Plumbing pipes are more than their name implies in our home. We have used these functional, sturdy, and industrial style pieces in our home décor to create shelving. We knew we wanted shelves in our dining/office area and loft space but didn’t want anything sitting on the ground that would ultimately be knocked into or climbed up by our curious toddlers who run our house!
Bring on the search for options! I loved the industrial metal look for shelves and wanted something that mixed wood and metal. In our previous home, my husband built metal shelves on our garage wall to house some heavy pieces he needed to store higher. I kept this idea in my back pocket as something that I liked but never really thought of using inside our home. After unsuccessful searches for shelving units that were child-proof yet stylish, I thought back on our old garage. I then started looking at inspiration on metal wall shelves and there they were- the pipe shelves of my dreams! We priced out different options at our hardware stores and ultimately were able to find a complete kit on Amazon that allowed us to get the look/finish that we wanted for less and still have the flexibility to customize the layout and shelves to suit our style and room size.
This is a semi-DIY project because even though this shelving unit comes in a kit, there is still flexibility for you to decide the layout, length and height of the shelves. It comes with all the hardware to install as well. I highly recommend making this a two-person project. You will need a long level, power drill, tape measure, and step ladder for installation. There is also flexibility on the type of shelf you use since the kit only comes with the metal pipes alone. We went to our local hardware store and purchased 10″ x 1″ x 6′ wood boards that we then stained to our liking. A helpful tip is to filter through the boards at the store and lay them flat to make sure they are level and don’t have any obvious damage. Another option that would be gorgeous would be using a live edge board with the bark still attached for the shelves. Yessssss. Lumberyards can sell kiln dried live edge boards, but you can also check facebook marketplace for local lumber being sold in your area!
This project ended up being so simple, yet added so much memorable impact to our dining and loft areas in our home. Visitors always comment on these shelves because it is such a unique feature. These are cost effective enough that eventually we plan on building these shelving units for storage in our garage and basement as well. How amazing would these be in an open kitchen, bar area, or even laundry room!? They are as sturdy as they come since they are anchored to the wall and ceiling, so even if my toddlers could reach these puppies wouldn’t budge! We ended up having pipe left over since we didn’t hang one rack in the dining/office space and were even able to make a matching side table for the loft space- but maybe I’ll save that for another day! If you are looking for something sturdy, cost effective, and eye catching, maybe this is the one for you! Have fun with new looks/options and don’t be afraid to take something like plumbing pipe and make it into something beautiful. Click the button below for the pipe shelves we used!
