DIY Bedside Shelf

Adding your own bedside shelves is a perfect way to guarantee that you have the most convenient bedside storage while still allowing plenty of room to move on either side of the bed. An ideal solution for close bedroom quarters, handmade bedside shelves are also a great accent in a room and can be designed or painted to match the general style and color of a room. Uses can vary. You can use larger shelves to store books, lamps and jewelry boxes, while you can use smaller shelves simply to hold an alarm clock. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Locate the studs in the wall next to the bed using the stud finder. Mark both sides of each stud with the pencil. Measure the distance from the center of each stud to the center of the next.

2

Turn the shelf board upside down and position the brackets evenly on the shelf's bottom surface, with the distance between the centers of each bracket the same distance as the distance between the wall studs. Mark the location of the bracket holes in the shelf board using the pencil.

3

Predrill the holes using a drill bit that has a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the intended wood screws. Attach the brackets to the shelf with wood screws, being careful not to penetrate the surface of the shelf.

4

Hold the completed shelf unit against the wall in the intended area, and position the brackets so that they line up with the wall studs. Set the carpenter's level on top of the shelf and adjust the positioning until the device shows that the shelf is level. Mark the location of the bracket holes on the wall with a pencil.

5

Predrill the bracket holes in the wall, making sure that the drill bit hits the wood studs with each screw. Attach the shelf to the wall using wood screws, installing each halfway before tightening them completely to ensure an even installation.