DIY Cubby Shelf from a Curbside Find

Last week I showed you a bunch of antique cubby shelves I’ve been ogling for years now. When I found this shelf curbside it was finally time to make that dream of creating my own cubby shelf a reality.

If you are going to make a shelf similar to this curbside find, Each of these 6 shelves are about 12″ wide by 31″ in length. The two side pieces are 12″ wide by 48″ high. You’ll also need about 12 ft of quarter round which helps to hold up each shelf. There are 2″x33″ inch slats on the back of each shelf.

You can space your shelves any way you like but the upper shelves on my find only have about 5″ of space between the shelves, too close for most books.

This is the back of the shelf and it’s what reminded me of those old antique cubby shelves.

Many of the older antique shelves, not all, have a wider strip of wood on the front of each cubby.

The back of my shelf will now be the front.

First things first. Being this was a curbside find, the shelf was rather dirty.

He just needed a good scrubbing. I don’t mind the water rings and other marks, I do want the shelf to look like a genuine antique. After I’m finished with him he may not be totally antique, but he will have his antique bones.

I gathered up a bunch of half inch plywood scraps to create the shelf dividers. Measure, mark, cut and sand.

You may want to skip this step, but in order for my shelf dividers to have a larger area to glue to, I attached a lip to each shelf divider. Each lip was glued and clamped until dry.

In the final product the lips will be hidden behind the slats on the front of the shelf.

Each of the shelf dividers was painted with red chalk paint which hides the variations in wood. Sand the edges to give the look of a well worn cubby.

To further age my shelf dividers I mixed clear wax with antique wax and water and painted each shelf divider. The water makes ensures I’m applying a nice thin coat, like a white wash, while the wax seals the paint. The antique wax gives the dividers an older, dirtier look.

On the back of the shelf I premarked where I wanted to place each shelf. A pencil line from a T square makes sure the shelves go in straight.

Use wood glue to adhere the tops and bottoms of each divider and clamp in place until dry.

Working my way down the shelf.

While the glue is still wet make sure the dividers are straight.

For the backing I’m using an old 8ft, 2×4. By feeding the 2×4 thru a tabletop saw multiple times, I’m left with piles of sawdust 😆 , and thin strips of wood.

Of course use what you have. I would have used old beadboard for the backing but I had used up my stash on the ceiling of the playhouse over the winter.

The newly cut 2×4 slats looked a little too new for my antique cubby shelves so I painted them a grey/beige color. These also got the wash of antique wax, clear wax and water.

Nail on the slats from the back using a level to make sure they are truly vertical.

You may have noticed that my original bookshelf did not come with a top. The only scrap wood piece I had currently on hand that was 12″ wide and the proper length, was this old, very shiny. old table leaf.

That shiny finish had to be sanded off.

I then fitted more scrap wood around the table leaf for a border. Miter the corners and sand.

Hand nail with finish nails or use a pneumatic nail gun.

A 2 1/2 inch board mounted on the back keeps objects and paper from falling behind the shelf.

After one coat of clear wax, the table leaf and the ends are darkening but the front and back trim are conspicuously light.

The clear wax first coat is essential on this project so that my next coats don’t soak into the wood too much.

The second coat was the antique wax mixed with the clear wax (no water this time) and and couple splashes of the red chalk paint. With a paper towel or rag blend the three treatments as well as rub any excess off where the stain may have gotten too dark. I finished with a final coat of the antique wax concentrating mostly on the lighter pieces of wood. Blend with a paper towel.

When the wax is dry, buff with a fine steel wool to bring out the shine of the wax and to get rid of any wood burrs.