Tag Archives: diy kitchen shelves

Apartment Details

December 3, 2012

Filed Under : INTERIORS

1/ a few of my favorite books on this bookshelf
2/ new anthro cups on my kitchen shelves
3/ chalkboard decal that always has a grocery list on it
4/ coffee table (need to share the DIY for it still!) with my favorite holiday candle
5/ next to the staircase, my plant soaking up some sun
6/ a small section of the gallery wall
7/ my stack of InStyle magazines next to the TV
8/ a cozy seat in the living room
9/ magazine rack next to the couch

I’ve lived in my current apartment for almost 2 years now (so crazy) and I haven’t really shared much of it on the blog.  I just feel like it’s always evolving and has never been ready for a full-on dedicated post.  But eh, we’re thinking about moving again so I thought I’d better take some photos of the place before we jump ship.

Speaking of jumping ship, I’ve officially deemed “apartment hunting in Santa Monica” as the most difficult task I have ever tried to complete.  You think you’ve found the perfect place and then BAM it has no parking.  Or it has no stove.  Or it has no doors.  Something weird like that.  Really, landlords of Santa Monica?  Get it together.

Speaking of getting it together, this weekend was so unproductive and I loved every second of it.  Lazy weekends are the best. I did go to UNIQUE LA on Sunday, which was amazing by the way.  But other than that, I spent a lot of time on the couch, catching up on shows, knitting, reading, writing – lots of happy things.  Unproductivity is the best, am I right?

DIY Kitchen Shelves

February 6, 2012

Filed Under : INTERIORS

diy kitchen shelves

After making this DIY bookshelf, the bf has been in the mood to build more things for our little apartment.  His most recent venture are kitchen shelves that we modeled after these West Elm wood shelves.  We were *this close* to buying those shelves at $79 a piece until Kyle decided to make a version of them himself.

So he bought a few slabs of wood, used the same stain as our bookshelf, and picked up a few cheap-o wall brackets at Ikea.  And now, we have 10x more storage in our kitchen!

diy kitchen shelves

diy kitchen shelves

To make these shelves, here’s what we used: 

Wood Shelves
3 – 8″ x 24″ red oak (or any other hard wood, custom cut at Home Depot)
1 Minwax wood conditioner (to prep before the stain)
1 Minwax wood stain in “dark walnut”

Wall Brackets
6 – Ikea Ekby Valter brackets, black (it comes with screws)

Screws
12 – #12 2″ screws (to screw into the wall)
6 – small screws (to screw into the wood)

Other tools
Extra fine sand paper, 220 (to sand the wood before staining)
Hand drill
Stud finder

You basically just sand and stain the wood, drill the brackets into the wall (preferably a stud, but if not, then use drywall anchors), line the shelves on top, and drill them into the brackets.  Voila!