Storage & Shelving

Stylish Photo Shelf

Here’s a simple way to display favorite photos, and do it with understated style.

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 2.5–4.5 hours
Cost: $

About this build

Here’s a simple way to display favorite photos, and do it with understated style. This photo shelf is really just two boards, but adding a few curves and gluing on molding dresses it up a lot.

Tools

Essential

Drill / Driver
Jigsaw
Miter Saw
Pocket Hole Jig
Random Orbit Sander

Materials

Item	Qty
Board, 1x4 96"	1 board
Cove Molding, 3/4" Thick 96"	1 board
1 1/4" coarse-thread pocket hole screws	8 each
6" hangman picture hanging systems	2 each
Wood glue	1 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
Shelf	1	3/4" × 3" × 47"
Back	1	3/4" × 3" × 47"
Front Molding	1	3/4" × 3/4" × 49"
End Molding	2	3/4" × 3/4" × 4"

What to buy

Buy 2 boards at 8 ft.

3/4" × 3"

1 board

47"47"

3/4" × 3/4"

1 board

49"4"4"

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

1Cut the Shelf
Cut one Shelf and one Back to length from a 1x4 board, as shown in the cutting diagram.
2Drill Pocket Holes
With your jig set up for 3/4" stock, drill pocket holes in the rear face of the Back.
3Add Curves to the Back
- Lay out the curved shapes on each end of the Back using a compass. You’ll set it to a 2 3/8" radius for the outer curves, and to 2 3/4" for the inner curves. If the two arcs don’t meet exactly when you lay them out, that’s okay. Just connect the lines.
- Cut the shapes with a jigsaw, and then sand them smooth.
4Join the Back and Shelf
After sanding the Back and the Shelf, connect them using 1 1/4" coarse-thread pocket-hole screws.
5Cut Molding to Fit
- Cut one piece of Front Molding to length, as shown in the cutting diagram. Note that each end gets mitered at 45° to allow the molding to wrap around the Shelf.
- Also cut two pieces of End Molding, mitering one end of each piece where it will join to the Front Molding.
6Attach the Molding
- Glue the Front Molding and End Molding in place on the Shelf.
- Take care to align the miters. To hold the pieces in place as the glue sets, use masking tape.
7Finish the Shelf and Add Hangers
After the glue sets on the molding, you can sand as needed, and then stain, finish, or paint the photo shelf to suit your tastes. Then add hangers, and hang the shelf on the wall.