How to Add DIY Shelves In A Closet

Not all closets are created equal. Many lack functional storage and organization. If you have a closet that just isn’t cutting it, you’re in luck. Today’s tutorial will show you how to add DIY shelves in a closet, so that you can make your closet work for you!

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How to Add DIY Shelves in a Closet

I’m knee deep in a project to reorganize and make over our hall closet. So far, I’ve created a plan for the makeover (I don’t do anything without a plan 🙂 ) and added visual interest by painting stripes on the closet walls.

The next step in the project involves adding more functional storage and organization by building shelves along one side of the closet. And in case you have a closet that isn’t as functional or organized as you’d like, I’m sharing each step in the tutorial. Let’s learn how to add DIY shelves in a closet!

If you’re new to the Hall Closet Makeover series and want to start at the very beginning (a very good place to start), click on over to this post: Hall Closet Makeover Plan!

This is an easy project that can be completed in an afternoon. But you’ll want to have someone available to help you with holding items in place (cleats, the measuring tape, etc).

Supplies

Before we begin, you’ll need some supplies:

• Melamine Shelves or a Large Sheet of Melamine (We had leftovers from another project and just made them work; you could also use MDF or 4′ x 8′ sheets of plywood.)
• Iron-On Melamine Edging (Our shelves were 3/4″ thick; you’ll want to get edging in the corresponding thickness of your shelves)
• 2″ x 3″ Wood  for Cleats (3 for Each Shelf in Varying Lengths)
• Drywall Screws
• Cordless Drill (We have this one, and it works great!)
• Measuring Tape
• Level

We had the Melamine and the 2 x 3’s left over from previous projects, so this DIY was seriously budget-friendly. But even if you need to purchase all of the supplies (minus the cordless drill), it’s an inexpensive project!

The Steps

Here are the steps we took to create our shelves.

#1 Plan

The first thing I did was lay out my plan for the shelves: height, width (this will be determined by the width of your closet or the side of your closet, in my case), and which items I wanted to store on each shelf (which helped me to determine height).

Here’s the scribbled and messy plan.

I already had the baskets and bins that I wanted to use for storage, so after decluttering and sorting the closet stuff, I filled the baskets with the assigned items and measured the shelf heights based on them.

#2 Cut and Paint

With my plan in hand, my husband headed out to the garage to cut the cleats and the melamine to the proper size.

After the cleats were cut, I painted them. To save time, I only painted the sides that would be visible.

#3 Attach the Cleats

Once the paint on the cleats was dry, we were ready to start installing them in the closet.

We measured 16″ from the floor and marked the height several times on each of the three walls.

To double check the placement of our cleats, I held them in place while my husband made sure they were level.

He then screwed them into the wall, and we leveled again, just to make sure.

You know the old saying, “Measure twice, cut once?”

My husband takes this to new levels (sorry, bad pun) when measuring, attaching things to the wall, and leveling. 😉

Once the cleats were screwed into the wall, I just placed the shelf on top of them. Voila!

To attach the cleats for the next shelf, we measured up from the shelf we’d just added, leveled, attached, and leveled again.

Then we repeated the process for each remaining shelf.

#4 Finish the Shelves

Here are the unfinished shelves in the closet.

To finish them off, we added Melamine Iron-On Edging on the front face. It’s really easy to use, but a helper is handy!

We measured the amount we needed to cover the front of the shelves, plus a little to wrap around the sides (since that’s all that will be visible once the shelves are in the closet).

Then we used the iron to heat up the adhesive on the back and attach the edging to the shelf.

**Make sure to use a piece of aluminum foil or kraft paper between your iron and the edging to protect both items.

We ran the tip of the iron back and forth until the edging adhered to the shelf.

The last piece of this project that I didn’t get done before photographing these shelves (in fact, I didn’t even notice it before taking the photos…ooops!) was filling and painting over those screw holes!

Otherwise, I’m thrilled with how these turned out! And look at all of that extra storage!

Here’s a little sneak peek of the messy before and the organized after! If you want to see more pictures of the glorious After, check out this post: Hall Closet Makeover Reveal and a Printable!

The Next Phases

Here’s what I’ll be working on next.

Phase #1:

Completely empty the closet, don a hazmat suit, and clean until my fingers bleed. #seriously

Then sort, purge, and make a plan for better organization.

Phase #2:

Paint.

Phase #3

Add a set of shelves along the right side of the closet for added storage and better organization. The shelves will replace the obnoxious profusion of dog treats seen in the before photos.

Phase #4

This is a two-step phase, and it’s where I get to have a little fun!

Head out and do a little shopping {a little, the budget is tight on this project} to assist with the above-mentioned “better organization.”

** I jumped the gun on part of this phase, but it worked out for the best, because I was able to determine my shelf height based on my baskets!

Tackle a few budget-friendly DIY projects to add a little something special to the closet.

Phase #5

Reveal the final project to you!

You can make your closets work for you and all it takes is adding a few shelves. These shelves will make your closet more functional and organized and add tons of storage. All it takes is an afternoon and this tutorial, How to Add DIY Shelves to a Closet!

Other posts in the series

Here are the other posts in this series so that you can follow the process from (ugly) start to amazing finish:

Hall Closet Makeover Plan

Hall Closet Makeover: Paint & Organize

How To Add Shelves To A Closet

2 Simple DIYs for Pet Food Storage

How to Make DIY Tab Dividers

Movie Storage for Small Spaces

Hall Closet Makeover: Full Reveal and a Printable

Pin It

Pin it, so that you don’t forget it!

Now, you’ll have all of the information you need at your fingertips for your trip to the hardware store!

Other Posts You Might Enjoy

If you enjoyed today’s post and this series, you might also enjoy these posts!

• How I Squeezed a Craft Room Into a Closet
• How to Use Google Calendar to Organize Your Home Business
• 7 Ways to Organize Your Office with Binders

Thanks for being here with me today!