Change Your Bathroom Design with a DIY Floating Shelf

Sometimes, a small detail can completely transform a room.

For this project, I was invited to work on a new bathroom design in Paris, where one corner needed a practical yet stylish solution. The available space was very specific: only 23 cm wide.

The owner of the apartment couldn’t find any ready-made furniture that fit this narrow spot, so they asked me to design a custom DIY floating shelf that would blend perfectly with the bathroom’s design while staying functional.

👉 Good news: a free plan is available so you can easily recreate this project at home.

A Simple DIY Project with Minimal Tools

To build this floating shelf, I used two boards of 1 meter long. From these boards, I created:

• One main vertical back panel

• Three shelves

Each shelf was cut to:

• 20 cm wide

• 21 cm deep

This size allows the shelves to slide perfectly into the back panel, creating a clean floating effect once mounted on the wall.

Cutting and Assembly

To insert the shelves into the main back panel, precision is key.

1. I started by marking the position of each shelf on the back panel.

2. Using a router, I cut grooves with a depth of 0.7 cm.

3. I then placed the shelves into the grooves to do a first test fit.

4. Once positioned, I traced their exact thickness.

5. Finally, I followed these lines with the router to achieve a perfect, tight fit.

This method ensures solid support and a professional, clean finish.

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Materials and Tools Used

This DIY floating shelf is a simple project that doesn’t require many materials or advanced tools.

Materials:

• 2 wooden boards

  • Length: 1 meter

  • Width: 20 cm

  • Thickness: 1.9 cm

• Invisible wood lacquer (to protect the wood while keeping a natural look)

• Wall fixings, adapted to your wall type (plasterboard, concrete, or brick)

Tools:

• Measuring tape

• Pencil

• Saw (hand saw or circular saw)

• Router

• Router bit (for 0.7 cm deep grooves)

• Sandpaper (medium and fine grit)

• Clamps (optional but useful)

• Brush or roller for the lacquer

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Our DIY Video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBnP3Mvkcdc

Finishing: Keeping the Natural Wood Spirit

For the finish, I chose an invisible lacquer.This protects the wood from humidity very important in a bathroom while keeping the natural texture and warmth of real wood.

Even though the bathroom color palette was mostly gray, adding wood brings contrast, warmth, and character. This DIY floating shelf adds a natural design element that completely changes the atmosphere of the room.

The Final Result

And here we are a simple, elegant DIY floating bathroom shelf, perfectly adapted to a small space and fully customized to the room.

A small project, a big visual impact.

Mr ATC always another idea for your home 🛠️

Bowl Wood Two Compartments Natural

€5.10

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