DIY Picture Ledges

Remember that sneak peek I gave you a couple of days ago?

Well, they're up!

Let's rewind a bit.  I started a gallery wall when we first moved into this house 10 years ago.  I added to it as family members were added on, and new memories were made. 

Not only was it time for a change because 10 years is a long time to have any decor item stay the same, but also because we acquired a piano.  Ideally upright pianos should sit on an interior wall of a home.  This was really one of the only appropriate walls for it, and it covered up the bottom row of pictures.  So I took the gallery wall down, patched, sanded, primed, and painted.  I drew up some picture ledges, and Computer Genius built them.

These floating shelves are made with 1x2s and 1/4 inch plywood.  CG cut the 1x2s to length.

And butt jointed the returns(the sides).  He glued & nailed them.

He ripped 1x2s in half to create the wall cleat and the internal spacer.

He glued the spacer into place,

using a scrap piece of plywood to keep it properly spaced, and nailed it.

He glued & nailed spacers to the sides also.

CG cut the plywood to fit, and glued & nailed it to the bottom

& top.  Notice the lip that is formed at the top.  This'll keep my pictures from tumbling off the shelves.

He used a nail set to set the nails below the surface of the wood.  I love that my hubs is a Computer Genius, a woodworker, and still can wear Hello Kitty bandaids.

He filled the set nail holes with wood putty,

and sanded them smooth.

The mercury finally hit 50, so I took these outside and spray primed and painted them.  Ignore the snow.  I painted these last week, it's all melted away now.

The cleats were mounted to the wall first.

Then the ledges just slipped right over them.  Obviously I still need to work on what's going on them.  But that's for another day.  Today is for saying hurrah for this guy.

Thanks for popping in and DIYing with CG & painting with me.  I'm linking up to Between Naps on the Porch's Metamorphosis Monday, and Just a Girl's Show and Share Day.  Plus Just Between Friends is hosting a Point of View linky party.