A shelf behind the couch supported by just a few pieces of wood makes a great place to put nic nacs. Just a couple of boards, screws, and painted black.
I was visiting a friend and her beautiful new baby-with the most perfect nose I’ve ever seen-and spotted something that I meant to ask her about but forgot to come back to it because she was in the middle of a hilarious story of all the mishaps at a wedding she had attended this past summer. I can’t get into to the details but lets just say romantic barn weddings do have their fire hazards. It was a close call but the hobby farm was safe and all was well.
Anyway, I left wondering what was it behind her couch that allowed her to put picture frames and nic nacs behind the couch? Was it like a British style radiator cover -like a box? Was it a shelf screwed into the wall? Next visit I will ask, but in the meantime I was getting supplies to remake my closet into a pantry when I thought lets see if we can’t invent a shelf that would go behind my couch so I have a place for a few pretty things too.
So I measured the height of the couch (34 inches) and the width (70 inches). I got 4 boards 1x6x6 (that will be 72 inches long so I cut off the extra 2 inches on 3 of the boards) the 4th board I cut into 2 pieces 34 inches long.e and 2 more boards the same length as stabilizers to the very skinny shelf. I predrilled holes into the top and put 2 screws on each end. Lay the structure on the floor and put in the first stabilizer wood across. Measure approximately 7 inches from the bottom…. 2 screws on each end should do it. Then gently flip it over so you can do the same on the other side.
If you are happy with how it looks then you can decide how to finish it. I have quite a bit of black in this room so I put on black paint but you could also put a stain and clear coat on it to match wood you have. The smoother the top the easier to dust so you should sand it smooth and wipe off the dust before painting.
I felt like the room was so much cozier with my little shelf. Its a little room…in a little house, so we don’t have much space for pretty things. I like that this is also a space that a certain naughty puppy can’t grab things to chew on…unlike the coffee table. Also if your wee babe is starting to crawl and putting things in her mouth.
This project literally takes 15 mins to build if you have the pieces cut by the hardware store….only 5 mins more if you are cutting the wood yourself. An hour for the entire project plus remember to go back and do a second coat of paint. It’s that easy!
p.s. This won’t work if you have a recliner couch. Sorry.
