Gifts & Small Projects

Paint and Stain Storage Shelf

This project has you covered for a way to store paint and stain in an organized way.

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 2.5–5 hours
Cost: $$

About this build

This project has you covered for a way to store paint and stain in an organized way. This easy DIY garage paint storage system will display your paints and stains and keep you organized!

Tools

Essential

Circular Saw
Drill / Driver
Pocket Hole Jig
Random Orbit Sander
Table Saw

Materials

Item	Qty
Plywood, 1/2" Thick Full Sheet	1 board
1" Kreg Pocket Screws	42 each

Overall cost: $$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.

Cut list

Part	Qty	T × W × L
Sides	2	1/2" × 11" × 48"
Top Backs	2	1/2" × 5" × 36"
Top Fronts	2	1/2" × 3" × 36"
Middle Backs	2	1/2" × 3" × 36"
Middle Fronts	2	1/2" × 5" × 36"
Bottom Backs	2	1/2" × 8" × 36"
Bottom Fronts	2	1/2" × 6" × 36"

What to buy

Buy 8 boards at 8 ft.

1/2" × 11"

2 boards

1/2" × 8"

1 board

36"36"

1/2" × 6"

1 board

36"36"

1/2" × 5"

2 boards

36"36"
36"36"

1/2" × 3"

2 boards

36"36"
36"36"

Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →

Start building →

Instructions

1Build Top Shelves
- Attach a Top Front board to a Top Back board using pocket screws in the three pocket holes you drilled.
- Repeat for the second top shelf. These shelves are designed for stain cans so you can see the front of the can.
2Build Middle Shelves
- Attach a Middle Front board to a Middle Back board using pocket screws in the three pocket holes you drilled.
- Repeat for the second middle shelf. These shelves are designed for quart sized paint cans so you can see the name of the paint on the top of the can.
3Build Bottom Shelves
- Attach a Bottom Front board to a Bottom Back board using pocket screws in the three pocket holes you drilled.
- Repeat for the second bottom shelf. These shelves are designed for gallon sized paint cans so you can see the name of the paint on the top of the can.
4Attach Side One
Lay one of the Sides down and lay out each of the shelves on the board. Arrange with spacing and tilt how you like, but ours were done as follows for the height of the front lip of each shelf. Each shelf was angled about 15 degrees back. Top Shelf 1- 43" from bottom of Side Top Shelf 2- 35" from bottom of Side Middle Shelf 1- 29" from bottom of Side Middle Shelf 2- 22" from bottom of Side Bottom Shelf 1- 13" from bottom of Side Bottom Shelf 2- 4" from bottom of Side Attach with two pocket holes drilled on one side of each shelf.
5Attach Side Two
Line up the second Side with the same distances as Side one and attach with pocket holes on the other side of the shelves.
6Stain or Paint
Bust out one of the stains or paints you're about to store on this project and color it as you'd like. Or leave natural.
7Enjoy
Enjoy your handiwork and tag @CharlestonCrafted on Instagram with a picture!