How to Make a Corner Christmas Tree Shelf

I try and make something new for my home every Christmas. This year I wanted to make a shelf that would fit into the corner of my room and still pass as a Christmas tree. And after Christmas it could stay where it was I could just decorate it in another way. It can become a thanksgiving, fall or even a Halloween shelf you just change the decor to suit the occasion. I made this Christmas tree shelf last year that can hang on a wall or sit on a table, which is a great idea for people with limited space at home.

Step 1: Cut the Frame

I can not build projects according to a plan, so I make mine up as I go along so if a step seems strange to you that is why. To start you will need a large piece of wood or plywood. I use formply because it was free and it was what I had at home. If you want to duplicate this shelf all the dimensions are on the image above. Add painters tape diagonally across the wood, this serves as the cut line and prevents the wood from splintering as bad.

Step 2: Measure the Position of the Shelves

Lay the 2 halves side by side and measure where you want to place the shelves. Draw a pencil line across both shelves so you know the shelves are going to be straight. Using scraps of plywood cut stripes of wood, these will be your shelf supports. I left a gap at the front so the support is not so obvious once assembled. Next, glue the supports to the sides using the pencil line as a guide. I used a nail gun to secure the glued supports so I did not have to wait for the glue to dry. Cut a hole in the gap below the first shelf at the bottom, this is to add Christmas lights. If you don't have a hole saw, use a jigsaw to cut out a small square. The idea is that the plugs are hidden under the bottom shelf.

Step 3: Join the Sides With Brackets

Using a large square ruler or a corner of your house if you don't have a square ruler. Square the two sides up together and drill holes for the brackets just under the shelf supports to hide the bolts. Put your bolts through from the front and secure them to the brackets with nuts. These will be painted later so they atre not be so obvious.

Step 4: Making the Shelves

To make the shelves, I cut squares from plywood. Test the squares for a good fitting by putting them on the shelf supports. Because the shelf is 90 degrees and so are the squares they should fit. Using a handy wooden compass that I made, state of the art I know. Draw a pencil line to round off the shelves. I am not very accurate cutting curves with a jigsaw so I always leave 2mm excess wood. The excess is then removed with a benchtop sander using the line as a guide. Test the shelves again for a good fit before glueing them in place. Please ignore the mess in my workshop, it is really organised chaos.

Step 5: Paint the Shelf

It will be a lot quicker to paint the shelf before assembly. Using a paint roller I added one coat of primer and 2 coats of white acrylic paint to all the wood. Once dry the shelf was glued together using wood glue.