that fit perfectly in a corner. It's a fun way to decorate a part of a room that often gets overlooked.

Round Floating Corner Shelves from Bitterroot DIY
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Magnetic Wooden Shelf

The Merrythought

This unique floating shelf is so small that all it requires is a few magnets to keep it securely fastened to the wall. This would be great for a dorm room or an apartment. It's also such an easy project that will take you just five minutes to make from start to finish. In addition to written directions, there's also a video to help you with this simple project.

Magnetic Wooden Shelf from The Merrythought
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Faux DIY Floating Shelves

A Piece of Rainbow

This tutorial will show you how to add a floating shelf anywhere you'd like. Wood, brackets, and some paint or finishing wax are all you need to make a shelf just like this. This is a great tutorial that will show you how to hide the brackets and then hang up your shelf. Lots of pictures are included to help you succeed.

Faux DIY Floating Shelves from A Piece of Rainbow