DIY Floating Bathroom Shelves  and Glass Boxes for Storage

Our master bathroom is one of my favorite places in our home, it’s my first master bathroom and this one has a jacuzzi, yeah.  Unfortunately, like most newer bathrooms it doesn’t have a medicine cabinet, just a long cupboard.  We need more storage space so I found pretty glass boxes to hide things in, and Hubs built these great DIY floating shelves.

When we first moved in I organized our toiletries under the counter using labels and dollar store containers.
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It works and I can find everything, but Hubs finds it annoying to shuffle the different containers to find what he needs.  We needed a better solution.  I saw these oh so pretty glass boxes at Home Sense and knew I could use them.

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Glass boxes even at Home Sense are pricey so I needed the shelves to be as cheap as possible.  I saw similar shelves from Shanty to Chic on Pinterest and although not exactly what I wanted the cost was perfect.
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To Make the Shelves

You will need lumber 2 – 1 by 6″ boards, 1- 1by 4″ board, and 1- 2 by 2 ” board.      None of the pieces are longer than 37 inches so you may be able to use leftovers from earlier projects.  You could easily use 2 by 4″ boards for the bracket portion as well.

You will also need a saw, nails,  120, and 220 grit sandpaper, wood filler, screws and a drill,  a level and paint or stain of your choice.  I used some new white pickling that I finally arrived in Canada.

Our shelves were going beside the window, in a corner, and above the tub surround so I needed to be thoughtful about the length and placement.

The edge had to fit around the end of the bracket, without hitting the window trim.  Hubs moved the end bracket in a couple of inches for it to work.
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The shelf should be centered so that it does not extend over the end of the tub surround.
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Hubs made the bracket, using a leftover fence board and some 2 by 2″ boards.
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He mounted the bracket first by finding the studs and marking them.  Then I held a level to make sure the bracket was level, while he screwed the shelves into the studs.

(If you choose to make the bracket using 2 by 4″ lumber.  Shorten the brackets from 4″ to about 2 1/2″.

Using 1 by 6 boards make a box attaching the corners with nails, or screws.
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The open back you see slides over the bracket.    The next picture shows you the front of the shelf.
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Finishing the Shelves

On several occasions, I had tried to find pickling in Canada.  While looking for paint I discovered that Home Depot Canada has started to carry MinWax Brand Whitewash Pickling and I was so excited to try it.  ( The link is to show you what I used, I am not an affiliate).

Because I wanted to use the whitewash pickling I filled in all the gaps with white wood filler and sanded my little heart out trying to get the surface as smooth as possible. starting with 120 grit paper and then 220 grit paper.  It’s not perfect, but I like it.  Here is a closeup that shows the finish and the gaps filled in the filler.
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Once you have the shelf box made, you mount it to the wall by simply placing it over the wall bracket.  Hubs made two shelves and we hung them 15 inches apart.

Extra Storage

The last and most fun part is decorating the shelves.  As the shelves were so inexpensive I purchased three boxes, lined them with shelf liner and then added the toiletries from inside the cupboard.

Using two existing apothecary jars, I stored the soap stash and a large container of Epsom salts on the floating shelves as well.    I will likely add more to the shelf but for now, I think they look pretty, the cupboard is almost empty, and the toiletries are easier to access.

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