DIY Tower Shelf w/ Bins

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My oldest daughter has been changing up her room lately- redecorating and simplifying. One thing she really wanted was a shelf with 4 levels that she could put bins in. She wanted a place to put “stuff”, and also a place to put things on top of the shelf. The kind you can buy in stores were smaller than what she was looking for.

Stephen did a little research and ended up kind of making his own plans. He measured the spot where she wanted the shelf (height, width, and depth) and got to work!

(The kids and I took a trip to Asheville, NC while he was working on this, so I don’t have a lot of “during” pictures! But I’ll try to explain what he did so you’ll have an idea.)

Stephen planned for this shelf to be 60 inches high, 17 inches deep, 15 inches wide, and each level to be 12 inches high.

Supplies:
-1×4 wood (15 feet)
-2×4 wood (20 feet)
-2×2 wood (4 feet)
-1×3 wood (16 feet)
-pockethole screws
-wood glue

He started off by building the two upright sides using 2x4s (the upright posts) connected by 1x3s where each level will go. He used wood glue and pocketscrews to connect the 1x3s to the 2x4s. He repeated this same process for the second side.

This is what one of the sides looked like.

Stephen built the four shelves using both 1x3s and 1x4s. The front and back of the shelves were 1x4s and the sides were 1x3s. He did this four times.

He then attached these shelves to the two sides using Titebond wood glue and pocket screws.

This is a pic of three of the four shelves installed.

He used 2x2s to connect the top 2x4s together. This formed the frame that will hold the top of the shelf.

Here is a visual of the different sized wood pieces that he used to build this shelf:

Stephen used five 1x4s, cut to size, and screwed them into the 2×2 frame as the top. I also started painting the shelf… (using my go-to: Linen White chalk paint)

I ordered six Sterilite weave baskets from Amazon… check them out here.

They are a great size (15 in x 12.25 in x 9.37 in) and a nice color. I was surprised at how much larger-sized storage baskets were when I was looking around… this was the best deal I found! Once done painting, I added four of the baskets on the shelf, and… here is the final product!