DIY Wood Bookshelf | Using Reclaimed Wood

Soon you’re going to reach a crossroads in your life. You will have spent a certain amount of time accumulating a mass of junk that is now spilling out of your current storage options. If the dump or thrift store is just not an option for grandmas glass figurine collection or those books you’ll read someday, you’re going to want to check out this DIY reclaimed wood bookshelf. The best news of the day is that this bookshelf build is insanely easy and doesn’t require any special tools, yahoo! Already one step closer to being organized.

Check out the video tutorial:

Finding the Right Width

So how do you exactly DIY a bookshelf? Well to start you will want to purchase some wood or collect some from the wood pile. Being the scrounger that I am, I found the perfect boards for a large bookshelf in our stash.

I would recommend building your bookshelf out of 1×8 – 1×12 boards. It really depends on the stuff you need to store. Most storage baskets and bins will fit better on a bookshelf with 12 inch wide shelves. If it’s books that you’re organizing, you might be able to get away with the smaller boards. When in doubt measure the width of the largest items/book in your collection to decide how wide the shelves need to be.

Measure and Plan For Your DIY Wood Bookshelf

To determine the dimensions of your bookshelf, you will also want to measure your space. I used the height and length of this blank wall in my living room as a guide since I wanted my bookshelf to fill this entire space. For a tiny living room, it creates some awesome vertical storage without eating up very much floor space.

Bookshelves can also play double duty and serve multi use purposes. My DIY wood bookshelf will be used to keep my couch from crashing into the wall. It will also protect our internet box and conceal the cord mess that is stored in the dark abyss.

I measured the height of my couch so that I could match up a shelf at this height with no gap to accidentally see into the dark abyss.

DIY Paint or Stain

Once you make a decision on the dimensions for your DIY bookshelf, you can cut out your pieces. You will need to cut two side pieces that are the same height. Then cut out your shelves according to how many you decided to include in your bookshelf. My bookshelf will have four shelves. All of your shelves will be the same length.

When you’re making your own DIY wood bookshelf, you will need to finish the wood in some way. I chose to whitewash my bookshelf with a wash of one part paint to two parts water. After painting, I allowed my wash to dry and then gave the board a light sand to expose a bit more of the woods coloring. Finally, I coated everything up with a water based sealer.

Construct the Bookshelf

Measure and mark the side pieces where you want your shelves to be. You may want to draw a line on your side piece to assure your shelves sit level before you attach them.

To attach the shelves, send a screw through the side piece and into the shelf. Assure it is level both front to back and left to right before you commit. I used 3.5 inch screws so that my shelves would be extra secure. If you’re not apposed to the hardware look, you can use L brackets instead of screwing directly into your shelves.

An X For Extra Large Shelves

When all of your shelves and sides are adjoined, flip your DIY wood bookshelf over so that the back is facing up. I used an X shaped support system to keep my bookshelf from rocking and to also provide some added strength to the long shelves to prevent bowing. I used 1×6 lumber for this task.

Lay your first board over the bookshelf in it’s final resting place. Use a pencil to trace under the board along the edge of the bookshelf. Use your pencil line as a guide to trim down your board. It should be a 45 degree angle or somewhere close to that. Do this on both ends of your X piece.

Screw the X piece to the back or your bookshelf corners.

Repeat the same tracing and cutting steps for your second X piece, but this time trace where it intersects the first board as well. You will end up with two pieces. Screw these pieces into the corners as with the first X board, and then drill pilot holes and screw the ends into the middle of the first board. The only thing to watch out for here is that your two pieces line up properly before you attach them.

Once you’ve masterfully constructed your X support, screw the boards into the back of every shelf they cross. This will add two areas of added support to you shelves to keep them from bowing. Make sure the shelves are level before you screw the X to them.

Move Into Your Cool New Shelves

With angels watching over us, my husband and I wrestled this beast through the front door without injury. Remove all small children and pets from the area before attempting this feat.

I kept the decor on my DIY wood bookshelf somewhat minimal. This way we have room to grow and it doesn’t completely overwhelm our small living room.

This extra large bookshelf has also eliminated a few mom freak out moments since my kids can continue to dive bomb the couch and I don’t fear for the internet box’s life.

The simple construction of this DIY wood bookshelf is totally achievable and can be easily customized to fit your needs. Leave me a comment or question so we can conquer these projects together!

More DIY Inspiration

Don’t stop with the DIY wood bookshelf! Check out more DIY inspiration and easy home upgrades.

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