Ok, so this is my very humble opinion, but I am just going to go ahead and say it. You know those wire shelves that are in every closet, laundry room, or mudroom when homes are built? You know, the ones that you can pick up at any big box store? Well, I HATE them. Strong words, I know. But, come on. They are the worst, right? Well, I obviously think so, and so every single time that I walked out the garage door from my laundry room, I would cringe a little bit looking at ours. But not anymore, folks. NOT ANYMORE.
Enter, my latest hack for covering up those ugly wire shelves. This project cost me NO MONEY AT ALL. I also did it all on my own (patting myself on the back), which I was pretty proud of, if I do say so myself. So, let's get to it. First things first, I checked what kind of scrap wood we had in the garage, and lucky for me, we had 2 pieces of plywood and a few pieces of pine left over from our board and batten diy. As for materials besides wood, you'll want to have these on hand:
MATERIALS:
Circular Saw or
This project is really just a matter of measuring and making a few cuts. Since the shelves in this particular case were fairly small in size, I got them done pretty quickly. First, I measured the top and cut my plywood to size with my circular saw. If you are like me and don't have a table saw, you can check out my Instagram account for tips on how to ensure that you make a straight cut with a circular saw.
Once I had the top piece cut, I laid it on the shelf and cut a pine 1x3 to size for the front piece that will hide the wire overhang. The little trick here is that you will want to include extra length for the side board as well. Once that was cut, I measured for the side board (this measurement will actually be the same depth as your top board). A few hits with my finish nailer connected all the pieces, and I was left with a partial "box". Once stained, the piece will fit right on top of the shelf, concealing the ugly wire shelving. The support bracket still shows.
Sorry, I really don't have a quick fix for that, but I did have some black paint on hand, so a little bit of that to the support bracket, and it wasn't nearly as noticeable. And there you have it. Ugly wire shelf cover, and best of all- no more cringing!
And in case you are looking for some cute storage solutions similar to mine, here are a couple of links to some I love!
Happy DIYing!
Just recently discovered your account and am loving your stuff! I’m also a Chicago girl (by birth-unfortunately not currently) and miss it so much! I am ecstatic with this hack as my entire house has these shelves and I HATE them as well. Can’t wait to try this. What type of paint do you recommend for the support brackets? Is there a certain type that’s better so it won’t crack on the plastic-metal surface? Thanks!