I really love the look of layered signs! It’s such a fun look to create a statement piece in your home. The key part to making this work is to establish your statement piece, and today I have a fun DIY project that can be used as your anchor piece. This board combines some of my favorite things: wood signs and SHIPLAP!!! This shiplap board is the perfect anchor piece in a sign grouping because it adds texture without taking away from the whole design. It can also be used in many other ways, such as in combination with a wreath, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Supply list

Step 1

The first thing you want to do is cut your MDF or plywood to the size you want your sign to be. Home Depot can make the cuts for you for free or you can use a table saw if you have one. Then measure the width of your board and cut pieces of shiplap at that length to stack one on top of another. You will need to determine how many of pieces of shiplap to cut based on the height of your sign. Now its time to assemble everything together! Fasten the shiplap pieces to the board using glue and brad nails. For a cleaner look, shoot the nails in from front to back. This requires assembling everything upside down like you see in the pictures below.

We used 1 inch 18 gauge brad nails. First we nailed the sides and then added a few more nails along the middle in a zig zag pattern.

Step 2

Now it’s time to paint. Don’t worry about painting the sides because they will be covered with your trim pieces. We used a paint sprayer but you can easily do this with a roller or paint brush. While that is drying you can cut and stain your trim

Step 3

Measure out the lengths of trim needed and cut them to size at a 45 degree angle. The trim will attach to the outside of the sign so that the sides are covered. It can be tricky to get the measurements right so I like to cut each piece a little too long and then slowly cut them down to size. 

I love this project! It was so easy and they make a beautiful statement that is easy on the budget too! I looked into buying floating shelves before but ran into a few problems: First, I needed a unique size. Second, the ones I found were pricey and I needed 6!! That’s when I decided that we needed to build them ourselves. I’m so happy with how they turned out and we were able to build all 6 for less than the price of buying 1!!! These are my favorite kind of projects. Here is our quick, easy tutorial so you can make some too!

Supply List

1″ x 4″ pine boards (shelf sides)
1″ x 8″ pine boards (shelf top + bottom)
2″ x 3″ wood studs (cleat frame)
Brad nail gun or hammer and finish nails
Drill/driver and wood screws
Miter saw
Sander/sand paper
Glue
Level
Stud finder
Wood Stain (we used Minwax Expresso)

Board lengths will vary depending on how many shelves you are going to build

Step:1

The first thing you need to do is determine where you want the shelves and use a stud finder to mark the studs on your wall. The shelves are not heavy but I do not recommend securing them to just drywall. Once you have done this you can start building the cleats. They will be hidden and attach to the wall and what your shelf will slide on to. Make each cleat out of two short and one long piece of 2″ x 3″ stud. The total width of your cleat should be about 1.5 inches less than the desired width of your finished shelf. You can glue/nail or screw them together. Remember these will be hidden so they don’t need to look perfect.

Step:2

Mark the desired location of each cleat on the wall so they are equally spaced and level. Secure the cleats to the wall using screws long enough to reach into the studs – I recommend 3″ screws. Remember to pre drill your holes to avoid splitting the wood.

Once you have installed the cleats you can start building the shelves. You are basically building a simple wood box that is missing one side. Cut the top, bottom, and face boards all to the same length. This length should be approximately a half inch longer than the width of your cleat (so the shelf will easily slide on). Secure the face board to the top and bottom boards as shown in the picture below. I recommend using glue and 1.5″ brad nails.

-Grey Birch Designs-