Starting off the weekend with some Belgian Früli Strawberry Beer, so good! instagram.com/p/ZbpTWbDTQB/
DIY Reclaimed Wood and Pipe Shelving Unit
Well, here it is! It’s been a while since we last posted but the wait has been worth it! Made of reclaimed farm wood and metal piping, we’ve made our first piece of furniture and it looks great! Notice the new door!
The unit is screwed into both the wall and floor for extra support. We secured two planks together to make a front door that locks easily with magnets.
The metal piping runs through the unit for a clean look while supporting each shelf. I love how much character these planks of wood have!
Perfect for any kind of living room storage: blankets, pillows, remotes and extra decor such as candle holders and coasters.
On the right is our newly acquired West German pottery. We’re beginning to start quite the collection. To the left is a photo of a lava field during our first trip to Iceland.
Our newest Moon globe and Modern House 3. We’re still thinking about adding either metal or simple leather pulls to the door but can’t decide…
We decided to take our living room makeover in stages since there’s just so much to do! The entrance and complete living room makeover will be coming next! Hope you like it :)
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The moon globe looks nice in this amazing shelving unit! Am tres jealous that you can make things. I on the other hand needed help putting something as simple as my bed together!
Looking forward to seeing the rest of your living room come together.
GREAT job!! I really love how this came out — the cabinet is perfect.
Wow… great job! It looks fantastic. Fresh modern and cool. Am digging on those white floors too. Love!
just fantastic, you guys! love it!
Beautiful job! It looks amazing.
And I would say to go without the knobs. Just keep it simple.
that looks amazing! i’ve been hanging out to see these :)
when you say “pipes”, were they just plumbing pipes? i’m on the hunt at hardware stores around here in melbourne for similar to make a freestanding shelf unit. this is very inspirational, can’t wait to see the rest of your living room!
It looks great! Amazing job! I like your home very much!
wow, great!
question – is each shelf screwed to the wall or only the top and floor? It looks like the backs of the shelves are just resting on the pipes, but I cant quite tell.
I vote leather pulls, or rope. or leave it bare.
Nice take on the wall unit – with the rustic box for storage. Looks great guys!
This is truly one of a kind. I love love love it!
What an awesome first piece! Great job!
Design*Sponge just “Tweeted” you out. :) Your shelf/storage unit looks GREAT. Sometimes people make things themselves and well … they look like they made them themselves. This doesn’t. Super-cool. Great job.
Nice job!!! Check out the similar DIY shelves here: http://www.the-brick-house.com/2009/09/shelving-unit.html
great job! love all the recycled aspects. wow!
I love this! Does the box also function as a desk top?
wow, mid-century modern meets barnyard. i love following your blog. you guys are so talented! thank you for sharing!
this is totally cool! i love it!
I really need major bookshelfage and this would be great because I also need some storage for linens. Rad!
Wow this is lovely. Thank you for sharing. Are the shelves attached to the pipes or just resting on?
Looks amazing, was worth the wait!
That’s so cool – thank’s for sharing and the inspiration.
Hi Everyone! Thanks so much for your kind words! We couldn’t be happier about how it turned out!
Just to clarify, the cabinet at the bottom is not a vintage box or crate, we made it ourselves out of the same barn wood. Here’s a link to what the wood looked like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hindsvikvintage/4754964355/
We attached the planks with the large black braces as you can see in the 4th photo!
Ryan – yes, the pipes are just plumbing pipes. We measured what we needed and got them cut and threaded at the hardware store.
Anna and Molly – the unit is bolted to both the wall (at top) and the floor. Each shelf is resting on the pipe brackets and it is surprisingly sturdy! The pipes go through each piece of wood (shelves) which keeps it in place. Hope that helps :)
the wood has a great color! love the look.
It looks good :). I actually like it better then the original. And I work for the company that built the same piping shelves for Ace Hotel New York. We are in TO too.
PS. We built them out of pipes and flanges too, some welded, some threaded connections.
It looks really great!
I’m in the process of drawing up a sideboard plan using reclaimed wood that i found, similar to the cabinet part of your shelving unit. It will be something super simple because our carpentry skills are pretty limited.
I’m curious about how you joined the top to the sides and the sides to the bottom to create the box. I don’t want the nails to show, and at the same time I don’t want to varnish or paint the wood at all, maybe just some wax to seal it, so filling the nails with wood filler is out of the question. Should I just connect everything through the inside with brackets?
thanks
erica
Erica – The cabinet sides, bottom and top were screwed together although the screws are hidden. For attaching the the top plank of the cabinet to it’s sides we went on an angle with the screws through the side panels from the inside. For the bottom and side attachment we just ran screws from the underside so you wouldn’t see them. I’m sure some 90 degree brackets would also work just fine. That is what we did to help strengthen our front entryway bench.
Good Luck on your project!!
Thank you for the explanation.
I was thinking about doing the same for the bottom part. As for the top and sides, I’m still a bit confused about how you went in on an angle. Was it what carpenters call a pocket hole?
