DIY Gutter Bookshelves

I came across this post recently and thought it was so much fun that I just had to share it again!

My nephew just recently moved into his big boy room in anticipation for the arrival of his baby sister. This came with a lot of changes, a big boy bed, a couch and new organization for all of his toys. Once everything was said and done he was still in need of a place to keep his books organized, but his room was a little short on space for a bookshelf, so it’s time for my sister and I to get creative.

In looking around for functional, DIY shelves for little M she came across this tutorial by Raising Olives for gutter bookshelves: easy, affordable, functional and super snazzy! The perfect solution. So here’s how to make the shelves.

First we go to the hardware store (I know this is a strange place to get craft supplies, but there are a ton of awesome things at the hardware store). We pick up a ten-foot, vinyl gutter (not the easiest thing to carry around the store, by the way). In addition to the gutter we grab 6 end caps (you need two per shelf), and 6 brackets (also need two per shelf, unless your shelves are going to be longer than 5 feet, then three per shelf would be more stable).

We want three shelves out of our 10-foot gutter, so we decide cut the gutter into 3, four-foot sections using a handsaw (ok, well it was actually my brother-in-law who will cut it for us).

Once we get everything cut we wipe it down with mineral spirits (the spray paint can says to use paint thinner but all we have is a can of mineral spirits). This step removes any potential chemical residue from the production of the gutters.

Now that everything is prepped and ready to go we get to spray painting. My sister wants black because all of M’s furniture was black, so it would look great in the room, you can use whatever color you would like. We set everything up on a rubber maid tub covered in a drop cloth and get to spraying.

My sister is a spray painting pro, she teaches me that it’s important to use a lot of layers when it comes to spray painting; patience is key. The first layer hardly covers anything. Just keep going and until you get a solid covering. Let the paint dry and flip everything over and paint the other side.

Once everything is painted it’s time to put each shelf together. Slide in each bracket and then put on each end cap (this can be tough, but you’ll get the hang of it.)

Measure on the wall where you would like your shelves and put a mark where each bracket is. We put our brackets as far to the edge as possible to allow for as much space in the middle as possible. Using a screwdriver, screw through the holes in each bracket. This is hard to explain but is not very hard at all!

Once all your shelves are secure, load them up with books and enjoy!

I love the fact that you can see the fronts of all of the books, it makes it really easy for a little kid to see what book he’s picking out! And this is a great shelf for little kids because kid’s books are really thin and they can stack a few deep in each shelf!

I hope this gave you a fun idea! Good luck, I know you can do it!