Ever forget your phone when you go to the toilet and sit in boredom while you contemplate life? Me too. Thats why I decided to add a bookshelf with a variety of reading material for the times when I might be in there for a while.

Heres how I did it, and my thought process

Step 1: Planning and Cutting

MATERIALS:

2 x 18mm Whitewood shelves (1200mm long)

4mm MDF board (170mm x 600mm)

1 x Brush Shaft

2 x Half Moon Handles

6mm Plywood sheet (1200mm x 1200mm)

Paint of your choice

The overall size of the shelf unit is 600mm x 600mm. I started off by cutting the shelves I had bought into 600mm lengths. This would form the shelves and sides.

I laid the 600mm pieces side by side and used the router to groove out an 18mm slot, which would form the space for the shelves. As well as this I also cut a smaller 5mm slot at the back of the shelves and also in each side of the unit, to allow for the 4mm backing to slot into place. These cuts can be seen in the pictures attached.

For extra detail I cut small score lines in the back piece of MDF to give the impression that it was tongue and groove timber. This is not nessessary but just personal choice.

When all the cuts were made I made a dry assembly to check for fit.

Step 2:

When the shelf was fully assembled I could get a better idea of what i was dealing with and it was at this point I decided to check for fitment of my favoutire books. They JUST about fit. PHEW! Also at this point I decided I want to add a couple of small drawers, and in order to do that I added a divide in the centre, which will form a division between the left and right side, for the drawers. This addition can be seen in the last picture.

Also here I cut an old brush shaft and gave it a light sand. I will use this to hang a hand towel.

Step 3: Assembly

I gave the overall piece a light sand using 120 paper.

I then used screws and wood glue to hold everything together. I had no clamps so i used the screws to hold everything in place while the glue set. After this I removed the screws and drilled out the holes to 9mm and inserted dowel. Again these were glued in place. When the glue set, I again sanded the dowels flush before moving onto the painting stage.

I inset the back panel by 18mm which gave me enough space to add a French Cleat which I will use to hang the piece on the wall.

A decorative coving was added to the top edge to give it a more finished look. This is a small piece i had left over from a previous project I did- luckily I had just enough to do the job!

Step 4: Finish and Paint

I decided to paint this piece in grey to make it stand out from the magnolia wall on which it was to be hung. I didnt want it to be offensive or intruding into the room too much as it is a small space, so grey seemed like the safest option!

I created 2 drawers using a laser cutting machine which made perfect joints using 6mm plywood, however they were slightly too wide on the first effort so for the time being they lived up top and the empty spaces were filled using spare hand towels!

Step 5: Drawers and Handles

When I revised the cutting file for the drawers slightly they were a perfect fit. Note to self - measure twice, cut once.

I used left over handles I had from my Mitre Saw Station Project, and added some literature. The Mitre Saw Station can be viewed by looking at my other projects.

Hopefully this was of help to someone and inspires you to have a go at making something similar

THANKS FOR READING!