When I got my first apartment, I need shelving for all of my books. But I didn't have a lot of money. I wound up with fiberboard shelving from your typical big box store. It served its purpose, certainly, by keeping my books off of the floor, but over the years it has gotten a bit rickety, not to mention a bit too boring.
But I still needs shelves to keep my books and knick knacks off of the floor. Rather than go out and buy fancy, expensive shelves or yet more fiberboard shelves, I decided to make over the shelves I already have.
This black shelf was a half-height shelf with two adjustable shelves. But the sides kept coming apart from the top, causing the whole thing to be on the constant verge of collapse. I began my shelf mods by taking the shelf boards out, as well as the little plastic bits that support them. Then I turned the whole thing on its side and, using finishing nails, secured the sides to the top and bottom. I used a nail at each corner, plus one in the middle, for the top and then again for the bottom, on each side.
At this point, I could have turned the shelf right side up again, and inserted the shelves. It was certainly sturdy enough!
Instead, I decided I actually liked it better turned on its side. I pulled out the measuring tape and divided the new space into different shelf heights. I also determined how much the shelves would overlap.
I had some wooden dowels left over from another project. I measured how high each shelf needed to be and cut two dowels for each height. I used my finishing nails to attach the dowels to the shelves.
Attaching the shelves to the sides is a bit tricky - it's best to have another person around to help with this part. There's no need to nail the dowels down - they act as support on their own. You can paint the dowels black (which I plan to do at some point) or leave them plain.
I painted the two shelf boards to add a little flair. Now I have a long, low shelf with interesting lines instead of your typical college dorm room bookshelf. And there's no way this one is falling apart.
