How to Build Oak Living Room Shelves
Oak bookshelves are an asset to any room; being elegant and useful, they are good focal points for a selection of books or photographs and collectibles. Building your own oak shelves for a living room can save you a good deal of money; oak bookshelves can be very expensive.
Your bookshelf can be as simple or as decorative as you want. Painting and staining your oak to match your own interior decoration adds an element of personalization to your shelves.
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Things You'll Need
- One piece of 4-by-10 inch-by-14-foot oak lumber
- One piece of 2-by-10 inch-by-8 foot oak lumber
- Measuring tape
- Pencil
- Saw
- Sandpaper
- Paint
- Stain
- Paintbrushes
- Hammer
- Nails
- Screwdriver
- Drill
- Screws
- Level
- Brackets
Instructions
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1
Work in an outdoor or well-ventilated area for cutting and painting your oak.
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2
Measure the piece of 4-by-10-inch-by-12-foot lumber and make a mark at its center. Saw it in half at the measurement you made. These two pieces of oak wood will be the sides of your shelf.
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3
Measure 32-inch sections out along the 2-by-10-inch-by-8-foot oak board. Cut each section out. These pieces of oak will be the shelves of your shelving unit.
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4
Use sandpaper to remove any rough parts of the sides, edges or corners of your oak lumber.
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5
Paint or stain your oak lumber. Choose a stain color that complements the oak and matches your decor, or paint the oak to complement your personal style.
Allow the lumber to dry for 24 to 48 hours before continuing. Clear-coating the oak with an enamel finish can help the quality of the paint last longer. -
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Use measuring tape and a pencil to decide how much space you want between each shelf. Begin at the bottom of each side piece and move up as you go. Make pencil marks at the same points on each piece to allow you to attach the brackets and shelves.
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Use a screwdriver to attach L brackets to the sides of the bookcase on your pencil marks. Place two brackets on both sides so that each shelf has four brackets. Place them 3 inches from the front and back of the side pieces.
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8
Use screws to attach each shelf to its brackets. Make sure the screws are flush with the wood, otherwise they can damage your books. Cover the heads of the screws with wood putty if necessary.
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9
Move your oak bookshelf inside with a partner and fill it with books.
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