Do It Yourself Shelving
Despite the availability of floating wall shelves in many materials and designs, I find it an interesting DIY project to make shelving for my home.
I made most of the shelves in my home, with little trouble and time invested. I find it interesting to make them on my own for many reasons, three of which I mention here.
Reason 1: Custom Designs
Nearly every shelf that I made finally acquires a unique design of its own as it conforms to the specific needs of storing particular items. For instance, one of the girls wished to have a shelf above her bed that could house her Barbie dolls in a particular fashion. Finally, she got one in the exactly required size with just the right combination of cubes and open space. I really wonder if such a shelf would have been readily available in the market!
Reason 2: Cost Reductions
Believe me, it works out economical to make your own shelving. While designing an ordinary bookcase, for instance, I take care to adjust the design to suit the normal dimensions of a standard-sized wood board, taking care to cut wood in such a manner that the left over pieces would fit into making of some other item. I realized that for buying a similar sized bookcase I would have spent more.
And let me tell you that I don’t go out to buy fresh wood for all the projects. These days I have taken a project to make a storage unit that sits and fits over the toilet of children’s bedroom. The wood for this project was gifted by one of my neighbors who would have thrown it anyway. Of course, I plan to buy new hardware, handles included. Yet I estimate the total expenditure to be about $13. And, mind you, this is not a standard sized item of the kind that one could buy in a store. I save money but over and above made an optimum use of the available space.
Reason 3: Enjoyment
In the process of saving money, I saved a few trees also! It really gives you a high, designing and making something for the loved ones is an extraordinary experience. In the garden shed I developed a reasonably big place for working on wood. Spending an hour or two out there and being creative really keeps me relaxed. That apart there is another big advantage of spending time with kids who are always more than eager to help designing the item to suit their ideas. In the process get to learn certain aspects of working with wood, home décor and how to plan things before hand. I expect these skills to help them in future as they find out how to design things as per the available means and materials. But, that’s not the end of it all. It’s really quality time with kids getting a thrill of having actually used a real tool rather than a toy. They also learn about safety and responsibility. Both the parties gain in this process.
So, that’s how it is. Even if you aren’t too sure of getting started with a DIY project on shelving, have the courage to take a chance and you won’t regret that decision. It’s not a matter of money, imagine the thrill of creating something on your own and the pleasure it brings!
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