Do you have spaces in your home that could not only be more functional but need some aesthetically better looking design? We definitely had one of those areas in our small kitchen. This corner spot near our cabinets is super awkward and when we mored in I din’t think much about what to do with it. We had this large clock ad at the time I had nowhere to put it so it ended up here and stayed there for a few years. Recently I decided  to give it a little update and create some corner shelves.

Heres’ what the space looked like before. Since it’s a high traffic area, we really had to make it easy to get around and not intrusive into the walk space.

 

 

Supplies

• 1″ x 2″ pine boards cut at 16″ for the shelf supports( cut at 45 degrees on the ends.
• 2’x4’x 1/4″ SD plywood for the shelves -*we used 3/4″ and it was a little too thick so we recommend the 1/4″
• 1/4″ panel boards ripped to fit as the fronts of the shelves
• brad nailer
• level
• miter saw
• circular saw
• stain or paint of your choice- we used Early American minwax stain

 

Step 1

 Measure the space to decide how long your support brackets need to be. We cut them slightly shorter to give room for the board facing to fit snuggly against the shelves. Cut your support brackets and attach into studs in the wall. Determine the distance you want your shelves to be. Factor in the purpose of the shelves and the height you need to fit the items you will be displaying. We had approximately 18″ in-between shelves.

 

 

Step 2

Measure both sides of your wall and then across to determine the size of your triangle cuts. Be sure to measure each shelf individually and don’t cut all of them the same. Most walls aren’t square and you may have slight differences on each shelf. Cut 2 triangles per shelf, one for the bottom, one for the top. Cut your triangles using the corners of the boards.

 

 

 

 

Step 3

 

I recommend staining or painting your shelves before you attach them. It eliminates having to tape everything off and you know you’ll get nice clean lines.

 

 

Step 4

 

Attach the top and bottom of the triangles with the brad nailer into your brackets. Once all of the tops and bottoms are attached you can cut and stain your from pieces. Be sure when you stain them you are using the correct side of the board you want to see once its’ attached.

 

 

 

 

Step 5

Attach your front pieces once the are stained and dry. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Style your new shelves and enjoy your hard work.

 

 

I love the warmth the wood tones give this little corner and the chic style it added to an otherwise boring space.

 

 

I wouldn’t call this an easy project because working with corners can be a big challenge. One tip I suggested already once is to be sure you measure each shelf individually because walls are never square or the same all the way up. Overall I am so happy with the results. I love the chunky look and how sturdy they are.

 

They give this space in the kitchen a nice upgrade and modern vibe against the white cabinets. Another project we did with a corner space was our built in tv cabinet. It was quite a challenge but turned out great. You can read about it here Creating A Corner TV Cabinet

Thanks for following along and let me know if you have any questions. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter for the latest in our projects and posts .

 

Happy Building