Thanks again
Erica
Hello Again Erica! Yes that’s exactly what we did more or less without the fancy tools. Just make sure you drill some relief holes before screwing into the wood so it doesn’t split or go off in the wrong direction.
Let us know if you have any questions at all!
Best
okay great!
At least I feel that I’m on the right track. Now I’ll just have to see if all my planning will actually materialize into something functional and good looking!
thanks for all the tips
Erica
Awesome.
I am happy to report that my fiancee and I will be stealing your design and adapting it to make an entertainment center for a long wall in our living room. Again, great job; the wood is just stunning.
Thanks! We hope it looks great in your place! :)
What a beautiful combination of Reclaimed Wood and metal. Absolutely gorgeous. Its nice to see people being so creative about recycling. Love it!
I love this! I’d already been planning to build something similar, but the closed cabinet is a fantastic idea I’m going to have to incorporate. Can I ask what width pipe you used? There’s such a range and I’m not sure how to decide. Thinner is cheaper, and thus good, but of course I also want it to be sturdy. Thanks for all the inspiration, you’re house is awesome :)
Hey Cordelia! We used 1/2 inch pipe and it works perfectly! Hope that helps!
wonderful, thanks so much!
Great Project!
I’ve been planning to do something similar and have been finding that the more connections I screw together the more likely it is that the whole thing gets off. Both the rotation of the tees and elbows as well as being straight. Its almost as if the threads go in crooked occasionally. Do you have any advice for how to make sure you get the right rotation, maintain a straight vertical member, and make a good strong connection? I feel a little silly asking how to screw two things together but sometimes it really does get out of plumb.
Thanks!
Hey Anthony!
We had a similar problem but only with the custom threaded pipes. The place we got them done kind of rushed the job a little and the threads were not very good for some of the pipes. Luckily we had some extras and only about 4 or 5 of the threads were not useable so we were able to complete it anyways. Did you have them custom cut/threaded?
Daniel
Thanks for the reply!
I bought off the shelf parts but I can completely understand the issue with custom threading. As I’ve been “playing” more with the pipes I think I can get straight segments by being a little more careful about starting the threading. Perhaps I was just a little to eager the first time around. Did you tighten the fittings down using a wrench or was it enough to do by hand? I’ve only been working by hand for convenience since I’ve been assembling and disassembling in order to find my desired configuration. Perhaps this was also contributing to my problem.
Hey Anthony! We actually just tightened them by hand. I though about a wrench but as long as they are nice and snug the unit is quite sturdy. A wrench may be useful to get it turned that last little bit if need be. How is the project coming along?
Hey, quick question. Is the reclaimed “farm” wood you used siding from a barn? I’m interested in finding similar wood and would love to know what to ask for at the local reclaimed wood place. Thanks in advance!
Taylor
Hi Taylor, yes I believe it is barn siding wood from the 1800′s. Hope that helps! :)
Do you have any ideas on how to do this without screwing the feet into the floor? I am renting so I dont think that would fly :)!?
Hi Marissa!
The shelving unit actually doesn’t need to be screwed into the floor and is just as sturdy if you just screw it into the wall. Hope that helps! :)
Awesome! Thank you so much for your response. Second question do you have any suggestions on where to buy reclaimed wood? Not sure where you live but I am in Chicago.
Hi Marissa,
Unfortunately we have no idea where you can get reclaimed wood in the Chicago area, but talking to some local antique or reclaimed architectural shops in the city might be a good idea to start. We purchased ours from a local antique shop which also specializes in architectural salvage. Hope that helps! :)
I am just commenting to let you know what a wonderful discovery my girl experienced viewing your web page.
want one….want one….WANT ONE!!
Please?
Hi, great Job!
I will try to make something similar in my wardrobe, just one question about the pipes.
Are the size of the pipes 1/2″ or 3/4″ and how do you painted it? Im not sure if its stable enough with 1/2″ pipes to put over clothes.
Hi Victor!
I believe we used 1/2 inch pipe for the unit. If you are trying to use the piping as a clothing rack I think 1/2 inch should be fine as long as you have the necessary supports are and drilling into the right places on the wall for support. For paint we used a melamine paint. If you’re doing a clothing rack I would suggest lightly sanding the pipes first so the paint stays on better when you’re moving the hangers from side to side. Hope that helps! :)
This looks terrific. Very modern with a rustic touch.
What store did you buy the pipes and fittings at? I’m in Toronto. I looked at home depot but I didn’t see all the parts. And did you get the pipes threaded at the same store?
Hi Adam!
Yes we did get them from a Home Depot store, but you could try calling around plumbing stores or hardware stores which may have them.
Is there a tutorial on how to make the wood & pipe shelving? I just love this look! :)
I love it!… simply love it. Want to do it for my small bathroom and incorporate a towel bar, too!
Thanks for sharing.
I love it. I stole the idea to make a shoe rack.