Pinterest Challenge – Restoration Hardware Shelf

We had so much fun doing the Fall Pinterest Challenge, that we jumped at the opportunity to do it again this time. The jist of the Pinterest Challenge is to stop just pinning ideas, and start creating. You’re supposed to DIY something from Pinterest. Whether it be a recipe, craft, home project etc.

Pinterest winter-challenge

I have a few pins over on Pinterest (onlyย 2,555 or so…) so I had a good amount of things to choose from! I figured this was a good opportunity to knock something off the to-do list as well.

Our front door opens onto the dining room. We have built a coat rack, installed an Ikea wardrobe and we have a nice bench and mirror. The only thing lacking in the entry was somewhere to put your keys and mail, or to keep a coffee away from the dog while you’re tying your shoes pre-puppy walk. We don’t have a lot of space, so a traditional console table was going to be too big.

Entry Before. Isn't that wall crying out for a table/shelf for keys & mail?
Entry Before. Isn’t that wall crying out for a table/shelf for keys & mail?

Here is our inspiration:

Restoration Hardware’s Reclaimed Wood Shelf

 

If we love the shelf so much, why didn’t we just go buy one? errrr… The price for shelf + brackets was $240. Yep, for one lil shelf. Ouch. We just don’t roll like that.

So we made it (with our spin on it of course)

Storefront Life's Take on Restoration Hardware's Reclaimed Wood Shelf
Storefront Life’s Take on Restoration Hardware’s Reclaimed Wood Shelf

So how’d we do it?

Bought some 1″ gas line pipe (it matches our dining table!) from Home Depot.

Supply List:

  • 2 – Floor Flanges
  • 2 – 6″ Nipples (teehee)
  • 2 – End Caps
Flange + Nipple + End Cap
Flange + Nipple + End Cap

Assemble them all together and this is what you get:

Shelf Brackets
Shelf Brackets

Now you need a shelf. We headed to the garage to check out what cool wood we had. We found some awesome worm eaten Butternut that El Granto had gotten for Christmas (yep we ask for building materials for Christmas). We loved the character of the butternut and decided it was the way to go.

Butternut Wood. Check out all those awesome worm holes!
Butternut Wood. Check out all those awesome worm holes!

We cut the piece of wood 28″ long, and trimmed the width to 5.5″. This would enable the wood to sit on the pipe, but inside the edges of the end cap and flange. We wanted to be able to see the cool bracket.ย  You can easily make the shelf wider by resting it on top instead of inset.

Next up, after deciding on placement and height (centered on the wall and 40″ off the floor) we went stud hunting, and found that we could hit one of our brackets into a stud. So we marked out the placement.

Marking the shelf bracket holes
Marking the shelf bracket holes

After the holes were marked, El Granto screwed the bracket into the studs.

Attaching the Bracket to the Wall
Attaching the Bracket to the Wall

After the first bracket was attached, we attached the pipe nipple and used it to help us level the second bracket.

Ensuring the Brackets are Level
Ensuring the Brackets are Level

Next up we marked the second bracket, and used EZ Ancors to ensure the shelf would be attached to the drywall nice and sturdy.

Installing the EZ Ancor`s
Installing the EZ Ancor`s

We then attached the other flange to the wall with screws into the wall anchors, and then screwed on the pipe nipple and end cap.

We gave our wood two coats of furniture wax and laid it on top of the pipe, screwing the end caps against the wood to hold it steady. Oh and it’s nice and level!

Level Shelf

TA DA! What do you think of our DIY Restoration Hardware Shelf & Bracket?

shelf (2) shelf (3) shelf (1)

photo 4

Storefront Life's Take on Restoration Hardware's Reclaimed Wood Shelf

photo 3

Make sure you check out all the other awesome Pinterest Challenge projects, check out the hosts blogs too!

Sherry @ Young House Love
Katie @ Bower Power
Megan @ The Remodeled Life
Michelle @ Decor and The Dog

SOURCE LIST:

Materials:

1″ Gas Line Pipe (2 flanges, 2 end caps & 2 6″ pipe nipples) – Home Depot
Butternut Wood – Gift
Furniture Wax – Home Depot
EZ Ancors – Home Depot

Tools Used:

Miter Saw
Sandpaper
Dish Soap (to wash the pipes)
Drill
Level
Pencil

Difficulty Level (on a scale of 1-5):

one out of five

Total Cost: $16

Author: Kristen

Kristen & her husband El Granto & their Vizsla Odin live in a converted Storefront in downtown Toronto.

21 thoughts on “Pinterest Challenge – Restoration Hardware Shelf”

  1. If you clean the pipe with dish washing detergent won’t pipe rust? Black iron pipe is shipped with an oil coating to prevent rust. Removal of the coating will cause the pipe to rust very quickly. I would think that the pipe would need to be sealed with something (varathane?) after the coating is removed.

  2. These are amazing!! I loved the RH shelves as well and was going to purchase them for our living room but now I am so excited to give this a try! I was looking to make the shelves a little larger though, both in width and length…do you think it is possible??

    1. You can totally make them wider and longer! I would probably add another shelf support mid way for long shelves though. You can get Home Depot to cut pipe to any length you like (for a small fee). So the world is your oyster!

      1. Awesome!! This truly is a great DIY!! Btw…loved your post on Playa Cabana! Going there next week, now I really cannot wait!

  3. I just stumbled across your blog and it is fantastic. I have the same Billy Bookcases and have wanted to dress them up. Thanks for the fantastic demo.

  4. Wow! Great job guys! Love how this one turned out. I’m totally with you on RH. Love the look, but just CANNOT justify the prices – especially when you consistently prove how easy it is to get the same look with a little time, patience & elbow grease (or furniture wax)! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  5. Now that you’ve had it up and loaded with stuff, are you concerned about the end caps being enough to hold the wood in place? Any thoughts on how to secure it to the supports a little more permanently? I love the look of this and want to try it myself, I’m just worried about my cats trying to jump on it and the wood popping free.

    1. We had considered this, but in our application we were not worried about kiddos or animals knocking it over, so the tension of the end caps is enough to keep it in place. However you could either drill a hole through the pipe and screw into the wood, or use something like plumbing strapping or a tube clamp to attach the bottom of the shelf to the brackets.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *