How to Build a Shelf with a Wood Gallery Rail

We’re within the midst of a bit of laundry room refresh and I’ve been slowly finishing initiatives to replace this house. We completed it virtually 7 years in the past and it’s one of the used rooms in our residence (after the kitchen). However now that we now have 3 kiddos and my fashion has developed it’s time for some adjustments! My most up-to-date venture was constructing a shelf with a wooden gallery rail and I’m right here to share all the main points with you!

After we first accomplished the laundry room, we put a shelf on the wall above the washer and dryer that was round 5′ lengthy. I don’t know why I made a decision on that size or why I didn’t prolong all of it the best way throughout the wall. It was early in my design journey and the laundry room was the primary room I ever designed from prime to backside!

The extra I checked out it, it simply appeared unbalanced and there was extra room for extra storage and performance. So I got here up with the thought to create a shelf with a wooden gallery rail on prime and a dangling brass rail on the underside.

I used to be impressed to create the wooden gallery rail after making a pet food holder for Oakley out of bigger wooden spindles. Brass gallery rails have develop into tremendous fashionable in design – we now have one in our kitchen and I adore it – however I needed to place a unique spin on it. Loads of older antiques have this aspect which is such an attractive element, and I needed to do it in a extra fashionable means that match my fashion higher.

SUPPLIES FOR SHELF WITH A WOOD GALLERY RAIL

STEP 1

Drill the holes on your finials. You’ll need to measure out your spacing first – I spaced mine 2.5″ aside from each other however you are able to do no matter appears to be like finest to you! I positioned them about 1/2″ from the entrance fringe of the board.

To drill the holes I used a 5/8″ drill bit. You possibly can additionally use a spade bit however since these have a sharp finish, I didn’t need to threat drilling by means of the wooden!

STEP 2

Trim the highest a part of the finials off. It was pretty simple to drill into the shelf board, however drilling into the nook spherical could be actually difficult. So to keep away from this, I simply trimmed off the highest a part of the finials in order that the nook spherical may sit flat.

I used the band noticed to do that and it was so fast and straightforward! If wanted, you’ll be able to then sand down the tops for a totally easy floor.

STEP 3

Minimize and miter your nook spherical. It helps to position your finials within the holes to get a greater concept of the place the nook spherical will sit. Then you need to use your mitre noticed set at a forty five° to chop every bit.

STEP 4

Drill the holes in your corbels. You probably have a drill press that’s the best means to do that, however we don’t so I used some clamps and my common drill. The copper pipe I used for the “brass rail” is 1/2″ and I used a 5/16 spade bit for the holes.

I stained my corbels first, however I recommend drilling first after which staining!

Begin by clamping two corbels collectively. Make sure that they’re aligned the right means (ie. the brackets on the again are dealing with the identical means). Eye ball the middle space of your corbel the place you need the pipe to go and drill down as straight as you’ll be able to by means of each corbels.

When you’ve accomplished the primary two, take certainly one of them and place it on prime of a non drilled corbel. Use this as a template to drill into the one beneath. Repeat till all corbels have been drilled by means of.

STEP 5

Now that each one your wooden is minimize and prepared it’s time to stain. I used a wooden conditioner first which helps to eradicate splotching and offers you a pleasant even end. You possibly can apply this with a black foam brush.

Then I used my favourite Darkish Walnut Gel Stain to stain the whole lot. I used a staining pad for the precise shelf and corbels after which used a small craft paint brush for the finials. Then I wiped the finials off on a rag to take away the surplus.

STEP 6

As soon as the stain is dry, apply a prime coat. I used Common Finishes Excessive Efficiency High Coat in Satin and solely did one coat since this isn’t going to get loads of motion 😉

STEP 7

Minimize your copper pipe. Earlier than you chop, measure out the size you want by putting the 2 finish corbels on the wall. This offers you a extra exact measurement however you do have some wiggle room for the reason that pipe will sit an inch or so into the corbels.

We determined to have the pipe go during all 5 corbels in a single piece however you could possibly additionally minimize the pipe into sections and have the seams be hidden inside the corbels.

Chopping copper pipe is tremendous simple with this little pipe cutter you may get on the residence enchancment retailer.

STEP 8

Spray paint your pipe. I used this gold leaf spray paint after which this clear coat on prime of that.

STEP 9

Create your wooden gallery rail! Glue your finials into the holes you drilled after which glue the nook spherical on prime. This DAP Fast Fuse glue is my favourite. It dries tremendous fast and is so sturdy!

STEP 10

Hold your shelf! Pull the pipe by means of the corbels and hook the corbels onto the screws within the wall. We have been ready to make use of among the present holes that have been there already after which needed to drill new holes on both finish. To drill into tile, simply ensure you use a masonry bit!

We had a bit of hassle getting all 5 corbels to slip into BOTH screws for every one so we ended up solely utilizing one screw per corbel and it was nonetheless tremendous sturdy.

STEP 11

Spray paint your hooks to match the pipe. No matter coloration you spray your pipe, ensure you use the identical on your hooks in the event that they aren’t a very good match. I used these bathe hooks and love the little ball element they’ve.

Now it’s the enjoyable half – time to brighten and revel in your shelf!

This wooden gallery rail shelf feels SO a lot better than the unique one did on this house. I really like that it fills up the entire size of the wall and has the extra brass rail beneath to hold issues from. It’s additionally lots prettier and added a beautiful contact of appeal and character to our laundry room.

What do you suppose? Would you construct your individual shelf with a wooden gallery rail?

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