How to Make Your Own Shelves Above a Window
- 1). Prepare your wall by making sure the area you are placing your shelf is clean and free of any lint or dirt.
- 2). Take the shelf and place over the window. Ideally, shelves sit just above the curtain rod or the window itself. With this in mind, center the shelf over the window and make small marks with the pencil on the wall where each end of the shelf is. The brackets will sit on each side of the window or curtain rod so make a mark on each side of the window where the brackets will be.
- 3). Take a bracket and align the bracket with the marks you made on the wall for the brackets. The short end of the L bracket will be attached to the underside of the shelf and the long side of the L will sit against the window. With the pencil, mark inside the holes where your screws will be.
- 4). There are usually wall studs behind the wall that surround the windows. The brackets can be drilled into these wooden studs for the best stability. Don't worry if you are not positioned over a wall stud though.
- 5). With the drill and drill bit, drill holes where you marked the screw holes in the brackets. You will be able to tell if you have drilled into a wooden wall stud. If you have proceed to the next step. If you haven't, place a screw fastener into the drilled hole. Screw fasteners come in different sizes and colors so be sure to purchase the correct size of fastener for the size of screws you will be using. If you are not sure how to go about this, ask someone at the hardware store to help you find the correct sizes for screws and fasteners for the L brackets.
- 6). Place a screw fastener in each hole once you have drilled the holes. It will be a tight fit so if needed, lightly tap the fastener with a hammer to place the fastener flush against the wall.
- 7). Attach the long side of the bracket to the wall, insert a screw into one of the holes and screw into place tightly. Repeat with the remaining holes and with the second bracket.
- 8). Now that the brackets are on the wall, position the shelf on the 2 brackets and with the pencil, mark the holes for attaching the bracket to the shelf on the underside of the shelf.
- 9). Remove the shelf and drill pilot holes in the marked spots. You will not need the screw fasteners as you are screwing into the wood.
- 10
Replace the shelf over the brackets. Line up the pilot holes you just drilled with the holes in the brackets and screw into place.