DIY Floating Shelves

We built floating shelves in the kitchen! We used a modified version of these plans from Shanty-2-Chic.   Here's the modified version from Hey Let's Make Stuff, which gives measurements for materials based on Shanty's tutorial.  For  the wood and materials, I think it cost us $80 for two shelves.  Wood was about $60, so $30 a shelf...? (Just an estimate!)

Materials
- Two 2x3x8 pine
        *cut into (8) 7.75" pieces
        * (2) 48" long pieces (this will be the support beam)
- One 1x10x8 pine board
        *(2) 48" long pieces (this will be the top)
- One 1x4x12' pine board
        *(2) 50" long  (front and sides)
        * (4) 9.25" pieces
- One 1/4" 2x4' plywood sheathing 
        *cut into (2) 9.25"x4' (the bottom)
- Stain of your choice (we chose Espresso)
- 2.5" pocket hole screws
- 3.5" all-purpose screws. (We used construction screws)

Essentials
- Drill
- Brad nailer
- Kreg jig pocket hole driller
- Mitre saw
- Wood glue

We had all our big pieces cut at Home Depot, but they're not always accurate, so I would suggest cutting everything yourself. A mitre saw gives cleaner cuts than HD does, too.

Directions:
1. Make all your cuts.
2. Make pocket holes in all 7.75" 2x3s

Kreg Jig is my new best friend. Don't judge the uneven top.. This piece was a tester piece.  

3. Stain your top and bottom boards (1x10, 1x4 and plywood)

We stained our boards with Minimax Espresso and finished with a polyurethane coating.  

Look at that pretty grain!

4. Attach your 7.75" pieces (4) to each 48" 2x3.

Attach the supports using the pocket holes. 

 5. Attach your support beams to the wall.

I missed a step here, which is to attach the support beams to the wall (no picture for this).  Find your studs! Get your support nice and level.

 6. Lay your 1x10 board on top of the support and attach the 1x4 sides and front using your nail gun (hammering SUCKS, don't do it).

7. Attach the bottom piece using the nail gun. An option is to attach the box to the support beams (we didn't) if you want it more permanent and run the risk of it falling down (it probably won't unless you bump into it).  Otherwise, if you really needed to, you could remove it from the wall (we won't!)

Done!

And add your decorations!

All done! Our mother-in-law loved them so much, we built three for her!

UPDATE: And then we decided to buy a beautiful IKEA kitchen island I've been searching for forEVER. Seriously. I found it on Pinterest nearly a year ago, but every time I searched for it, it was out of stock. I finally emailed the company, and they said that they had a newer, similar version available and there was 3 in stock. We went to IKEA that day.

I love this island for its versatility.  So, when we purchase a bigger house, we can center this in the middle of the kitchen and add stools behind it for more functionality.  

You can find this BEAUTIFUL island here.

Needless to say, I am VERY happy. It's bigger, has more space and has a solid wood-top! Score!

On another note, here's the ones we built for the mother-in-law! We learned a few tricks from our first build, so this second build was easy-peasy.  We adjusted the materials for three shelves. 

It looks warped here because I used the pano option on my phone.

 What do you guys think?